By Patrice Scott
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Whether it's dine in, carry out or sizzling on your grill, Dr. Shelie
Laflin may have had something to do with the beef on your dinner plate.
Laflin, assistant professor of agricultural practices at Kansas State
University's Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, is a cutting-edge
clinician who uses technology to determine which production animals are
best suited for reproduction. As a certified ultrasound technician, her
techniques improve herd quality, industry economics and ultimately, your
dinner.
"We ultrasound animals to obtain information about their bodies and use
that information when we are selecting sires," Laflin said.
Marbling is a key factor in determining meat quality. Marbling, Laflin
said, is actually streaks of intramuscular fat that give meat flavor.
"If a cow herd is somewhat low in marbling, I would select a bull with
higher intramuscular fat to introduce into the herd," she said. "To a
certain degree, the higher the marbling content, the better.
Extramuscular fat is usually what is trimmed away by the butcher.
Producers lose money based on the thickness of the extramuscular fat and
are paid more for the amount of intramuscular fat."
The result of these high tech practices eventually comes neatly wrapped
in cellophane at the grocery store, and Laflin offers guidelines in
selecting meat.
"If the intramuscular fat is clumpy, it's a lower marbling animal," she
said. "If the fat is more evenly dispersed, it's higher quality." The
color of the meat is another indicator of quality. "The bright red color
indicates oxygen exposure. With exposure to oxygen, any bacteria present
will start to multiply."
Laflin grew up on a ranch in western Nebraska. She graduated from
K-State in 2000 and joined the faculty at the teaching hospital in 2001.
Since her arrival, she has provided individual and herd-based medicine
to thousands of animals on farms and ranches within 125 miles of the
teaching hospital.