By RACHEL LANE
D.C. Correspondent CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Little factors like visible injection sites or bruises can cause the value of cattle to drop. For every dairy or beef animal harvested, about $123 in value is lost. Most of the value lost is the result of inadequate muscling, states the 2016 National Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit, just released. The lost value has increased about $61 per head since 1999, the most recent year a comparison is offered in its Executive Summary. The increase in lost opportunity is primarily the result of increased value for almost all products associated with cattle, said Dr. Deb VanOverbeke, assistant dean of academic programs at the College of Agriculture Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University. The first Steer and Heifer audit was in 1991 and indicated helpful tips to increase the value of each animal. At the end, organizers realized a large portion of cattle were missing from the report, and the Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit was conducted for the first time in 1994, said Jesse Fulton, associate director of producer education at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. (NCBA). The NCBA conducts both audits with financial backing from the beef checkoff and USDA collaboration. Eight universities nationally assisted with the research. The most recent Steer and Heifer Audit was released in July. It is conducted every five years. In comparison, the Market Cow and Beef Audit is conducted roughly every 10 years. Fulton said the report is important because the cattle are older and no longer considered prime, choice or select meat. Most of the meat will be used in grinds. The goal of both audits is to help improve the quality of the end product before the next audit is conducted. During a strategy session in December 2016, 70 individuals from every sector of the beef industry identified six specific areas for improvement: the placement and size of brands; identifying appropriate injection sites; communication among veterinarians and commercial producers of injection ingredients; education that those who transport or purchase animals can refuse an animal; better timelines in marketing animals; and education of people in the industry on the principles of the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA). During 2016, researchers review information from harvest facilities, talked to end users of the product and spent an entire day in many harvest facilities across the country. They observed about 30,000 cattle and cattle carcass in holding pins on the kill floor and in coolers. They monitored animals unloaded when they arrived. Everything from bruises to mud on the hide was considered for the audit. While the potential value lost per carcass is increasing, VanOverbeke said many of the common issues are improving. The occurrence of arthritic joints has decreased. When an arthritic joint is identified, the entire area around the joint is removed. Injection sites have improved, according to the BQA guidelines. Of the cattle surveyed, 98 percent had no visible knots, or swelling from an injection. Of the visible knots, about half were observed in the neck, where the BQA recommends injections be administered. Occurrences of knots in all areas of the body have decreased from previous audits. VanOverbeke said these results show that training offered in injections have worked. About 85 percent of cattle had unbranded hides, but about 23 percent had at least one visible brand, down only a percentage point from the 2007 audit. Producers can minimize the value lost by placing brands on the butt or shoulder rather than the side. Bruises can occur throughout the process, from transporting the cattle to after slaughter. Everything from loading the cattle into trucks to the impact of horns on the carcass can leave bruises. The bruised areas are removed from the carcass. More than half of the carcasses had bruises, most minor bruises which resulted in less than one pound of the surface to be trimmed. Bruising decreased significantly after the 1999 National Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit, when bruising was noted as an important quality limitation for the industry. In 1999, only 12 percent of cows had no bruises. That number increased to 26 percent in 2016. About 47 percent of bulls had no bruising in 1999, compared to 57 percent in 2016. Extreme bruising, which can cause the loss of an entire primal, decreased from 2.4 to 1.4 percent in cows and from 1 to 0.3 percent in bulls. VanOverbeke said this is the result of proper handling, which can reduce the severity and frequency of bruising. About 17 percent of cows were pregnant at the time they were slaughtered, an increase of 6 percent since 2007. The report recommends checking for pregnancy in the cattle herd to capitalize on an increased calf crop. Progress can still be made. If managed correctly, cows and bulls can increase muscle condition before harvest. Farmers can cull animals before physical defects become severe and cause animal welfare concerns or carcass condemnation. Measures need to be identified to eliminate bruising on the farm, in transport and at the harvest facilities. Researchers can continue to understand the cause of liver abscesses, the leading cause for live condemnation. The results of the Market Cattle and Bull and the Steer and Heifer audits can be found online at www.bqa.org |
