Tyler, TX — Better the cattle...better the meat.

National meat processing plants have seen an improvement in cattle.

The 2011 National Beef Quality Audit reports, meat processing plants across the country are seeing more black-cattle and fewer cattle with bruising.

KETK spoke to Timothy Benson at Country Meat Market in Tyler about the importance of quality beef.

"We've actually been to the farm, we've seen how the animals are raised, we follow the animal from the time they're in harvest, we follow them to the slaughter house and when they come here," says Timothy Benson, General Manager, at Country Meat Market.

They data collected found significant reduction with the amount of mud and manure found in cattle, which means cleaner meat and less contaminants.

"The rules are much more restrict, both because of the contaminants and because of mad cow, an animal has to be able to work under it's own power to slaughter house or it's not allowed to enter the food chain," says Timothy Benson, General Manager, at Country Meat Market.

Also, the type of feed is an on-going debate.

"The grain fed, beef tastes better because it has better marbling, the cattle was genetically engineered to be raised on grain," says Timothy Benson, General Manager, at Country Meat Market.

According to the audit, there's a 77% decrease is bruised cattle due to concerns over treatment of beef cattle.