Special Section: Beef

Beef-ed up industry
Technology improves low-value cuts, convenience and food safety

By Dan Lemke

Minnesota’s beef industry is a $1.9 billion business - a significant player in the agricultural industry. Like other ag segments, beef producers depend on increasing demand for their products to keep the industry strong.

Beef cattle are raised on nearly 16,000 Minnesota farms; another 9,000 have dairy herds. With about 2.5 million cattle produced annually, Minnesota ranks 10th in the nation.

While most beef is for human consumption, there are new market opportunities.

AURI’s meat lab in Marshall, Minn. is devoted to new product development, microbial testing and food safety training. “The meat industry affects more than just livestock producers ­ it is important to grain farmers and local communities,” says Dennis Timmerman, AURI project development director. “It’s important for us to do what we can to help.”

Beef industry developments are led by the Minnesota Beef Council, which uses producer check-off dollars to educate consumers and promote value-added opportunities.

Some of the emerging opportunities include:

Low-value cuts

The Beef Council estimates that 40 to 45 percent of U.S. beef is consumed as ground beef. Tougher cuts are best marketed as ground; however, technology and research are helping to make some low-valued cuts such as chuck and round more desirable as steaks or roasts, says Ron Eustice, executive director of the Minnesota Beef Council.

New “muscle profiling” research is helping determine individual cuts’ tenderness.  Certain cuts, such as flat-iron and ranch steak “have been identified to be desirable and can be marketed as value-added products,” Eustice says.

Pre-processes, such as the Rinse and Chill vascular flush technique patented by MPSC, Inc. of St. Paul, can also help tenderize lower-value cuts and improve meat safety. 

Selling convenience  

Finding time for a home-cooked, sit-down dinner is becoming increasingly difficult for American consumers, but they still have to eat. Eustice says the beef industry will continue to focus on beef-based convenience foods.

Despite a tepid reception when they first came on the scene nearly 10 years ago, pre-cooked beef products have been popularized by Schwan’s, Hormel, No Name Steaks, General Mills, Lloyds and other Minnesota companies. “Now prepared products are an expanding section in the meat case,” Eustice says

Eustice expects that soon the majority of beef products sold will be ‘heat-and-eat’ items, rather than cuts for home cooking. Since concerns over BSE have curtailed access to some overseas markets, Eustice says it’s key for Minnesota beef producers to reach U.S. consumers with high-quality products. 

The new diet food

A proliferation of high-protein diets such as Atkins and South Beach over the past several years has increased demand for beef. However, Eustice says, “while high-protein diets will continue to play a role, balance and moderation combined with exercise is the key to a healthy lifestyle.”   

Food safety 

An overriding concern for beef producers is the need to assure consumers they have access to a high-quality, safe food supply. Irradiation, which reduces pathogens, is among the technologies promoted by Eustice and the Beef Council.

AURI has worked with Minnesota processors to establish good sanitation practices and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point plans to provide a higher level of assurance to consumers.