Prime Tonnage Up
Heifers factor into Prime grade uptrend.
We must take a big step back from the details of beef market and production trend data once in a while to gain perspective. Currently, that distant view shows one of the largest changes in 2018 is the percent of fed-steer and -heifer carcasses reaching the USDA Prime quality grade, touching a record 8.9% the second week of October, adding to an already impressive 33% increase in Prime tonnage so far this year.
It’s well-known in academic, cattle-feeding and packing circles that heifers achieve higher marbling scores than steers at a similar end point of backfat thickness. Therefore a larger proportion of heifers in the fed-cattle harvest increases average quality grade across the fed-cattle supply chain. Additionally, calendar year 2018 has brought on a 7% increase in year-over-year fed-heifer harvest compared to steers, contrastingly lower by 1% so far this year.
Late October’s USDA report is the first since the week of March 19 showing a smaller number of heifers in the harvest compared to 2017. It’s also true that a significant number of older yearling heifers (preg-checked open, spring-born replacements) enter the beef supply chain in the fall.
Finally, let’s tie all this to USDA’s change last December to carcass maturity standards. These now use the more accurate observation of dentition, rather than vertebral cartilage ossification to determine animal age and subsequent eligibility of carcasses to reach Choice and Prime grades.
While we’ve witnessed an aggregate lift in genetic influence for marbling during the past decade or more, a detailed look at the surge in Prime carcasses may have ties to more quality heifers being fairly “aged” as under 30 months and, not only more readily qualified as Prime carcasses, but eligible for the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand. Additionally, enhancements to grading technology quality grade lines 12 months ago should have factored as a negative to the Prime proportion while the actual results this year vote firmly to the contrary.
Editor’s Note: Paul Dykstra is a beef cattle specialist with CAB.
