National Beef Quality Audit–2016: In-plant survey of carcass characteristics related to quality, quantity, and value of fed steers and heifers

Abstract

The National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA)-2016 used in-plant cooler assessments to benchmark the current status of the fed steer and heifer beef industry in the United States. In-plant cooler assessments ( = 9,106 carcasses) were conducted at 30 facilities, where approximately 10% of a single day's production were evaluated for USDA quality grade (QG) and yield grade (YG) factors. Frequencies of evaluated traits were 66.5% steer and 33.4% heifer sex classes and 82.9% native, 15.9% dairy-type, and 1.2% estimated breed types. Mean USDA YG factors were 1.42 cm for adjusted fat thickness, 89.5 cm for LM area, 390.3 kg for HCW, and 1.9% for KPH. Mean USDA YG was 3.1, with a frequency distribution of 9.6% YG 1, 36.7% YG 2, 39.2% YG 3, 12.0% YG 4, and 2.5% YG 5. Mean USDA QG traits were Small for marbling score, A for overall maturity, A55 for lean maturity, and A for skeletal maturity. Mean USDA QG was Select with a frequency distribution of QG of 3.8% Prime, 67.3% Choice, 23.2% Select, and 5.6% lower score. Lower score included dark cutter (1.9%), blood splash (0.1%), and hard bone, which are USDA overall maturity scores of C or older (1.8%). Marbling score distributions were 0.85% Slightly Abundant or greater, 7.63% Moderate, 23.54% Modest, 39.63% Small, 23.62% Slight, and 0.83% Traces or less. Carcasses that were Choice or Select and USDA YG 2 or 3 accounted for 70.7% of the carcasses evaluated. Compared with the previous NBQA, we found a numerical increase in mean USDA YG, USDA QG, adjusted fat thickness, HCW, LM area, and marbling score with an increase in dairy-type carcasses and percentage of carcasses grading USDA Prime and Choice as well as frequency of USDA YG 4 and 5. The findings from this study will be used by all segments of the industry to understand and improve the quality of fed steer and heifer beef that is being produced.

Crossbreeding beef sires to dairy cows: cow, feedlot, and carcass performance

“…Straightbred dairy cattle have traditionally comprised a considerable proportion of the Prime grade ( Boykin et al, 2017 ). Beef × dairy crossbreds in this study were not greatly different from Holsteins in quality grade distribution, although a much larger sample size is likely needed to fully understand how an industry shift from slaughtering Holsteins to beef × dairy crossbreds will affect the national Prime percentage.…”

“…Only data from carcasses of steers with a HCW of 373 to 418 kg were analyzed. This HCW range was selected around the median HCW of beef × dairy carcasses to maximize sample size in this group of interest, minimize variation in HCW between groups, and represent a reasonable industry average HCW ( Boykin et al, 2017 ). Only steer carcasses were evaluated because data were not available for carcasses of Holstein heifers.…”

Impact of Up- and Downregulation of Metabolites and Mitochondrial Content on pH and Color of the Longissimus Muscle from Normal-pH and Dark-Cutting Beef

“…Dark cutting is produced worldwide, leading to economic losses to the animal and food industry. 2,3 The mechanistic basis for the development of dark-cutting beef is not clear, and it is widely accepted that chronic stress before slaughter reduces glycogen reserves, resulting in greater postmortem muscle pH. 4 Immediately after animal harvest, metabolism changes from aerobic to anaerobic, leading to a lowering of muscle pH from 7.2 to 5.6 due to the accumulation of lactic acid and ATP hydrolysis.…”

“…Dark-cutting beef is an example of a color deviation in which beef fails to have a characteristic bright-red color. Dark cutting is produced worldwide, leading to economic losses to the animal and food industry. , The mechanistic basis for the development of dark-cutting beef is not clear, and it is widely accepted that chronic stress before slaughter reduces glycogen reserves, resulting in greater postmortem muscle pH …”

Çiftlik Hayvanlarında Karayoluyla Nakil Koşullarının Mortalite ve Karkas Kalitesine Etkisi

“…Ülkelere göre DFD karkas görülme yüzdeleri (Boykin ve ark., 2017;Ponnampalam ve ark., 2016) Table 3. Percentages of the DFD carcasses according to the countries (Boykin et al, 2017;Ponnampalam et al, 2016) Ülke (Sawell, 2002) Table 4. Glycogen level and lactate production in the muscles (Sawell, 2002) Etin Rengi…”