Principles of Marketing and Evaluating Beef Cattle

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Principles of Marketing and Evaluating Beef
Cattle
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Beef Industry

• Beef is one of the most productive meat
  industries in the United States
• In 2009 the retail industry sold 73 billion
  dollars in beef products
• US consumers consumed nearly 27 billion pounds of
  beef in 2009

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Beef Cattle Use Classes

• Beef cattle are first given a designation to
  determine their use
• Slaughter
• To be killed and sold as meat
• Feeder
• To be fed to heavier weights
  before slaughter

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Beef Cattle Age Classes

• Beef cattle are then given a designated class
  according to their age to help determine use
• Age classes are used when marketing cattle for
  sale/production/slaughter

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Beef Cattle Age Classes

• Calves
• Less than one year of age
• Veal calves
• Less than three months old
• Slaughter calves
• 3 months to one year old
• Feeder calves
• 6 months to one year old
• Cattle
• One year or older

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Beef Cattle Sex Classes

• Sex class helps determine the quality of the live
  cattle carcass
• The sex class of the cattle becomes a factor when
  evaluating the beef carcass grade as well

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Beef Cattle Sex Classes

• Steer
• A castrated young male
• Cow
• A mature female
• Heifer
• An immature female

• Bull
• A mature uncastrated male
• Bullock
• A young uncastrated or castrated male

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Beef Cattle Grades

• Live beef cattle are given grades to help
  determine what quality carcass they will produce
• This is helpful to producers and processors
  because it estimates the value of the cattle
  being processed
• Feeder cattle and slaughter cattle are given
  grades based on different factors

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Determining Beef Cattle Grades

• Feeder Cattle Grades
• Frame size
• Muscle thickness
• Thriftiness
• Slaughter Cattle Grades
• Quality
• Yield

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Feeder Cattle Grades

• Frame Size
• Indicates the size of the animals skeleton
  (height and body length)
• Muscle Thickness
• Indicates the development of the muscle system in
  relation to the size of the skeleton
• Thriftiness
• Indicates the apparent health of the animal and
  its ability to grow and fatten

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Feeder Cattle GradesFrame Size

• Large Frame
• Tall and long bodies
• Steers 1200 lbs
• Heifers 1000 lbs
• Medium Frame
• Slightly tall and slightly long bodies
• Steers 1000-1200 lbs
• Heifers 850-1000 lbs

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Feeder Cattle GradesFrame Size

• Small Frame
• Small frame and shorter bodies
• Steers less than 1000 lbs
• Heifers less than 850 lbs

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Feeder Cattle GradesMuscle Thickness

• No 1
• Thick muscling
• Thin covering of fat
• No 2
• Slightly thick muscling
• Slightly thin covering of fat
• No 3
• Thin muscling
• Thick or thin covering of fat

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Feeder Cattle Grades

• Once the cattle are evaluated and determined to
  be thrifty the grades are combined.
• The cattle are only given one grade for each
  category
• Frame Size
• Muscle Thickness
• Example Large Frame No. 1

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Slaughter Cattle Grades

• Quality Grade
• Is determined by the sex class, age or maturity
  and marbling of the carcass
• Yield Grade
• Is determined by the percentage of the carcass
  that is boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts
  from the round, loin rib and chuck

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Slaughter Cattle Grades-Quality Grade

• 8 Quality Grades
• Prime
• Choice
• Select
• Standard
• Commercial
• Utility
• Cutter
• Canner

High Quality
Low Quality
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Slaughter Cattle Grades-Quality Grade

• Carcasses are only given 1 of the 8 quality
  grades
• About 80 of grain fed cattle receive a choice
  grade
• Sex classes that influence quality grade
• Cows are not allowed Prime grades
• Bulls are not allowed Prime or Choice grades
• Bullocks are limited to Prime, Choice, Select and
  Standard grades
• Steers and heifers are allowed all grades

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Slaughter Cattle Grades-Quality Grade

• Age/Maturity influences on quality grade
• Prime, Choice and Standard grades must be under
  42 months
• Select grades must be under 30 months
• Marbling influences on quality grade
• Prime must have slightly abundant marbling
• Select must have slight marbling

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Slaughter Cattle Grades-Quality Grade

• Marbling
• Marbling is the dispersal or intermingling of fat
  among the muscle fiber in the ribeye between the
  twelfth and thirteenth rib

Slightly Abundant
Moderate
Slight
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Slaughter Cattle Grades-Quality Grade
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Slaughter Cattle Grades-Yield Grade

• 5 Yield Grades
• Yield 1
• Yield 2
• Yield 3
• Yield 4
• Yield 5
• Carcasses only receive 1 of the 5 yield grades

High Yield of Lean Cuts
Low Yield of Lean Cuts
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Slaughter Cattle Grades

• Once the cattle carcasses are evaluated the
  grades are combined.
• The cattle are only given one grade for each
  category
• Quality
• Yield
• Example Prime Grade Yield 1

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Beef Cattle Wholesale Meat Cuts

• After slaughter the beef carcass is divided into
  wholesale meat cuts that are sold to butchers and
  grocery stores
• High Value
• Loin, Rib, Round and Rump
• Low Value
• Chuck, Brisket, Flank, Plate and Shank

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Beef Cattle Wholesale Meat Cuts
80 of the value of the retail carcass comes from
these wholesale cuts Chuck, Round, Loin and Rib
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Beef Cattle Retail Meat Cuts

• The wholesale cuts are then cut into retail cuts
  that are sold to consumers
• High Value
• Rib
• Ribeye and Rib Roast
• Loin
• Tenderloin, Sirloin and T-bone
• Rump
• Rump Roast
• Round
• Top Round Roast

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Beef Cattle Retail Meat Cuts

• Low Value
• Chuck
• Stew Beef, Ground Beef and Cubed Steak
• Brisket
• Corned Beef Brisket
• Flank
• Flank Steak and Ground Beef
• Plate
• Skirt Steak and Ground Beef
• Shank
• Cross Cuts

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Beef Cattle Retail Meat Cuts