A Practical Guide to Selecting Finished Cattle
16 December 2024Knowing when your cattle are ready for sale is a crucial factor in optimising returns from your beef enterprise.
The most popular route for finished cattle is selling directly to an abattoir, however there may be cases where you look to sell through a market. The specifications for each route vary slightly and there are pros and cons of each.
Deadweight sale direct to abattoir
Liveweight sale through market
Weighing
Weighing cattle often can help you to manage your finishing system efficiently. By using the weights and splitting the cattle into groups, you can ensure that the cattle are getting appropriate feed rations prepared to achieve the desired daily live weight gains (DLWG).
You are looking for cattle to be in a deadweight range of 270–400 kg, this will equate to approximately 570-730 kg liveweight depending on many factors affecting the killing out percentage. Ideally cattle should be weighed empty – a few hours after feeding to avoid rumen fill influencing liveweights. Weigh scales/bars should be checked and calibrated regularly to ensure they are as accurate as possible.
For retail purposes, the ideal carcass weight is around 330 kg with a carcass confirmation of R4L. This is the middle of the weight range due to them requiring a consistent product to fit their standard packaging. Butchers will tend to go for the heavier weights.
Killing Out Percentage
When selling cattle to an abattoir they are sold as deadweight, therefore you are paid for the weight of the carcass only. The killing out percentage is the deadweight as a percentage of the liveweight with a higher killing out percentage desired as it gives you more return on your cattle. Typical killing out percentages are from 50-60% depending on many factors such as:
- Breed.
- Gender.
- Entire or castrated male.
- Full or empty rumen.
- Clean or dirty.
- Finishing system (slower finishing forage-based diet or more intensive concentrate fed diet).
- Careful handling (bruising can lead to removal of meat during the abattoir process).
EUROP Grid
As well as weighing cattle you should also consider their carcass conformation, i.e. how fleshy they are and the amount of fat cover they have, when selecting which animals to sell. Abattoirs base their price on the EUROP grid as it considers both conformation and fat cover of the carcass. The conformation is graded as letters E, U, R, O and P. To be awarded an E classification, the carcass must have excellent conformation, and P is the poorest conformation class. The fat class is based on numbers 1-5, where the higher the number the higher the fat cover. Fat classes 4 and 5 are split into ‘low’ and ‘high’ (e.g. an R4L carcass does not have as much fat cover at R4H). The green area on the diagram below are your target grades when selecting finished cattle to sell for the optimum returns.
Payment
The price per kg when selling deadweight is based on the conformation and fat class of the carcass using the above EUROP grid. As shown in the image below, abattoirs will have a pricing grid based on the EUROP grid. Base price is usually set on an R4L carcass, with R2, R3 and -U4H in this example also receiving the base price, whereas E and U 2s, 3s and 4s will receive a premium on top of the base price.
As the grade moves further down the conformation and up the fat class from an R3/4 the price is base less a penalty. This is because as you move up the fat classes more trimming is required and therefore there is a reduction in the amount of saleable meat. As well as this, all abattoirs will have an upper and lower weight limit - cattle which are outside of the weight range will usually attract a penalty, so it is useful to check this before selling.
Conformation
The three areas to feel for conformation are the shoulder, the loin and the round/hindquarter. For example, in the loin you are feeling for the spinous processes and the profile between the spinous processes and the transverse processes at the shoulder, loin and the hindquarter.
Loin:
E – Wide and very thick up to shoulder.
U – Wide and thick up to shoulder.
R – Still thick but less width at shoulder.
O – Average to lacking thickness.
P – Narrow with bones visible.
Shoulder And Round/Hindquarter:
E – Very rounded.
U – Rounded.
R – Fairly well developed.
O – Average to lacking development.
P – Flat with bones visible (shoulder) or poorly developed (hindquarter).
The carcass conformation is graded at each of these 3 points. If for example two points are graded a U and one point is graded an R, then the carcass will overall be graded as a U. Likewise, if two points are graded an R and one point is a U, then the carcass will be overall graded as an R.
Fat Cover
The three main areas to feel to tell if your cattle are carrying the correct amount of fat are the loin, the ribs and the pin bones and either side of the tailhead.
Loin:
1 & 2– Ends of transverse processes very prominent. Individual bones felt as deep corrugations.
3– Ends of transverse processes prominent. Individual bones are felt as corrugations.
4- Ends of individual transverse processes are felt only with moderate pressure.
5– Transverse processes are felt only with firm pressure or not felt.
Ribs:
1 & 2– Ribs are prominent, clearly visible and are felt as deep corrugations.
3– Some fat cover is detectable over the bones, but individual ribs are felt easily as corrugations.
4– Thin or soft layer of fat is felt over the bones. Individual ribs felt with light pressure.
5– Thick, soft fat covers ribs. Individual ribs are felt only with firm pressure or cannot be felt.
Tailhead:
1 & 2– Skin is tight. Area around root of tail and over the pin bones is firm and unyielding.
3– Indication of very thin fat cover which yields slightly to moderate pressure.
4– Thin or soft layer of fat felt when skin on either side of tail head is pinched between fingers and thumb. Thin, soft layer is felt over the pin bones.
5– Looks puffy and feels spongy. Moderate to thick fat cover over pin bones is felt as distinct soft layer.
It is also worth checking for a build-up of fat in the brisket of the animal as this is another good indicator of fat cover in the carcass.
References: Diagrams & Images sourced from AHDB & wikiHow
Authors: Kirstyn Blackwood & Olivia Whitford, SAC Consulting Ayr
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