“Conception to Consumption”

Objectives

Map the stages of animal growth and development as it relates to market readiness

Describe the harvesting process

Describe federal and state meat inspection standards such as safety, hygiene, and quality control

Identify retail and wholesale cuts of meat and meat by-products and correlate to major muscle groups

Objectives

Evaluate market classes and grades of livestock

Identify animal products and consumption patterns relative to human diet and health issues

Describe the growth and development of livestock as a global commodity

Meat Consumption

Consumer Attributes

Consumption of red meat has declined but has stabilized in recent years

Traditional family has changed

Most households spend less than 30 minutes on meal preparation and dislike “left-overs”

Around 70% of consumers decide what they’ll eat for dinner after 4:30 p.m.

The consumer has a changing lifestyle and is looking for products to fit their “way-of-life”

Changes in Food Consumption

Income Level

Diet/Health issues

Perceptions

Convenience

Elite Purebred

Breeders

Purebred Breeders

Commercial Cow/Calf

Backgrounder/Stocker Operators

Feedyard Operators

Packers

Purveyors, Meat Packers, Grocery Stores, Fast Food

Consumers

MarketingPyramid

Growth and Development

Priority Tissue Body Area Fat Depot

Highest Nervous Head Perinephric

Middle Skeletal Neck & Shoulder Intermuscular

Lower Middle Muscle Hind Limb Subcutaneous

Lowest Fat Rib & Loin Intramuscular

Beef Evaluation

Quality Grading

Yield Grading

Quality Grading

The palatability indicating characteristics of the lean is referred to as the Quality GradeFor cattle under 42 months of age the following 4 grades can be assigned to a carcass– Prime– Choice– Select– Standard

Quality Grading

Yield GradingSystem developed to estimate the yield of closely-trimmed, boneless retail cuts that can be obtained from the round, loin, rib, and chuckFour factors used in a formula to predict cutability:– Fat thickness over the ribeye at the 12th rib– Ribeye area at the 12th rib– Carcass Weight– Estimated percent of internal fat (KPH)

USDA Grades: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

Expected Yield of boneless, closely-trimmed

retail cuts from the round, loin, rib, and chuck

52.3% or more

52.3 – 50.0%

50.0 – 47.7%

47.7 – 45.4%

45.4% or less

Pricing Grid

Yield Grade 4 Prime

Yield Grade 1 Select

Yield Grade 3 Choice

Yield Grade 2 Select

“The End-Product”Wholesale and Retail

Where is the value?

Chuck

7-Bone Steak

Arm Steak

Rib

Rib Steak

Ribeye Steak

Loin

Porterhouse Steak

T-Bone Steak

Sirloin

Top Sirloin Steak

Sirloin “Pin Bone” Steak

Round

Round Steak

Sirloin Tip Roast

Boxed Beef

Producer Discounts“Mismanagement”

Bruises

Dark Cutter

Normal “bright cherry red” Color Dark Cutter

Injection Site Lesions

Hide Damage: Grubs

Breed Inconsistencies

Yellow Fat

Miscellaneous

Top Quality Challenges Lack of traceability/IAID/source & age

Verification/chronological age

Low uniformity of cattle, carcasses & cuts

Need to implement instrument grading

Inappropriate market signals

Segmentation within and among industry sectors

Too heavy carcasses & cuts

Too high Yield Grades (low cutability)

Inappropriate ribeye size

Reduced QG & tenderness due to implants

Insufficient marbling

Pork Quality

Creating Value

Value AddedValue-adding: Modifying a traditional cut or creating a new cut, so that:– Benefits are perceived by the consumer, thus adding

value to the product

Can be as simple as:– Trimming more fat– De-boning– Aging

Or as complex as– Single Muscle – Flat Iron Steak– Seasoned– Precooked– Case-ready product sold in microwavable packages

Value Added Product Development

Boneless CutsFajitasStir FryingKabobsMarinated MeatsSeasoned CutsStuffed Oven Ready ProductsPre-Cooked Products

Niche MarketingDifferentiating the product for a segment of the buying public– Unsatisfied with conventional supplies– Consumer willing to pay a premium

Grass Fed

Locally Raised

Hormone-Free

Organic

All Natural

BearKat Beef

Helpful Links

porcine.unl.edu

bovine.unl.edu

aggiemeat.tamu.edu

meatscience.org

Other ResourcesMeat Evaluation Handbook– http://www.meatscience.org/page.aspx?id=5233

Meat Science Laboratory Manual– J.W. Savell & G.C. Smith– ISBN: 0-89641-347-0

The Meat We Eat– Romans, Costello, Carlson, Greaser, Jones– ISBN: 0-8134-3175-1

Principles of Meat Science– Aberle, Forrest, Gerrard, Mills– ISBN: 0-7872-4720-0

The Guide to Identifying Meat Cuts– www.porkstore.pork.org/theotherwhitemeat/default.aspx?p=viewitem&item=NPB-04362&sub

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Thank You