Meat Science Program

Mission Statement

To improve the lives of citizens of South Dakota, the United States and the world by providing opportunities to develop skills, direction and the drive to be successful, and by enhancing meat quality and safety and by reducing food costs.

Extension

Research

  • Research interests
    • Contributing to the body of knowledge in the area of beef quality
    • Mechanisms regulating beef tenderness
    • Use of optical technology to predict tenderness
    • Fetal programming as it relates to muscle and fat development
    • Cellular mechanisms controlling marbling beef cattle
    • Tenderness prediction methodologies
    • Beef tenderness improvement technologies
Meat Industry and Science Courses
Magazines
Meat Industry Organizations
Government Organizations
Meat Science Publications
  1. Mohrhauser, D.A., A.R. Taylor, M.G. Gonda, K.R. Underwood, R.H. Pritchard, A.E. Wertz-Lutz and A.D. Blair. 2015. The influence of maternal energy status during mid-gestation on beef offspring tenderness, muscle characteristics and gene expression. Meat Science – 110:201-211.
  2. Summers, A.F., A.D. Blair and R.N. Funston. Impact of supplemental protein source offered during gestation on II. 2015. Primiparous heifer progeny performance and carcass characteristics. Journal of Animal Science – 93:1871-1880.
  3. Mohrhauser, D.A., A.R. Taylor, K.R. Underwood, R.H. Pritchard, A.E. Wertz-Lutz and A.D. Blair. 2015. The influence of maternal energy status during mid-gestation on beef offspring carcass characteristics and meat quality. Journal of Animal Science – 93:786-793.
  4. Kern, S.A., R.H. Pritchard, A.D. Blair, S.M. Scramlin and K.R. Underwood. 2014. The influence of growth stage on carcass composition and factors associated with marbling development in beef cattle. Journal of Animal Science – 92:5275-5284.
  5. Mohrhauser, D.A., S.M. Lonergan, E. Huff-Lonergan, K.R. Underwood and A.D. Weaver. 2014. Calpain-1 activity in bovine muscle is primarily influenced by temperature, not pH decline. Journal of Animal Science – 92:1261-1270.
  6. Mohrhauser, D.A., S.A. Kern, K.R. Underwood and A.D. Weaver. 2013. Caspase-3 does not enhance in vitro bovine myofibril degradation by μ-calpain. Journal of Animal Science – 91:5518-5524.
  7. Kern, S.A., T.D. Jennings, D.S. Kohls, H.L. Doering-Resch, S.M. Scramlin, K.R. Underwood and A.D. Weaver. 2013. Inclusion of Hydro-Lac preslaughter increases glycolytic potential and shelf life of beef. Professional Animal Scientist – 29:443-448.
  8. Chang, K. L., P. Xu. G. Langelett and K. Underwood. 2013. Consumers’ willingness to pay for locally produced ground beef in rural northern great plains. Journal of International Food and Agribusiness Marketing. 1:42-67.
  9. England, E.M., K.D. Fisher, S.J. Wells, D.A. Mohrhauser, D.E. Gerrard and A.D. Weaver. 2012. Postmortem titin proteolysis is influenced by sarcomere length in bovine muscle. Journal of Animal Science – 90:989-995.
  10. Long, N. M., C. B. Tousley, K. R. Underwood, S. I. Paisley, W. J. Means, B. W. Hess, M. Du and S. P. Ford. Effects of early to mid gestational undernutrition with or without protein supplementation on offspring growth, carcass characteristics and adipocyte size in beef cattle. 2012. Journal of Animal Science – 90:197-206.
  11. Jennings, J.S., A.E. Wertz-Lutz, R.H. Pritchard, A.D. Weaver, D.H. Keisler and K. Bruns. 2011. Circulating ghrelin and leptin concentrations and growth hormone secretagogue receptor abundance in liver, muscle and adipose tissue of beef cattle exhibiting differences in composition of gain. Journal of Animal Science – 89:3954-3972.
  12. Mohrhauser, D.A., K.R. Underwood and A.D. Weaver. 2011. In vitro degradation of bovine myofibrils is caused by μ–calpain, not caspase–3. Journal of Animal Science – 89:798–808.
  13. Everts, A.K.R., D.M. Wulf, T.L. Wheeler, A.J. Everts, A.D. Weaver and J.A. Daniel. 2010. Enhancement technology improves palatability of normal and callipyge lamb. Journal of Animal Science – 88: 4026-4036.
  14. Koger, T.J., D.M. Wulf, A.D. Weaver, C.L. Wright, K.E. Tjardes, K.S. Mateo, T.E. Engle, R.J. Maddock and A.J. Smart. 2010. Influence of feeding various levels of wet and dry distillers grains to finishing steers on carcass characteristics, meat quality, retail case life of ground beef, and fatty acid profile of longissimus muscle. Journal of Animal Science – 88: 3399–3408.
  15. Everts, A.J., D.M. Wulf, A.K.R. Everts, T.M. Nath, T.D. Jennings and A.D. Weaver. 2010. Quality characteristics of chunked and formed hams manufactured from pale, average and dark colored muscles were improved using a novel enhancement solution. Meat Science – 86: 352-356.
  16. Underwood, K. R., L. V. Nicodemus, J. F. Tong, P. L. Price, E. E. Grings, B. W. Hess, W. J. Means and M. Du. 2010. Nutrition during mid to late gestation affects growth, adipose tissue deposition, and tenderness in cross-bred beef steers. Meat Science – 86:588-593.
  17. Ranasinghesagara, J., T.M. Nath, S.J. Wells, A.D. Weaver, D.E. Gerrard and G. Yao. 2010. Imaging optical diffuse reflectance in beef muscles for tenderness prediction. Meat Science – 84: 413-421.
  18. Du, M., J. F. Tong, J. X. Zhao, K. R. Underwood, M. J. Zhu, S. P. Ford and P. W. Nathanielsz. 2010. Fetal programming of skeletal muscle development in ruminant animals. Journal of Animal Science – 88:E51-E60.
  19. Weaver, A.D., B.C. Bowker and D.E. Gerrard. 2009. Sarcomere length influences µ–calpain mediated proteolysis of bovine myofibrils. Journal of Animal Science – 87: 2096-2103.
  20. Gunn, P.J., A.D. Weaver, R.P. Lemenager, D.E. Gerrard, M.C. Claeys and S.L. Lake. 2009. Effects of dietary fat and crude protein on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics, circulating plasma metabolites, and meat quality in steers fed differing levels of distiller’s dried grains with solubles. Journal of Animal Science – 87: 2882–2890.
  21. Weaver, A.D., B.C. Bowker and D.E. Gerrard. 2008. Sarcomere length influences postmortem proteolysis of excised bovine semitendinosus muscle. Journal of Animal Science – 86: 1925-1932.
  22. Xia, J., A. Weaver, D. Gerrard and G. Yao. 2008. Distribution of optical scattering properties in four beef muscles. Sensing and Instrumentation for Food Quality and Safety – 2: 75-81.
  23. Xia, J., A. Weaver, D. Gerrard and G. Yao. 2008. Heating induced optical property changes in beef muscles. Journal of Food Engineering – 84: 75-81.
  24. Searls, G.A., R.J. Maddock and D.M. Wulf. 2005. Intramuscular tenderness variation within four muscles of the beef chuck. Journal of Animal Science – 83:2835-2842.
  25. Kukowski, A.C., R.J. Maddock, D.M. Wulf, S.W. Fausti and G.L. Taylor. 2005. Evaluating consumer acceptability and willingness to pay for various beef chuck muscles. Journal of Animal Science – 83:2605-2610.
  26. Sweeter, K.K., D.M. Wulf and R.J. Maddock. 2005. Determining the optimum beef longissimus muscle size for retail consumers. Journal of Animal Science – 83:2598-2604.
  27. Kukowski, A.C., R.J. Maddock and D.M. Wulf. 2004. Evaluating consumer acceptability of various muscles from the beef chuck and rib. Journal of Animal Science – 82:521-525.
  28. Kukowski, A.C., D.M. Wulf, B.C. Shanks, J.K. Page and R.J. Maddock. 2004. Factors associated with surface iridescence in fresh beef. Meat Science – 66:889-893.
  29. Wheeler, T.L., D. Vote, J.M. Leheska, S.D. Shackelford, K.E. Belk, D.M. Wulf, B.L. Gwartney and M. Koohmaraie. 2002. The efficacy of three objective systems for identifying beef cuts that can be guaranteed tender. Journal of Animal Science – 80:3315-3327.
  30. Leheska, J.M., D.M. Wulf and R.J. Maddock. 2002. Effects of fasting and transportation on pork quality development and extent of postmortem metabolism. Journal of Animal Science – 80:3194-3202.
  31. Reuter, B.J., D.M. Wulf and R.J. Maddock. 2002. Mapping intramuscular tenderness variation in four major muscles of the beef round. Journal of Animal Science – 80:2594-2599.
  32. Shanks, B.C., D.M. Wulf and R.J. Maddock. 2002. Technical note: The effect of freezing on Warner-Bratzler shear force values of beef longissimus steaks across several postmortem aging periods. Journal of Animal Science – 80:2122-2125.
  33. Wulf, D.M., R.S. Emnett, J.M. Leheska and S.J. Moeller. 2002. Relationships among glycolytic potential, dark cutting (dark, firm and dry) beef and cooked beef palatability. Journal of Animal Science – 80:1895-1903.
  34. Leheska, J.M., D.M. Wulf, J.A. Clapper, R.C. Thaler and R.J. Maddock. 2002. Effects of high-protein/low-carbohydrate swine diets during the final finishing phase on pork muscle quality. Journal of Animal Science – 80:137-142.
  35. Shanks, B.C., D.M. Wulf, B.J. Reuter and R.J. Maddock. 2002. Increasing tenderness of beef round and sirloin muscles through prerigor skeletal separations. Journal of Animal Science – 80:123-128.
  36. Reuter, B.J., D.M. Wulf, B.C. Shanks and R.J. Maddock. 2002. Evaluating the point of separation, during carcass fabrication, between the beef wholesale rib and the beef wholesale chuck. Journal of Animal Science – 80:101-107.
Specialized Staff - Meat
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Department of Animal Science
Physical Address
1097 North Campus Dr.
Brookings, SD 57007
Mailing Address
SAS 101, Box 2170
Brookings, SD 57007
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Hours
Mon - Fri: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
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