Livestock Grading/Evaluation

Animal Science I

Animal Classes

• Beef– Age

• Calf – less than one year• Cattle – more than one year• Veal calf – less than 3 months• Slaughter calf – 3 months to 1 year• Feeder calf – 6 months to 1 year

Animal Classes

• Beef– Sex

• Steer• Heifer• Cow• Bull• Stag

Slaughter Beef Grades

• Slaughter (ready to be killed)– have 2 grades: quality and yield

• Quality Grade– Prime– Choice– Select– Standard– Commercial– Utility– Cutter– Canner

Slaughter Cattle Quality Grades

• Determined by age, muscling, and marbling

Facts You Need To Know

– Standard, Select, Choice, and Prime can not be older than 42 mths.

• Anything higher is commercial grades

– Utility, Cutter, and Canner have no age limit– No Prime for cows– Marbling affects tenderness– Prime must have maximum marbling– 80% of all cattle are “choice” grade

Slaughter Beef Grades

• Slaughter (ready to be killed)– have 2 grades: quality and yield

• Yield Grade– Yield Grade #1– Yield Grade #2– Yield Grade #3– Yield Grade #4– Yield Grade #5

Slaughter Cattle Yield Grades

• Affected by muscling and amount of fat

– Yield 1 – best muscle with least fat waste

– Yield 2,3,4

– Yield 5 – worst grade, less muscle and more fat.

Feeder Beef Grades

• Feeder Cattle (still need to be fed) are graded on:– Frame size– Muscle thickness– Thriftiness

Determining Feeder Cattle Grades

• Will have 2 grades– Frame Size

• Large• Medium• Small

– Thickness• No. 1• No. 2• No. 3

Determining Feeder Cattle Grades

• Frame Size– Large

• Tall and Long• Little Fat

– Medium• Slightly Tall and Long for age• Some fat

– Small• Small frame and short• Fat

Determining Feeder Cattle Grades

• Thickness– No. 1

• Thick muscling• Wide

– No. 2• Moderate muscling• Somewhat narrow

– No. 3• Thin muscling• Very narrow

Review Livestock Grades

• Slaughter Steer/Heifer– Quality– Yield

• Feeder Steer/Heifer– USDA No. 1, No. 2, No. 3– Large, Medium, Small frames

Animal Classes

• Swine– Sex

• Barrow• Gilt• Sow• Boar• stag

Swine Classes

• Swine– Uses

• Slaughter – to be killed and meat sold• Feeder – to be fed more

Animal Grades

• Swine Grades– Quality and Yield determine USDA grade

• US No. 1• US No. 2• US No. 3• US No. 4• US Utility

– We use logical slaughter potential and thriftiness to get grade

Swine Grades

• Grades are determined by:– Percent of weight made up of:

• Loin• Ham• Boston shoulder• Picnic shoulder

• Can evaluate live hogs with:– Backfat– Degree of muscling

Grading Livestock

• Feeder Swine– US No. 1 – US Utility

• Utility is diseased, unthrifty, head appears to big for body and has wrinkled skin.

• US No. 1 has thick muscle, large frame, and is trim• A US No. 1 must be no less than average muscled

Determining Swine Grades

• Grade =– (4 x backfat thickness in inches) – (muscling

score)– Muscling scores are:

» Thin = 1» Average = 2» Thick = 3

– Example – 240 lb. gilt has 1.05 inches of backfat and is thick muscled.

• =1.2 so grade is US No. 1

Determining Swine Grades

• Or you can do this:– Backfat Thickness

• Less than 1 inch is No. 1• 1.00 – 1.24 inches is No. 2• 1.25 – 1.49 inches is No. 3• 1.50 or over is No. 4

• Add one grade for Thick muscled• Subtract one grade for Thin muscled• Stay the same for Average muscled

– Remember a thin muscled pig can never be a No. 1