Table 10.
NBQA: means for USDA carcass grade traits from the most recent two NBQA
| Trait | NBQA-20071 | NBQA-20162 |
|---|---|---|
| Beef cows | ||
| USDA yield grade | 2.6 | 3.1 |
| Adjusted fat thickness, cm | 0.64 | 0.74 |
| HCW, kg | 288.0 | 311.1 |
| LM area, cm2 | 61.3 | 64.2 |
| KPH, % | 0.3 | 1.5 |
| Marbling score3 | 314 | 346 |
| Lean maturity4 | 418 | 357 |
| Skeletal maturity4 | 525 | 497 |
| Overall maturity4 | 482 | 443 |
| Dairy cows | ||
| USDA yield grade | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Adjusted fat thickness, cm | 0.56 | 0.42 |
| HCW, kg | 294.3 | 303.2 |
| LM area, cm2 | 62.6 | 64.6 |
| KPH, % | 1.1 | 1.8 |
| Marbling score | 388 | 366 |
| Lean maturity | 339 | 315 |
| Skeletal maturity | 489 | 413 |
| Overall maturity | 425 | 387 |
| Beef bulls | ||
| USDA yield grade | 1.6 | 2.4 |
| Adjusted fat thickness, cm | 0.30 | 0.35 |
| HCW, kg | 396.0 | 396.6 |
| LM area, cm2 | 91.0 | 78.8 |
| KPH, % | 0.2 | 1.1 |
| Marbling score | 228 | 258 |
| Lean maturity | 378 | 380 |
| Skeletal maturity | 414 | 422 |
| Overall maturity | 394 | 399 |
| Dairy bulls | ||
| USDA yield grade | 1.9 | 2.0 |
| Adjusted fat thickness, cm | 0.18 | 0.26 |
| HCW, kg | 420.9 | 373.0 |
| LM area, cm2 | 75.5 | 77.5 |
| KPH, % | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| Marbling score | 290 | 273 |
| Lean maturity | 354 | 360 |
| Skeletal maturity | 387 | 319 |
| Overall maturity | 367 | 360 |
1National Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit–2007 (Nicholson, 2008). Total number of observations were: beef cows (n = 1,315), dairy cows (n = 1,320), beef bulls (n = 245), and dairy bulls (n = 95). 2Total number of observations were: beef cows (n = 1,735), dairy cows (n = 1,714), beef bulls (n = 213), and dairy bulls (n = 59). 3100 = practically devoid00, 200 = traces00, 300 = slight00, 400 = small00, 500 = modest00, 600 = moderate00, 700 = slightly abundant00, 800 = moderately abundant00, 900 = abundant00 (USDA, 2016). 4100 = A00, 200 = B00, 300 = C00, 400 = D00, 500 = E00 (USDA, 2016).