Table 2.

National Beef Quality Audit—2022: Least squares means (SEM) for USDA Quality and Yield Grade traits stratified according to apparent breed type and sex class

Trait	Native steers (n = 1,450,507)	Native heifers (n = 1,038,514)	Dairy steers (n = 34,419)	Dairy heifers (n = 6,782)
USDA Quality Grade component
Marbling Score1	503d	531b	512c	555a
	(0.10)	(0.11)	(0.62)	(1.40)
USDA Yield Grade and components
USDA Yield Grade	3.4a	3.3b	3.0d	3.1c
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.01)	(0.01)
Adjusted fat thickness, cm	1.56b	1.66a	0.90d	0.99c
	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.00)	(0.01)
HCW, kg	420.6a	379.3d	386.1b	382.3c
	(0.04)	(0.04)	(0.24)	(0.55)
Ribeye area, cm2	93.3a	90.9b	81.8c	80.3d
	(0.01)	(0.01)	(0.06)	(0.14)

^a,b,c,dMeans within a row lacking a common superscript letter differ (P < 0.05).

²300 = Slight⁰⁰, 400 = Small⁰⁰, 500 = Modest⁰⁰, 600 = Moderate⁰⁰, 700 = Slightly Abundant⁰⁰, 800 = Moderately Abundant⁰⁰, and 900 = Abundant⁰⁰ (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2017).