Cooperation project “Alpine slaughter animals”
As part of this marketing strategy, a collaborative project is underway between Almwirtschaft Österreich (Austrian Alpine Pasture Association), AMA Marketing, and the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland). The HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein is responsible for the scientific aspects of the project. The project involves a field trial on alpine pastures in Carinthia and Styria, using fattening heifers, steers, young cattle from suckler cow herds, and lambs. The usual practice is that fattening cattle and lambs are not slaughtered immediately after being brought down from the alpine pastures, but are first fattened in the barn. In this pilot project, the cattle and lambs will either be slaughtered directly after being brought down from the alpine pastures or after a three-month fattening period in the barn. Data on carcass performance (classification, weight gain, etc.) and meat quality (tenderness, juiciness, fat content, fatty acid profile, etc.) will be analyzed. This document aims to clarify which characteristics of carcass and meat quality are positively influenced in alpine cattle and lambs, both with and without indoor fattening. For example, meat from alpine pastures is said to have an excellent fatty acid profile. Furthermore, environmental impacts are assessed using the "Farmlife" tool.
In addition, data from the AMA cattle database and the Austrian Meat Control (ÖKF) will be analyzed. The aim is to determine the influence of cattle category, breed, slaughter age, etc., on carcass quality when there is no or varying lengths of finishing period after alpine grazing.
The project supports the formulation and adaptation of the planned alpine pasture quality programs and their guidelines.
