National Beef Quality Audit-2022: Harvest-floor assessments of hide defects, carcass defects, and offal condemnations that affect value of carcasses and by-products from market cows and bulls

The National Beef Quality Audit (<b>NBQA</b>)-2022 serves as a benchmark of the current market cow and bull sectors of the U.S. beef industry and allows comparison to previous audits as a method of monitoring industry progress. From September 2021 through May 2022, post-slaughter hide-on animals (<i>n</i> = 6,674), carcasses (<i>n</i> = 5,746), and offal items (heads and tongues: <i>n</i> = 7,282; lungs and hearts: <i>n</i> = 6,708; viscera, kidneys, and livers: <i>n</i> = 6,358) were surveyed at 20 commercial beef processing facilities across the United States. There were 37.8% of cattle with no visible mud contamination. Native (unbranded) hides were observed in 88.3% of cattle. Carcass bruising was observed on 66.7% of cow carcasses and 46.4% of bull carcasses, similar to percentages observed in the 2007 and 2016 audits. Nearly all cattle were free of knots (98.2%) or injection-site lesions (97.1%). Harvest-floor assessments found that 45.0% of livers, 22.2% of viscera, 19.3% of kidneys, 46.6% of lungs, 19.9% of hearts, 11.2% of heads, and 6.4% of tongues were condemned. The leading cause of condemnation for these offal items was contamination, aside from livers with the majority resulting in condemnation from the presence of an abscess. Of the cows surveyed, 25.4% carried a fetus, an 8% increase compared to those observed in 2016, and a 14.8% increase compared to cows surveyed in 2007. Findings from the NBQA-2022 identified areas of improvement and areas that required continued research and producer education to improve market cow and bull welfare, by-product quality, and offal value.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Translational Animal Science
Published
2024-12-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txae178
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.68
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

National Beef Quality Audit-2022: Harvest-floor assessments of hide defects, carcass defects, and offal condemnations that affect value of carcasses and by-products from market cows and bulls

J. M. Scheffler, K. E. Belk, A. J. Garmyn, Crystal Waters et al.
2 citations
Translational Animal Science
Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock
0.68
article

National Beef Quality Audit-2022: Harvest-floor assessments of hide defects, carcass defects, and offal condemnations that affect value of carcasses and by-products from market cows and bulls

J. M. Scheffler, K. E. Belk, A. J. Garmyn, Crystal Waters, Keayla M Harr, J.W. Savell, D. B. Griffin, J.A. Scanga, Mahesh N. Nair, T. D. Pringle, Lily Edwards-Callaway, Travis C Tennant, T.E. Lawrence, T. G. O’Quinn, Benjamin Mark Bohrer, Alexander M. Stelzleni, J. M. Gonzalez, R. J. Maddock, Morgan M. Pfeiffer, Jessica A. Pempek, Bailey N Harsh, Gretchen Gayle Mafi, C. R. Kerth, K. R. Underwood, J Brad Morgan, Kerri B. Gehring, Sydni E Borders, Tracy L. Scheffler, Jarrett B Douglas, Lyda G Garcia, Erin S. Beyer, Trent E Schwartz, Loni W Lucherk, Phil D Bass, Christopher Alfred Carr, Thachary R Mayer
article en
2 citations

Abstract

The National Beef Quality Audit (<b>NBQA</b>)-2022 serves as a benchmark of the current market cow and bull sectors of the U.S. beef industry and allows comparison to previous audits as a method of monitoring industry progress. From September 2021 through May 2022, post-slaughter hide-on animals (<i>n</i> = 6,674), carcasses (<i>n</i> = 5,746), and offal items (heads and tongues: <i>n</i> = 7,282; lungs and hearts: <i>n</i> = 6,708; viscera, kidneys, and livers: <i>n</i> = 6,358) were surveyed at 20 commercial beef processing facilities across the United States. There were 37.8% of cattle with no visible mud contamination. Native (unbranded) hides were observed in 88.3% of cattle. Carcass bruising was observed on 66.7% of cow carcasses and 46.4% of bull carcasses, similar to percentages observed in the 2007 and 2016 audits. Nearly all cattle were free of knots (98.2%) or injection-site lesions (97.1%). Harvest-floor assessments found that 45.0% of livers, 22.2% of viscera, 19.3% of kidneys, 46.6% of lungs, 19.9% of hearts, 11.2% of heads, and 6.4% of tongues were condemned. The leading cause of condemnation for these offal items was contamination, aside from livers with the majority resulting in condemnation from the presence of an abscess. Of the cows surveyed, 25.4% carried a fetus, an 8% increase compared to those observed in 2016, and a 14.8% increase compared to cows surveyed in 2007. Findings from the NBQA-2022 identified areas of improvement and areas that required continued research and producer education to improve market cow and bull welfare, by-product quality, and offal value.

Translational Animal ScienceVol. 9
Oklahoma State University (US), University of Idaho (US), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US), University of Georgia (US), Texas A&M University System (US), South Dakota State University (US), West Texas A&M University (US), Kansas State University (US), University of Florida (US), California State University, Chico (US), The Ohio State University (US), North Dakota State University (US), Michigan State University (US), Texas A&M University (US), Colorado State University (US)
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 30%
Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock
0.68
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.