Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Peer-reviewed

Growth rate, carcass characteristics and meat quality of German Holstein and Jersey bull calves grazed on two different swards

Georg Simon, Stephanie Witten, Karen Aulrich, Edna Hillmann, Kerstin Barth

Organic Agriculture · 2026

Read source ↗ All evidence

Summary

Abstract Pasture-based veal production of dairy bull calves might be a sustainable alternative to conventional veal production, as access to pasture allows the expression of natural behaviors, and thus contributes to calf welfare. However, scientific data on growth rate, carcass characteristics and meat quality have not yet been reported. The main purpose of the study was to test whether a clover-grass sward with or without herbs results in acceptable performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality in German Holstein and Jersey bull calves. We kept 111 animals (Holstein: 80, Jersey: 31) over three years under whole-day strip grazing conditions and fed small amounts of concentrates daily. Slaughter took place at 32 ± 2 weeks of age after grazing for 75 ± 22 d. Using Bayesian linear mi

Source type
Peer-reviewed study
DOI
10.1007/s13165-025-00539-z
Catalogue ID
SNmoimwwhf-dnkc8j
Pulse AI · ask about this record

Dig deeper with Pulse AI.

Pulse AI has read the whole catalogue. Ask about this record, its theme, or how the findings apply to UK farming and policy — every answer cites the underlying studies.