Mayer Thachary R, Borders Sydni E, Schwartz Trent E, Gehring Kerri B, Griffin Davey B, Kerth Christopher R, Belk Keith E, Scanga John A, Nair Mahesh N, Pfeiffer Morgan M, Mafi Gretchen G, Harr Keayla M, Lawrence Ty E, Tennant Travis C, Lucherk Loni W, O'Quinn Travis G, Beyer Erin S, Bass Phil D, Garcia Lyda G, Bohrer Benjamin M, Pempek Jessica A, Garmyn Andrea J, Maddock Robert J, Carr C Chad, Pringle T Dean, Scheffler Tracy L, Scheffler Jason M, Stelzleni Alexander M, Gonzalez John M, Underwood Keith R, Harsh Bailey N, Waters Crystal M, Savell Jeffrey W
Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2471, USA.
Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1171, USA.
Transl Anim Sci. 2025 Jul 18;9:txaf097. doi: 10.1093/tas/txaf097. eCollection 2025.
The instrument grading assessment portion of the National Beef Quality Audit -2022 allowed for the evaluation of beef carcass traits over a 12-mo period. One week of instrument grading data was collected each month from 6 major beef processing companies from July 2021 to June 2022 ( = 4,418,768 carcasses). The sample pool was composed of 58.0% steer carcasses and 42.0% heifer carcasses, and the breed type distribution was 98.0% native, 1.6% dairy, and 0.3% . Means for USDA Yield Grade and YG factors were YG, 3.26, adjusted fat thickness, 1.55 cm, HCW, 400.6 kg, ribeye area, 91.6 cm, and KPH, 2.1%. Frequency distribution of USDA YG was YG 1 = 7.87%, YG 2 = 31.70%, YG 3 = 40.03%, YG 4 = 17.07%, and YG 5 = 3.35%. Mean marbling score was Modest, and the distribution of USDA quality grades was Prime = 8.19%, Choice = 74.84%, Select = 15.68%, and other = 1.31%. Frequency of carcasses grading Prime on Monday (10.89%), a 3.27%-point increase compared to the Prime average for the other days of the week (7.72%), demonstrates the potential advantage of additional postmortem chilling over the weekend from Friday and/or Saturday slaughter days. Comparisons of breed type and sex class revealed differences ( < 0.05) in marbling with dairy heifers (Modest) > native heifers (Modest) > dairy steers (Modest) > native steers (Modest), and ribeye area with native steers (93.3 cm) > native heifers (90.9 cm) > dairy steers (81.8 cm) > dairy heifers (80.3 cm). Month-to-month frequency distributions in beef carcass traits revealed numerical differences in marbling, USDA quality grade distribution, HCW, and adjusted fat thicknesses. Percentage distribution of dark cutting carcasses revealed numerically higher incidences during the summer and fall seasons compared to winter and spring. Findings from the instrument grading assessment of the NBQA-2022 provide the beef industry with the most comprehensive and current beef carcass quality and yield information available.
2022年国家牛肉质量审计的仪器分级评估部分对12个月期间的牛肉胴体性状进行了评估。从2021年7月到2022年6月，每月从6家主要牛肉加工公司收集一周的仪器分级数据（共4,418,768头胴体）。样本库中阉牛胴体占58.0%，小母牛胴体占42.0%，品种类型分布为本地品种占98.0%，奶牛品种占1.6%，其他品种占0.3%。美国农业部产量等级（YG）及YG因子的均值为：YG为3.26，调整后脂肪厚度为1.55厘米，热胴体重（HCW）为400.6千克，眼肌面积为91.6平方厘米，肾周脂肪（KPH）为2.1%。美国农业部YG的频率分布为：YG1 = 7.87%，YG2 = 31.70%，YG3 = 40.03%，YG4 = 17.07%，YG5 = 3.35%。大理石花纹评分均值为中等，美国农业部质量等级分布为：特级 = 8.19%，精选级 = 74.84%，标准级 = 15.68%，其他等级 = 1.31%。周一胴体评为特级的频率（10.89%），相较于一周中其他日子的特级平均频率（7.72%）提高了3.27个百分点，这表明在周五和/或周六屠宰日的周末进行额外的宰后冷却具有潜在优势。品种类型和性别类别的比较显示，大理石花纹存在差异（P < 0.05），即奶牛小母牛（中等）>本地小母牛（中等）>奶牛阉牛（中等）>本地阉牛（中等）；眼肌面积方面，本地阉牛（93.3平方厘米）>本地小母牛（90.9平方厘米）>奶牛阉牛（81.8平方厘米）>奶牛小母牛（80.3平方厘米）。牛肉胴体性状的逐月频率分布显示，大理石花纹、美国农业部质量等级分布、HCW和调整后脂肪厚度存在数值差异。黑切肉胴体的百分比分布显示，与冬季和春季相比，夏季和秋季的发生率在数值上更高。2022年国家牛肉质量审计仪器分级评估的结果为牛肉行业提供了现有最全面和最新的牛肉胴体质量及产量信息。
