Beef cuts yield of steer carcasses graded according to conformation and weight

Abstract

The experiment evaluated total and individual yield of commercial cuts, bones, and trimmings of carcasses from 38 Braford steers at 22 months of age finished in a feedlot. Carcasses were ranked according to three conformation classes (good minus = score 10; good = score 11; good plus = score 12), and three weight classes (heavy = 229.4 kg, intermediate = 205.0 kg, and light = 184.0 kg, ranging from 222.9 to 250.4, 201.5 to 209.0, and 170.0 to 190.3 kg, respectively). Carcass cold shrinkage was not affected by conformation, but it was significantly lower in heavy (1.83%) than in intermediate (2.53%) and in light carcasses (2.30%), which were not different among each other. Carcass flank percentage was not affected by conformation, but it was significantly higher in heavy (13.93%) and intermediate carcasses (13.87%) as compared to light carcasses (13.07%). Deboned beef cuts (78.08%) of carcasses of steers, bone (16.57%), and trimmings (5.23%) yields and losses due to deboning (0.12%) were not significantly affected by carcass weight. However, when they were evaluated according to conformation classes, those with better conformation showed higher meat cut yield (78.75 vs 77.92 and 77.29%). Conformation affects meat cut yield of carcasses of young steers while carcass weight does not show this characteristic. © 2010 Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia.