Abstract
The National Beef Quality Audit – 2022 serves as a benchmark of the current fed steer and heifer population of the U.S. beef industry and allows comparison to previous audits as a method of monitoring industry progress. In-plant cooler assessments and collections of beef carcass data took place from July 2021 to November 2022. During in-plant evaluations, 10% of 1-d production was surveyed for quality and yield indicating characteristics of fed beef carcasses (n = 9,746 beef carcasses). Distributions of sex classes among sampled carcasses were steer (65.0%) and heifer (35.0%), whereas distributions of breed type were native (87.7%), dairy (11.3%), and Bos indicus (0.9%). Mean values were observed for USDA Yield Grades (YG; 3.3), USDA Quality Grade (QG; Choice 16), marbling score (Small 98), ribeye area (91.0 cm 2), adjusted fat thickness (1.49 cm), hot carcass weight (401.9 kg), and KPH (2.5%). Mean overall maturity was A 66, with a mean lean maturity of A 56 and mean skeletal maturity of A 72. There were 28.1% of carcasses identified for use in a USDA-certified beef G-Schedule Program. Defects, such as dark cutting and blood splash, were observed at 1.8% and 0.5%, respectively. Distributions of USDA YG were YG 1 (8.2%), YG 2 (30.7%), YG 3 (40.2%), YG 4 (16.6%), and YG 5 (4.3%). USDA QGs were observed at 7.5% Prime, 69.2% Choice, 16.4% Select, and 6.8% other. The results of this study provide an updated look at the current grading trends of beef carcasses in the United States to drive progress in the fed beef industry.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | txae098 |
Journal | Translational Animal Science |
Volume | 8 |
Early online date | Jun 15 2024 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2024 |
Keywords
- audit
- beef carcass
- beef grading
- quality grading
- survey
- yield grading
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Animal Science and Zoology
- General Veterinary