National Beef Quality Audit-2016: Transportation, mobility, and harvest-floor assessments of targeted characteristics that affect quality and value of cattle, carcasses, and by-products1

Abstract

The National Beef Quality Audit-2016 (NBQA-2016) was conducted to assess current transportation, mobility, and quality characteristics of U.S. fed steers and heifers. Data were collected at 17 beef processing facilities between March and November 2016. About 8,000 live cattle were evaluated for transportation and mobility, and about 25,000 carcasses were evaluated on the slaughter floor. Cattle were in transit to the slaughter facility for a mean duration of 2.7 h from a mean distance of 218.5 km using trailers with dimensions ranging from 17.84 m2 to 59.09 m2. Area allotted per animal averaged 1.13 m2 and ranged from 0.85 m2 to 2.28 m2. A total of 96.8% of cattle received a mobility score of 1 (walks easily, no apparent lameness). Identification types (35.1% had multiple) were lot visual tags (61.5%), individual tags (55.0%), electronic tags (16.9%), metal-clip tags (9.2%), bar-coded tags (0.05%), wattles (0.01%), and other (2.6%). Cattle were black-hided (57.8%), Holstein (20.4%), red-hided (10.5%), yellow-hided (4.8%), gray-hided (2.9%), brown-hided (1.3%), and white-hided (1.1%). Unbranded hides were observed on 74.3% of cattle; 18.6% had brands located on the butt, 6.3% on the side, and 1.3% on the shoulder (values exceed 100% due to multiple brands). For hide-on carcasses, 37.7% displayed no mud or manure; specific locations for mud or manure were legs (40.8%), belly (33.0%), tail region (15.5%), side (6.8%), and top-line (3.9%). Cattle without horns represented 83.3% of the sample, and cattle that did have horns measured: < 2.54 cm (5.5%), 2.54 to 12.7 cm (8.3%), and > 12.7 cm (2.9%). Carcasses without bruises represented 61.1% of those sampled, whereas 28.2% had 1, 8.2% had 2, 2.1% had 3, and 0.3% had 4 bruises. Of those carcasses with a bruise, the bruise was located on the loin (29.7%), round (27.8%), chuck (16.4%), rib (14.4%), and brisket/plate/flank (11.6%). Frequencies of offal condemnations were livers (30.8%), lungs (18.2%), viscera (16.3%), hearts (11.1%), heads (2.7%), and tongues (2.0%). Compared to NBQA-2011, fewer cattle were identified for traceability, fewer were black-hided, a greater number were Holstein cattle, more with no brand and no horns, fewer without bruises, more liver, lung, and viscera condemnations, and fewer heads and tongues were condemned. The NBQA remains an influential survey for the U.S. beef industry to provide benchmarks and strategic plans for continued improvement of beef quality and consistency.

From unloading to trimming: studying bruising in individual slaughter cattle

“…In the current study, the greatest frequency of bruising was found along the dorsal midline and in the rump region ( Figure 1 ), as similarly reported in other studies ( Jarvis et al, 1995 ; Romero et al, 2013 ; Huertas et al, 2015 ; Eastwood et al, 2017 ; Harris et al, 2017 ; Lee et al, 2017 ). There are several possible explanations for bruises being most concentrated in these regions.…”

“…Previously published studies in the United States and Canada have reported bruise prevalence ranging from 40% and 68%, with percentages traditionally reported by animal sex class, that is, cull cows and bulls versus finished steers and heifers ( Van Donkersgoed et al, 2001 ; Eastwood et al, 2017 ; Harris et al, 2017 ; Lee et al, 2017 ). Studies outside of North America have reported larger variation in bruise prevalence among studies, ranging from 8% to 99% ( Jarvis et al, 1995 ; Marshall, 1977 ; Gallo et al, 1999 ; Costa et al, 2006 ; Andrade et al, 2008 ; Strappini et al, 2010 ; Romero et al, 2013 ; Huertas et al, 2015 ; Bethancourt-Garcia et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Bruises not only impact overall carcass value but also raise concerns about cattle welfare and, therefore, bruising has received considerable interest within the cattle industry. The 2016 National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) reported a bruise prevalence of 38.8%, 64.1%, and 42.9% for finished steer and heifer, cow, and bull carcasses, respectively ( Eastwood et al, 2017 ; Harris et al, 2017 ). Similarly, in a large commercial study exploring risk factors associated with bruising in the United States, Lee et al (2017) reported that 68.2% of cattle observed were bruised.…”

“…Industry reports have estimated that bruising costs the cattle industry millions of dollars in lost carcass value annually ( Henderson, 2016 ). Although data from the past several NBQAs have indicated general reductions in bruise prevalence, there are still opportunities for improvement ( Eastwood et al, 2017 ; Harris et al, 2017 ). Additionally, the NBQA reported that critical and extreme bruises made up 2.4% and 6.3% of bruises in finished steers and heifers and cull cows and bulls, respectively ( Eastwood et al, 2017 ; Harris et al, 2017 ).…”

Trends in Beef Calf Lots by Single Breed Sire Groups Marketed via Video Auction from 2010 Through July 14, 2017

“…In previous years, black hided cattle tended to sell for higher prices and many producers took advantage of this opportunity for a premium on their calves. The black hide color came from an increase in use of Angus genetics, which also allows calves to qualify for various value added or branded beef programs (Wessler, 2011;Eastwood et al, 2017). Producers use specific sire breeds dependent upon their production goals, available resources, and environment.…”