Stress is the known cause of animals that ‘cut dark’ after slaughter, but to date, no one has been able to solve this industry dilemma.
I had conversations with several processors this week to get their take on this age-old problem.
Radfords managing director Robert Radford, Warragul, said he had been looking into the instance of dark cutting animals for over 25 years, and would more than likely keep doing so for the next 20 years.
It’s rising pH levels that cause dark cutting in an animal, but what causes its levels to rise in the first place?
According to most processors, vealers were generally the most likely to suffer from stress and cut dark.
Stress can be caused by many things, and being taken from your mother, transported to places unknown, and mixed with other animals, can be a leading cause.
Processors also noted changing weather patterns could be a big influence too, with cattle going from cold to hot, then back to cold.
A change from one season to another can also create increased pH levels.
Going from a cold and wet winter with plenty of hay, to a mass of spring grass growth, will certainly lead to higher stress levels.
Cattle are social animals, but they can find interacting with new cattle stressful.
Mustering, drafting, transport and saleyard activity, all add to their potential stress levels.
The same applies when selling direct, but this can take away several levels of stress.
Processors know, and understand, the many different forms of stress, and they can avoid some of them by buying direct.
This works in two ways with the first being less handling, and the opportunity to spell the cattle at the works for a few days.
Mr Radford spells his cattle for at least two to three days, and feeds them lucerne hay to avoid dark cutting.
However, some others choose not to do this and slaughter cattle straight off the truck.
One processor was not overly concerned, as it was not a big issue for them.
Grain feeding cattle can take away the change of feed stress, as this even, and rationed feeding alienates the changing seasonal feed issue.
Breeds of cattle that have inbred stress tendencies will be least likely to cut dark, as their bodies are already used to higher stress.
But how does the potential of cutting dark affect producers?
In theory, if you sell through the saleyard system, you get paid for what you produce with the onus falling on the buyer.
If you sell direct, especially within a grid pricing system, processors will pay you less for a beast graded as a dark cutter.
In this system, the darker the meat, the more severe the price downgrade.
Retailers do not want meat that displays in a dark colour.
Processors can make price adjustments in a saleyard, but a beast has to show levels of stress before much of this will happen.
The question then is, how can producers decrease the potential for stress?
Suggestions from processors include better handling, understanding the changing seasons, and transporting cattle safely.
