Grading of Veal and Calf

GRADING OF VEAL AND CALF

 Prime grade

  • Vealers of this grade are usually crossbred or high-grade animals of beef type or exceptional individuals of the dairy breeds.
  • They are smooth, deep, thick, and compact, and the udder or scrotum shows a marked fullness, indicating good condition.
  • Vealers of this grade range from 4 to 8 weeks of age, weigh between 20 and 40 kgs and dress from 62% and 67%.
  • They are rather scarce on the market.

 Choice grade

  • They are similar to prime veal in every respect except finish.
  • They are more plentiful on the market than prime veal and are usually slightly younger.
  • They range in weight from 25 to 30 kgs and dress around 60%.
  • Some beef breeding is represented in this grade, although animals of dairy breeding predominate.

 Good grade

  • Vealers of this grade posses a moderately high degree of the quantities of the higher grades
  • They carry less finish and show more bone and less uniformity.
  • They range between 3 to 6 weeks of age, usually weigh from 25 to 27 kgs
  • They dress from 55% to 60%.
  • They show mostly dairy breeding.

 Standard grade

  • Vealers of this grade are of dairy type or scrub breeding.
  • They lack finish, are rather leggy and hippy, rough in the shoulder, and light in the round.
  • The market supply is greatest during April, May, and June.
  • They are relatively young, weigh from 20 to 25 kgs, and dress from 50% to 55%.

 Utility grade

  • This grade is deficient in every respect, the vealers being thin, rangy, and angular.
  • They include a rather wide range of weights (20 to 40 kgs) and individuals may be very fine boned and small, or large boned and coarse.
  • The breeding is very plain and the dressed yield averages 50%.

 Immature veal

  • Many dairy farms calves are allowed to suckle the dams for several days to remove the colostrum milk and are sold to a dealer for slaughter or it may be sold to a farmer or dealer who keeps some cows for the purpose of vealing calves.
  • The carcasses of these immature vealers are usually designated as bob veal.
  • Vealer calves refer to the feeding of young calves either by hand or by letting them suckle strange cows and supplementing the milk ration with a grain gruel.

 Market classes of slaughter calves

  • Market class of calves is selected on age, sex, size and weight for slaughter or further feeding purposes. 
Last modified: Wednesday, 15 September 2010, 11:52 AM