Market Classes & Grading Flashcards
Why is marketing and grading important?
form of communication (know what you are getting)
Palatability
how good it tastes
Market Classes are designed to accurately describe livestock that are being sold around the country
True
Groups of animals separated according to use
Slaughter (ready)
Feeder (need more time)
Bred Heifers (pregnant)
Paris (cows with claves, ewes with lambs)
Relative Merit
Class
Grades for slaughter animals fall into…
quality, cutability, yield
Cutability
leanness or trimness
OKIE & Crossbreeding
(genetically bred ; brahman)
How does USDA grade?
Voluntary
Cattle
Sex class; heifer, cow, steer, bull, bullock
Swine
Sex class; barrow, gilt, sow, boar, stag
Sheep
Sex class; ewe lamb, wether, ram, ewe
Value based marketing
bulls (bright red hamburger meat)
Frame Size (feeder cattle)
Small, medium, large (indication of when animal should grade choice)
Muscle Thickness
(1,2,3,4) (indication of muscle mass when animal reaches market /selling muscle)
Feeder Pigs
Grades correspond to slaughter pigs
U.S. #1-#4 utility and cull
Swine is commercialized
Feeder Lambs
Less than 100 lbs (ethnic market)
Frame
Large, Medium, Small
Predicts weight at which cattle will grade choice
Muscling
Thick 1, Average 2, Thin 3, Inferior 4
Predicts muscularity of cattle at slaughter
Dressing Percent
*carcass weight/live weight x 100
What factors influence DP
fill, fat increase, muscle increase, mud
Animals are fattened when DP plays a major role in pricing equation
True
