A carcass grade is an assessment of quality for a
cull
Culling is the process of segregating organisms from a group according to desired or undesired characteristics. In animal breeding, it is removing or segregating animals from a breeding stock based on a specific trait. This is done to exagge ...
ed cow or bull. The various grades are defined by the
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...
, and assessments are based primarily on the fatness of the cow to be culled.
Cows are culled from herds for a variety of reasons, including poor production, age, or health problems.
A carcass grade (or expected carcass grade) is used to determine selling prices for cull cows, which are estimated to comprise 20% of the
beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...
available to consumers in the United States.
A Body Condition Scoring system or BCS, which is used to grade live cows and bulls, is used to determine the carcass grade.
The most common BCS in America assigns a score between 1 and 9 based on the animal's fat content and body condition.
The most common carcass grades, from best to worst, are "breakers" (fleshy, BCS 7 or above), "boners" (average, BCS 5 to 7), "lean" and "light" (thin, BCS 1 to 4). Here, the grading system differs from that within a BCS - the aforementioned American example of which regards a live animal with a score of 5 or 6 to be optimal, with a score above this designating the beast as "fat."
Carcasses rated as lean or light often are sold for less per pound, as less meat is produced from the carcass despite processing costs remaining similar to those of higher grade carcasses.
See also
*
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...
Notes
* There is no settled singular noun for "a cattle." ''Head of cattle'' is usually used only after a numeral. Australian, New Zealand and British farmers use the term ''beast'' or ''cattle beast''. ''Bovine'' is also used in Britain. The term ''critter'' is common in the western United States and Canada, particularly when referring to young cattle. See ''
Cattle#Singular terminology issue'' for more.
References
Beef
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