Big Muddy rancher said:I know technology is improving all the time so SH's experience might not be what is happening today. A few years ago our local auction yard was going to use ultra sound to sort feeder cattle. I'm not sure of all the problems other then it was slower but they didn't use it to long. Another yard bought it and used it some but I'm not sure if it is still in use.
Sandhusker said:Big Muddy rancher said:I know technology is improving all the time so SH's experience might not be what is happening today. A few years ago our local auction yard was going to use ultra sound to sort feeder cattle. I'm not sure of all the problems other then it was slower but they didn't use it to long. Another yard bought it and used it some but I'm not sure if it is still in use.
It does take a while - the animal has to be trimmed over the loin and has to stand still long enough to get the picture taken. I think the technology is going to have to improve so that a reading can be taken in a pass before it will make sense to use on feeders a great deal.
We found one common denmoninator, an early maturing Angus bull sired alot of the calves, but still when you have documented cattle of 16, 17 and 18 months of age being called over 30 by the grader, soething is wrong.
I saw a very nice software program that hasn't been released yet that sorts steers based on the criteria you set for the grid you pick of course then also uses data gathered including ribeye shape , implants, sort groups , ADG, etc . It was interesting. I was supprised to see the ribeye shape , not just the REA to predict how fast the YG would rise. Sure made sense looking at it. I'll report back how it develops.sw said:My two bits worth. We have been ultrasounding all cattle when reimplanted and then sort them into outcome groups based on predicted days to grading, we sort into three groups and harvest them fairly close to the predicted day if the market does not force us to hold them longer, as in February 2004. We also had been proceesing at PM Beef. The outcome groups did come out almost always as predicted but at PM, the graders had something to be desired, so we thought that electronics would solve a problem, didn't change much. We no longer do business with PM, we had pens of age verified cattle being placed in B-Maturity, some of them less than 16 months of age. The discounts are terrible, and there were instances when 17% of a pen were called B-Mats. We found one common denmoninator, an early maturing Angus bull sired alot of the calves, but still when you have documented cattle of 16, 17 and 18 months of age being called over 30 by the grader, something is wrong.
Last year we harvested some with PPP. The problem there was the hide pullers as RR mentioned, they were pulling too much fat off so the YG went down but the yields were way down and when you are selling on a grid using HCW, those yields have to be high.
Anybody who has measured ribeyes by eye using a block card and guessed grade using the pictures has to believe that instrument grading has to be more accurate. We are sending the first cut to Swift next week, so we'll see how that goes. At least I know Tim S so I can yell at him when the data sucks.
GLA: "Just because it didn't work last year does not mean it hasn't improved to the point where it merits more evaluation!"
Econ101 said:GLA said:During the business meeting NCBA passed cattle marketing policy requesting that, "USDA adopt the use of instrument vision grading technologies, therefore assisting the industry towards an objective, consistent system for evaluating beef quality characterestics."
In visiting with the owner of the company who is supplying the vision grading camera for the packing plants, I discovered some interesting facts, real or not.
Apparently, the USDA has already certified the camera to measure ribeye area, Yield Grade, percent retail product, backfat and tenderness. Currently, the company is working with USDA to acquire certification for the quality grade measurement.....which could happen very soon. Therefore, it seems that the ability to completely evaluate a beef carcass by use of the camera, is only a short time away.
The camera has been in use at several plants for the last few years, producing results that have not always been pleasing. Seems as though the govt. graders may have been giving us a break on YG 4's, because the percentage of YG 4's has now started to increase, with the use of the camera.
Just wonder how this new advancement is going to affect the industry? I understand the labor union and the graders are not fighting the change, since there are other supervisory jobs the graders can perform, that are not as stressful!!
GLA
As long as this works well, this is nothing but good for the industry. It would be interesting to have packer buyer's decisions in the cash market match up to something more objective.
I have a few questions about it and I know you probably don't have the answer but I am going to ask others who might know.
How does this measure tenderness? A computer program can be made to measure intramuscular fat, but tenderness? Do you know the name of the company that has the technology?