Market Ready
What two physical traits must be balanced for an animal to be considered market ready?
Proper fat cover and muscle development.
What is the highest beef quality grade?
USDA Prime
What is the average market-ready fat thickness for swine?
.65 in
Which usually reaches market maturity first, a male or a female?
Females
What does dressing percentage compare?
Carcass weight to live weight.
What term describes the skeletal size of an animal?
Frame
What is the lowest beef quality grade used for cattle younger than 30 months?
USDA Standard
What three areas should be evaluated when judging muscling in sheep?
The rack, shoulder, and leg
What type of body tissue reaches its growth plateau first?
Bones
What is the average dressing percentage for beef cattle?
Approximately 60 percent.
What physical trait allows an animal to stand, move, eat, and perform without difficulty?
Soundness
Which beef yield grade indicates the highest cutability?
Yield Grade 1
What are the four sheep quality grades from best to worst?
USDA Prime, USDA Choice, USDA Good, and USDA Utility.
What tissue becomes the main tissue deposited later in an animal’s development?
Fat
What is the average dressing percentage for hogs?
Approximately 70 percent.
What body shape should a lean market animal show when viewed from above?
An hourglass shape.
What are the two main factors used when grading feeder cattle?
Frame Score and Muscling
Describe a U.S. 1 hog.
A very lean, heavily muscled hog
Place these tissues in their general growth order: fat, bone, and muscle.
Bone, muscle, fat
A 1,200-pound heifer has a dressing percentage of 63.5 percent. What is her estimated carcass weight?
Answer: 762 pounds.
Calculation: 1,200 × 0.635 = 762 pounds.
Two animals have the same live weight, but one has more usable muscle and less excess fat. Why could that animal be worth more?
It should have greater cutability and produce a higher percentage of usable retail cuts.
Which animal would usually be more profitable: a Choice, Yield Grade 2 steer or a Standard, Yield Grade 1 steer?
The Choice, Yield Grade 2 steer because it combines desirable eating quality with high cutability.
Why do sheep quality grades usually have a limited effect on price?
Approximately 92 percent of sheep grade Prime or Choice, so there is little difference between most animals.
A small-framed steer is muscular and beginning to deposit excess fat. Is this animal early maturing or late maturing?
Early maturing.
A steer produces an 819-pound carcass from a live weight of 1,300 pounds. What is its dressing percentage?
Answer: 63 percent.
Calculation: 819 ÷ 1,300 × 100 = 63 percent.