Carcasses having B final maturity scores with Small and Slight marbling must grade U. There is no U. Select grade for B maturity carcasses. Understanding USDA beef quality grades. In beef, yield grades estimate the amount of boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts from the high-value parts of the carcass—the round, loin, rib, and chuck. However, they also show differences in the total yield of retail cuts. We expect a YG 1 carcass to have the highest percentage of boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts, or higher cutability, while a YG 5 carcass would have the lowest percentage of boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts, or the lowest cutability.
Yield Grade 1 denotes the highest yielding carcass and Yield Grade 5, the lowest. Expected percentage of boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts from beef carcasses within the various yield grades. Graders evaluate the amount of external fat at the 12th rib by measuring the thickness of fat three-fourths the length of the ribeye from the chine.
They adjust this measurement to reflect unusual amounts of fat in other areas of the carcass. Only graders highly skilled in evaluating cutability of beef carcasses make these adjustments according to whether the measured fat thickness is representative of the fat coverage over the rest of the carcass.
The grader usually writes this weight on a tag or stamps it on the carcass. The amount of kidney, pelvic, and heart KPH fat is evaluated subjectively and is expressed as a percentage of the carcass weight this usually will be from 2 to 4 percent of carcass weight. The area of the ribeye is determined by measuring the size in inches, using a dot-grid of the ribeye muscle at the 12th rib.
The following descriptions will help you understand the differences between carcasses from the five yield grades:. Measure the amount of external fat opposite the ribeye. This measurement should be made at a point three-fourths of the way up the length of the ribeye from the split chine bone. Based on this fat thickness, a preliminary yield grade PYG can be established. The base PYG is 2.
Marbling is not the only thing considered when talking about quality grades. The inspector assigning quality grades must also consider texture, firmness, color, and age of the animal. While texture, firmness, and color are a bit more subjective, the physiological age of an animal can be accurately estimated by the degree of ossification of the bones.
Approximate ages of the animals are classified into 5 grounds A through E with only the first group being the age range we aim for. Animals over 30 months will not grade as well as younger animals so we make sure we stay well under the 30 month cut off.
A yield grade is based on how much meat a carcass will yield, which makes complete and total sense! Yield grades are numerical grades with a range of 1 through 5 where 1 is the best grade. A yield grade of 1 means that an animal has greater than A yield grade of 5 means that an animal has less than Each parameter has its own method of figuring it out as non-subjectively as possible so that each carcass is graded on the same scale. You may think that we aim for all prime steers with a yield grade of 1, and while in a perfect world that would be true it often is impossible to do.
Estimating Yield Grade Step 3. The weight of this fat is expressed as a precentage of the chilled carcass weight. Summary of Determining Yield Grade Step 1. Answer: Estimating Marbling Degree of marbling cannot be directly measured in a live market steers. Grading beef carcasses is optional. Carcasses can receive both the Yield Grade and Quality Grade or only one of these grades.
To have beef carcasses graded, a packing plant must request that carcasses be graded and must also pay for this service. While not all beef carcasses from U. More than 95 per cent of beef cattle harvested receive USDA grades. Questionnaires from the National Beef Quality Audit suggested that more than half of the fed cattle marketed in the U.
Yield Grades and Quality Grades are determined from observing and measuring specific carcass traits. Additional carcass traits not used in the official USDA grading system, such as tenderness, also affect beef end product.
Individual traits impact carcass grades and product value in different ways. The following section lists and discusses individual carcass traits. Data from the Mississippi Farm to Feedlot program from through are included where appropriate. The Farm to Feedlot program facilitates retained ownership of Mississippi feeder cattle through the feeding phase. Hot carcass weight HCW is the hot or unchilled weight of a beef carcass after harvest and removal of the hide, head, gastrointestinal tract, and internal organs.
It is sometimes reported as carcass weight. Carcass weight is the most important factor in determining carcass value when cattle are sold. Regardless of how cattle are marketed, whether on a dressed-weight basis or on a value-based grid, carcass value is always tied to the weight of the carcass. Therefore, in many cases, a heavier-weight carcass may have a greater total value than a lighter weight carcass because of the difference in total pounds, even if the lighter carcass is more valuable on a per-pound basis.
Hot carcass weight is also used in Yield Grade calculations. Generally, the per centage of retail product decreases as cattle increase in weight because of increased fat deposition, but this depends on the growth stage of the animal. Packers monetarily discount heavyweight and lightweight carcasses that do not fit their specifications. Generally, as carcass weights move further away from baseline specifications, discount levels increase.
Large fluctuations in carcass weights create challenges during harvesting and processing. Heavy carcasses can break or damage overhead rail systems in packing plants, and light carcasses may be too short for stationary equipment used in carcass fabrication. Additionally, wholesale beef cuts that are outside desired size ranges are difficult to manage and market in a boxed-beef system. The National Beef Quality Audit outlined a range of to pounds as an industry target for carcass weight.
Carcass size is genetically influenced and can be changed with an emphasis on frame size and growth rate in breeding decisions. Management of days on feed, implant regimes, and feeding programs can also be changed to affect carcass weights. Mississippi Farm to Feedlot program data show that the year average for hot-carcass weight was pounds. Dressing per centage is hot carcass weight as a per centage of the live weight of the animal at harvest. It typically ranges from 60 to 64 per cent for the majority of fed cattle and averaged 64 per cent for the Mississippi Farm to Feedlot program cattle from through To calculate dressing per centage, divide hot carcass weight by animal live weight.
The result is a per centage. Similarly, animal live weight times the dressing per centage yields the carcass weight. Ribeye area REA is an indicator of the amount of lean muscle associated with a carcass. As the REA increases, the amount of muscle in a carcass increases. It is an important factor in determination of Yield Grade.
As ribeye area increases, Yield Grade tends to improve. Ribeye area is expressed in square inches and is often determined using a grid device, analysis of ribeye tracings, or most recently, electronic vision instruments that are basically computerized cameras. Within the beef industry, ribeye size varies greatly.
Both excessively small and excessively large ribeyes are quality challenges for the beef industry. An optimum range for ribeye area is 11 to 15 sq. Ribeye area targets should be approximately 1. Results from the Mississippi Farm to Feedlot program show that ribeye area averaged
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