Table 1.
Means and SD1 for carcass traits in Angus steers within the various populations analyzed in this study
| Populations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marbling class | Yield grade class | ||||
| Carcass trait | Experimental (n = 24) | High (n = 10) | Low (n = 10) | Best (n = 10) | Worst (n = 10) |
| Overall maturity2 | 155 (11.4) |
156 (13.5) | 156 (10.7) | 153 (14.9) | 157 (8.23) |
| Marbling score3 | 670 (94.8) |
760a (56.0) | 579b (40.4) | 670 (96.4) |
678 (106.4) |
| USDA quality grade4 | Choice+ | Prime– | Choice° | Choice+ | Choice+ |
| Longissimus lipid content, % | 9.4 (2.60) |
10.9a (2.11) | 7.7b (2.22) | 8.8 (2.29) |
10.0 (3.17) |
| Hot carcass weight, kg | 375.9 (27.48) |
377.1 (27.55) | 370.5 (26.40) | 367.7 (32.61) | 384.9 (24.48) |
| Adjusted 12th rib fat thickness, cm | 1.3 (0.28) |
1.4 (0.33) | 1.3 (0.25) | 1.1a (0.12) | 1.6b (0.20) |
| Ribeye area, cm2 | 79.4 (6.92) |
80.1 (8.38) | 79.7 (6.40) | 83.6a (7.68) | 75.2b (4.56) |
| Kidney, pelvic, heart fat, % | 2.2 (0.36) |
2.1 (0.21) | 2.2 (0.48) | 2.2 (0.41) |
2.3 (0.35) |
| Yield grade | 3.5 (0.59) |
3.5 (0.73) | 3.4 (0.41) | 2.9a (0.30) | 4.0b (0.39) |
| Dressing percentage, % | 61.7 (1.32) |
61.8 (1.64) | 61.7 (1.22) | 61.8 (1.32) | 61.8 (1.23) |
1Means are followed by the SD in parentheses.
2Overall maturity is the average of bone and lean maturity where A00 = 100 and B00 = 200.
3Marbling score was converted to a numeric scale where 500 = Modest00, 600 = Moderate00, 700 = Slightly Abundant00, and 800 = Moderately Abundant00.
4Choice° = USDA Average Choice, Choice+ = USDA High Choice, and Prime– = USDA Low Prime
a,bDenotes carcass trait means that differ (P ≤ 0.050) between classes.