Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure pertain to methods of evaluating a meat sample by measuring electricity conducted from water in the meat sample and correlating the evaluation to a property of the meat sample. The water forms (e.g., free water, immobilized water, and bound water) can be evaluated by measuring electricity conducted from water in the meat sample. The property of the meat sample can include, without limitation, a color of the meat sample, or a tenderness of the meat sample.

Abstract: A chemical enhancer for ruminant animal digestion of organic matter roughage is presented, the addition on a ppm based of total feed ration of one or more formate salts to the ruminant diet improves or enhances the digestibility of low digestible roughage allowing the treated roughage as a substitute for more traditional and expensive feed rations such as alfalfa hay without loss of energy available to the animal. The use of formate salts in the ppm range based on total diet increases the anaerobic microbial activity thus enhancing digestibility rather than just enhancing the availability of dissolved organics and can be utilized in feedlot roughage rations for improved weight gain, range cattle weight maintenance and milk production for mother cows, dairy roughage diets providing milk production in a safe and an environmentally friendly methodology to both meat and milk production.