Pick up know-how for tackling diseases, pests and weeds.
Farm bill, farm marketing, agribusiness webinars, & farm policy.
Find tactics for healthy livestock and sound forages.
Scheduling and methods of irrigation.
Explore our Extension locations around the state.
Commercial row crop production in Arkansas.
Agriculture weed management resources.
Use virtual and real tools to improve critical calculations for farms and ranches.
Learn to ID forages and more.
Explore our research locations around the state.
Get the latest research results from our county agents.
Our programs include aquaculture, diagnostics, and energy conservation.
Keep our food, fiber and fuel supplies safe from disaster.
Private, Commercial & Non-commercial training and education.
Specialty crops including turfgrass, vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals.
Find educational resources and get youth engaged in agriculture.
Gaining garden smarts and sharing skills.
Timely tips for the Arkansas home gardener.
Creating beauty in and around the home.
Maintenance calendar, and best practices.
Coaxing the best produce from asparagus to zucchini.
What’s wrong with my plants? The clinic can help.
Featured trees, vines, shrubs and flowers.
Ask our experts plant, animal, or insect questions.
Enjoying the sweet fruits of your labor.
Herbs, native plants, & reference desk QA.
Growing together from youth to maturity.
Crapemyrtles, hydrangeas, hort glossary, and weed ID databases.
Get beekeeping, honey production, and class information.
Grow a pollinator-friendly garden.
Schedule these timely events on your gardening calendar.
Equipping individuals to lead organizations, communities, and regions.
Guiding communities and regions toward vibrant and sustainable futures.
Guiding entrepreneurs from concept to profit.
Position your business to compete for government contracts.
Find trends, opportunities and impacts.
Providing unbiased information to enable educated votes on critical issues.
Increase your knowledge of public issues & get involved.
Research-based connection to government and policy issues.
Support Arkansas local food initiatives.
Read about our efforts.
Preparing for and recovering from disasters.
Licensing for forestry and wildlife professionals.
Preserving water quality and quantity.
Cleaner air for healthier living.
Firewood & bioenergy resources.
Managing a complex forest ecosystem.
Read about nature across Arkansas and the U.S.
Learn to manage wildlife on your land.
Soil quality and its use here in Arkansas.
Learn to ID unwanted plant and animal visitors.
Timely updates from our specialists.
Eating right and staying healthy.
Ensuring safe meals.
Take charge of your well-being.
Cooking with Arkansas foods.
Making the most of your money.
Making sound choices for families and ourselves.
Nurturing our future.
Get tips for food, fitness, finance, and more!
Understanding aging and its effects.
Giving back to the community.
Managing safely when disaster strikes.
Listen to our latest episode!
June 22, 2018By Mary HightowerU of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast facts:
(780 words)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – As the popularity of white meat chicken has risen, so have instances of tough, flaky and hard filets known as “woody” breast meat. Why that happens and how to detect and process the meat is a puzzle Casey Owens Hanning is working to solve.
Owens, a poultry scientist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, says “woodiness” is a problem that has appeared in the last four to five years and may be related to increased growth rates and other genetic or production improvements in broilers.
The woodiness is more common in larger birds of 8-9 pounds versus a 6-7-pound bird. One theory is that the fast-growing birds may be producing muscle faster than the blood vessels can support them, leading to muscle damage and collagen being deposited.
She’s quick to note that the meat is safe to eat, but with changes in composition such as increased collagen, there can be quality issues when cooking.
“From a cooking perspective, it can create a complex texture,” Owens said. The meat can be fibrous and where there’s more connective tissue, it “can have a flaky texture that some people have equated with the flakiness in fish.”
“Sometimes it can have a rubbery, tough and some even term it ‘crunchy,’ texture that results when you bite through different layers within that meat,” she said. “It’s a texture that can also result in a drier product when cooked.”
This meat is also a problem considering that marinated meats are a hot grocery item for convenience-minded consumers. There’s no measuring or buying of herbs and spices. The flavor is already in the meat.
“In the poultry industry, there’s a lot of marination,” Owens said. “However, the muscle is not retaining that marinade.”
Marination works because functional ingredients such as salt help the muscle protein retain more moisture. Fewer muscle fibers mean there’s less moisture retention. That translates to less flavorful meat and more shrinkage for the consumer and losses for the producer because the marinade is just draining out of the meat.
“We have been looking at means to help detect woody breasts in the field and have been looking at a visual way to grade the carcasses to predict woodiness in the filets,” she said. “We have a patent pending on that process.”
Owens and her collaborators are also working on other methods of detection. “We initially used a tactile evaluation – feeling the product. It has a real firmness, sometimes it’s very hard.”
However, Owens is out to develop a more objective means of evaluating the meat using instruments, whether it’s measuring shear or compression properties.
Another facet of her research is finding other uses for this white meat.
“Breast meat sandwiches are very popular, but this hard and woody meat can be less appealing to consumers,” she said. “We are asking could this tougher and chewier meat be diverted to another product? Could it go into nuggets or patties or sausages if you were able to mix it with other meat?”
Owens has been working on these quality issues in poultry for the last four to five years. Before working on the woody breast issue, she worked on “white striping,” in which there is more fat infiltrating the muscle fibers creating the look of white strips.
“White striping causes a similar problem with water-holding capacity, but the texture is not as affected as in woody breasts,” she said. “There are some similar in characteristics and causes, but the two are independent of one another.”
Other poultry scientists are working the problem from the production end; does slaughter age matter? Is it genetic?
“It’s an issue that everyone wants resolved,” she said.
To learn more about food science research in Arkansas, visit https://food-science.uark.edu/research-outreach/research/index.php.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
# # #
Media Contact: Mary HightowerDir. of Communication ServicesU of A System Division of AgricultureCooperative Extension Service(501) 671-2126mhightower@uada.edu
Related Links