Finishing Location and Forage Diversity Influences Carcass Characteristics, Meat Quality Attributes, Terroir, and Color Stability of Grass-Finished Bison Bulls

The overall objective of this thesis is to determine the influence of finishing location and forage diversity on carcass characteristics, meat quality, terroir, and color stability of grass-finished bison bulls. The specific objectives were 1) Determine the effect of finishing location on carcass characteristics, meat quality attributes, and terroir of grass-finished bison bulls, 2) Investigate the effect of forage diversity on the carcass characteristics, meat quality attributes, and terroir of grass-finished bison bulls, and 3) Determine the effect of finishing location on the meat color stability of grass-finished bison bulls. Overall, results indicate that finishing location influenced carcass characteristics, objective tenderness, proximate composition, and trained subjective flavor attributes for grass-finished bison bulls. Furthermore, results indicated that the finishing forage diversity had a limited influence on carcass characteristics, meat quality attributes, and did not influence trained subjective texture or flavor attributes. Additionally, results illustrated that the finishing location of grass-finished bison bulls influenced objective color measurements, myoglobin concentration, and the lean antioxidant capacity of bison steaks. Bison bulls finished in Kansas had lighter (P < 0.001) carcasses, decreased (P ≤ 0.014) marbling scores, and were objectively tougher (P ≤ 0.004) than those finished in Nebraska and Montana. Steaks from Kansas also had lower bison identity scores compared to Nebraska and Montana, while Nebraska steaks were rated higher (P ≤ 0.007) for liver – like and sour aromatic than those finished in Montana. Bison bulls finished on diverse forage produced carcasses with decreased (P = 0.019) marbling scores, greater (P < 0.001) ash content, and greater (P = 0.010) objective tenderness than those finished with limited forage diversity. Bison from Kansas also produced steaks with increased (P ≤ 0.004) L* values and decreased (P ≤ 0.004) a* and b* values compared to those from Montana and Nebraska, regardless of packaging style. Finally, steaks from Montana finished bison bulls had greater (P ≤ 0.025) lean antioxidant capacity than those finished from Nebraska and Kansas. Very little is known about bison consumer preferences and purchasing decisions, and further research is warranted to develop color, tenderness, and flavor standards for the bison industry.