The aim of beef production is to produce a high quality product with maximum efficiency.

Factors that affect the carcass composition and carcass yield are:

• Weight and age
• Genotype
• Gender
• Growth rate and nutrition
• Conformation

A typical growth curve involves a self-accelerating phase of weight increase from birth to puberty of the animal. During this phase, growth hormones are mainly responsible for the growth process. The second phase of growth (puberty to adulthood) has lower rates of weight increase and… Continue reading →