Table of Contents
What are the 5 beef yield grades?
USDA Quality Grades are an assessment of eating quality and are determined by carcass maturity and marbling. Maturity: There are five classifications for beef carcass maturity: A, B, C, D and E.
What are yield grades?
Yield grade is an estimate of the percent retail yield of the four primal cuts of beef (chuck, rib, loin and round). Yield grade is based on the four traits: hot carcass weight, fat thickness at the 12th rib, percent of kidney, heart and pelvic fat, and ribeye area.
What are the 4 grades of meat?
There are five quality grades: Prime, Choice, Good, Utility, and Cull.
What are the 2 grades of meat describe each grade?
These characteristics follow the official grade standards developed, maintained and interpreted by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. Beef is graded in two ways: quality grades for tenderness, juiciness and flavor; and yield grades for the amount of usable lean meat on the carcass.
What is the most common carcass grade?
The most common grades, from best to worst, are “breakers” (fleshy, body condition 7 or above), “boners” (body condition 5 to 7), “lean”, and “light” (thin, body condition 1 to 4).
Which beef carcass would be the most valuable?
The rib and loin are traditionally cut into steaks such as ribeyes and strip steaks that are considered both very palatable and convenient. Accordingly, these cuts are also some of the most valuable in the carcass, and can bring $12-18/pound.
What is the best yield grade?
Yield Grade 1
The USDA Yield Grades are rated numerically and are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Yield Grade 1 denotes the highest yielding carcass and Yield Grade 5, the lowest.
Which quality grade is the best?
Beef Quality Grades (Eight)
- U.S. Prime – Highest in quality and intramuscular fat, limited supply.
- U.S. Choice – High quality, widely available in foodservice industry and retail markets.
- U.S. Select (formerly Good) – lowest grade commonly sold at retail, acceptable quality, but is less juicy and tender due to leanness.
How do I find the value of my carcass?
Determine the Base Carcass Value by multiplying the hot carcass weight by the carcass base price and dividing by 100 to convert from prices noted as cwt.
How are yield grades related to cutability of meat?
Yield grades are expressed in numbers that estimate the percentage of expected cutability from a carcass. Cutability is defined as the percentage of closely trimmed, boneless, retail cuts from the round, loin, rib and chuck — the four major beef wholesale cuts. It is an estimate of the relative amount of lean, edible meat from a carcass.
Which is the highest yielding grade of beef?
The USDA Yield Grades are rated numerically and are 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Yield Grade 1 denotes the highest yielding carcass and Yield Grade 5, the lowest. The USDA prediction equation for percent boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts (% BCTRC) of beef carcasses is as follows: Base. Correction factor.
How does body composition affect saleable meat yield?
The yield of saleable meat is directly related to the body composition of the animal. The proportion of muscle, bone and fat in the body will vary as an animal matures; hence the carcase composition will vary with the stage of development at slaughter. A higher proportion of lean muscle and less waste fat produces a higher retail beef yield.
How is the yield of beef related to profitability?
Yield is an important profitability trait in the production of beef cattle. The yield of saleable meat is directly related to the body composition of the animal. The proportion of muscle, bone and fat in the body will vary as an animal matures; hence the carcase composition will vary with the stage of development at slaughter.