Market Classes and Grading

Question 1

What are market classes and grades designed for?

Answer 1

Designed to “ accurately” describe livestock that is being sold around the country
- type, prices, trends
- makes sales understandable by all parties
- case-ready products( we buy parts)
Encompasses carcasses and products
Describes terms for understanding different groups or buyers

Question 2

What are market classes?

Answer 2

Groups of animals separated according to use
- slaughter
- feeder
- bred hefiers
- pairs ( cow with calves; ewes with lamb)

Subclasses
- age
- sex
- weight

Question 3

What are market classes?

Answer 3

Groups of animals separated according to use
- slaughter
- feeder
- bred heifers
- pairs ( cow with calves; ewes with lamb)

Subclasses
- age
- sex
- weight

Question 4

What are grades?

Answer 4

• designed to group animals according to relative merit within a market class
• grades for slaughtered animals generally fall into quality or cutability
• feeder grades are subjective and utilized less frequently

Question 5

Feeder cattle are described as-

Answer 5

OKIE or crossbred( genetics or breed)

Question 6

What does the number indicate in the feeder grade?

Answer 6

Muscling ( 1,2,3,4)

Question 7

What does quality describe?

Answer 7

Denotes eating quality or palatability

Question 8

What does cutability refer to?

Answer 8

Refers to the leanness or trimness

Question 9

USDA grades are ________

Answer 9

voluntary
- some packers have their own standards

Question 10

What are cattle sex classes?

Answer 10

heifer, cow, steer, bull, bullock

Question 11

What are swine sex classes?

Answer 11

barrow, gilt, sow boar, stag

Question 12

What are sheep sex classes?

Answer 12

ewe lamb, wether, ram, ewe

Question 13

What are the qualities of a feeder cattle?

Answer 13

Frame size( small, medium, large)
- an indication of weight when an animal should grade choice
Muscle thickness( 1,2,3,4)( 1= thickest)
-an indication of muscle mass when the animal reaches market weight
- inferior- unthrifty and not expected to perform normally; includes double muscled

Question 14

What are the qualities of feeder pigs?

Answer 14

• grades correspond to slaughter pigs
• U.S #1,2,3,4, utility, and cull
• rarely used because swine industry is commercialized

Question 15

What are the qualities of feeder lambs?

Answer 15

• less than 100 lbs

Question 16

Feeder cattle grades for steers

Answer 16

Large: >1250 lbs
Medium: 1100-1250lbs
Small: < 1100lbs `

Question 17

Feeder cattle grades for heifers

Answer 17

Large: >1150lbs
Medium: 1000-1150
Small: <1000lbs

Question 18

What are the 2 things we look at when grading feeder cattle?

Answer 18

• Frame size
• Muscling

Question 19

What is dressing percent?

Answer 19

carcass weight/ live weight x 100

Question 20

What factors influence the dressing percentage?

Answer 20

• fill( contents of viscera)
• when fat increases, DP also increase
• when muscle increases, DP also increases
• mud

Question 21

Animals are often excessively ____ when ___ plays a major role in the pricing equation.

Answer 21

fattened, DP

Question 22

The purpose of grading is to sort carcasses from ____, _____groups into smaller ______ groups of similar ___.

Answer 22

large, heterogeneous, homogeneous, sex

Question 23

What is beef yield grading?

Answer 23

• is an estimate of the yield of boneless, closely-trimmed retail cuts from the round, loin, rib, and chuck
  -are numerical values given to a carcass( 1.0 to 5.9)
• assigned by the USDA grader in plant

Question 24

What are the factors when evaluating in yield grading beef?

Answer 24

• carcass weight
• fat thickness
• ribeye area
• kidney, pelvic, and heart fat

Question 25

Amount of external fat ( beef yield grading)

Answer 25

• measured 3/4 of the way up the ribeye perpendicular to the chine bone.
• preliminary yield grade( PYG)

Question 26

Amount of Kidney, Pelvic and Heart Fat ( beef yield grading)

Answer 26

• KPH
• % of carcass weight
• as the amount of KPH increases the percentage of retail cuts decreases

Question 27

Ribeye area( beef yield grading)

Answer 27

• ribeye area = longissimus dorsi
• measured in in sq. inches (.10)
• An increase in ribeye area (REA) indicate an increase in the percentage of retail cuts

Question 28

What is the average % of beef a cattle give?

Answer 28

60% of live weight