WHITE PAPER
Carcass Merit Project
In order to develop genetic selection tools for tenderness, NCBA, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, initiated the Carcass Merit Project in 1999. The goals of the project were to:
- validate previously
discovered Quantitative Trait Loci
(QTL) for important carcass and consumer-
satisfaction traits such as marbling,
tenderness and meat composition, and
collect carcass data to enhance existing
industry knowledge, and;
- build a database
from which breeds could develop
Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs)
for tenderness.
In addition, economic
analyses were conducted to predict
increases in beef consumption, and
subsequently beef prices, as a result of
tenderness improvement.
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