Beef-on-dairy: current and potential meat quality of dairy-based beef production with culled Holstein cows and Danish Blue × Holstein crossbred calves

This study characterizes rosé veal from 412 Danish Blue × Holstein heifer and bull calves and beef from 183 highly marbled culled Holstein dairy cows. Furthermore, it investigates the potential for breeding higher meat quality in dairy crossbreeds via genetic parameter estimation. Carcasses were split between the 5th and 6th thoracic vertebra and the meat quality of M. longissimus thoracis was evaluated for pH, color, cooking loss, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and chemical intramuscular fat concentration (IMF%). Genetic parameters were estimated using an animal model. The crossbred bull calves outperformed heifers in carcass characteristics, while heifers were superior in redness, cooking loss, WBSF and IMF%. Heritability was significant for WBSF, cooking loss, and IMF%, indicating that meat quality can be improved through selective breeding. The meat quality of highly marbled Holstein cows did not vary across parities, highlighting them as an under-utilized potential source of high-quality beef from a beef-on-dairy system.