Abattoir Practices and Animal Products Technology

DIFFERENT GRADES OF CATTLE

There are six to eight grades used to cover range in quality of cattle and calves in USA.

 Prime cattle

• Slaughter steers are fed into prime grade.
• A 500 kg steer of prime grade when viewed from the side should present fullness in the brisket region and fore and rear flanks as an evidence of intense feeding.
• Fullness represents fat.
• When viewed from the rear prime cattle must have enough width through the middle and fullness of twist, again as an indication of good feeding, well fattening and potential to marbling.
• These cattle have excess fat as a result of low feeding.
• Feeding of prime cattle is very expensive and the daily gain of weight is also slow.
• These cattle will dress from 63 to 67%.
• The highest reported dressing percent to date is 76.6% made by a spayed Angus heifer shown in the Smith Field Fat Stock Show in England.

 Choice cattle

• Choice grade cattle have most of the characteristics of the prime grade in moderation.
• A 475 kg choice steer when viewed from the side should appear to be more up standing, but the brisket and fore shank must be moderately full indicating some fatness. 
• When viewed from the rear choice cattle may appear to be firm in the twist and lower round but may show evidence of some fatness over the edge of the loin.
• They dress from 59 to 61%.

 Good grade cattle

• Good grade cattle carry less finish than choice cattle and lack uniform beef conformation of that grade.
• They are uneven on the top, slightly higher up the ground and do not show uniform depth of the body nor the muscling characteristics of the choice grade.
• They dress between 54 to 60%.
• Dairy breed steers fed on concentrate ration for a period of time may qualify for this grade.
• A 450 kg good steer will have lightweight, trimmers about brisket and flanks as well as behind the shoulder indicating the short time on feed.
• A good steer is narrow behind lacking muscling and bulge to the round, which will lower the conformation grade.

 Standard cattle

• Young soft bone lightweight, unfinished cattle of either sex, deficient in conformation belong to this grade, especially young dairy bred steers weighing 500 kg. 
• Many dairy steers on the other hand move upto good grade, some even move upto choice grade, conformation being the factor, which holds them back.
• The standard steer is narrow and up standing behind and shows little evidence of external finish.
• The yield is from 52-58%.

 Commercial cattle

• Cattle showing advanced maturity and consisting in the main of breeding calves make up this grade.
• These cattle have angular conformation, fullness in brisket and behind the shoulders.
• When viewed from the rear the angular conformation is most obvious.
• Commercial cow has sufficient thickness to qualify to commercial grade.
• The yield is from 52 to 56 %.

 Utility cattle

• Cattle are ranging, angular and thinly fleshed and vary considerable with age. 
• A 450 kg utility cow when viewed from the side shows an extreme angularity from front to rear and is obvious.
• The ribs are protruding indicating practically a complete void of cover.
• From the rear concave rounds and sunken sirloin indicate utility conformation.
• Utility cows are normally dry before going for markets.
• They dress in the low 50s.

 Cutter and canner cattle

• These grades are represented mainly by old cattle having the characteristics of dairy breeds, which lack in the inherent qualities of beef animals.