Townsville's James Cook University announced recently that one of its researchers had received a $948,000 grant from Meat and Livestock Australia to examine the prospects of producing high-quality meat from grain-finished young bulls.

A number of Australia's largest processors have criticised the decision, saying the industry stands to learn nothing new from the research, and that the decision-making process leading up to the grant lacked transparency and industry consultation.

While producing meat from young bulls is common under European and New Zealand production systems, it is not widely practised in Australia, due to our extensive management systems, and environmental and nutritional limitations.

Under the project, young bulls from McDonald Holdings' northwestern properties will be grown out on grass and grain-finished before carcases are assessed for meat quality traits including yield, marbling, tenderness, texture, juiciness and flavour.

They will also be evaluated and compared with steer cohorts on growth and behaviour.

Almost 700 cattle will be involved.

But processors this week said there was already an abundance of knowledge about the performance of young bull meat, and that there was nothing fundamentally wrong with it.

However, management issues in Australia, including segregation and fighting, and nutritional constraints, made it difficult to finish young bulls at an acceptable age, meaning almost all male cattle under Australian systems were neutered.

This made such a project "pointless", processors said.

In the case of Teys Brothers, it already kills small quantities of young bulls, and a spokesman said his company had no problems with the meat quality.

The Teys grid made no distinction between steers and bulls showing no secondary sexual characteristics in the milk and two-tooth categories.

* Extract from a full report in Queensland Country Life, December 18 edition.