Livestock Grade Standards and Their Effect on Quality

Livestock Grade Standards and Their Effect on Quality

Kenneth W. McMillin, Professor
Michael E. Michel, Research Associate

Grades and standards are important to establish the criteria and levels of traits to distinguish among products. Grades and standards establish a means for communication of terminology, price, and specific items between buyers and sellers in the market.

Quality can be defined as the composite of the individual characteristics comprising the product. The quality is significant in determining the acceptability by the purchaser because the degree to which the product meets the buyer specifications is the most important consideration of satisfaction by the buyer. The types of measurements for the quality factors must also be considered. Uniform and accurate testing procedures that can be readily reproduced are desirable for quality determinations. Non-destructive measuring techniques are more advantageous than methods requiring sampling of the product. The composite evaluation of quality also includes an indication of the consistency of the quality traits. Variation of each trait and the lack of uniformity between products must be controlled and minimized to result in a high degree of purchaser satisfaction with the products.

Grades establish limits and acceptable values for the criteria that are important in determining the product quality. Grades classify the units or products into uniform groups with similar or identical characteristics. With agricultural products, names, letters, or numbers are often used to identify groups. Live slaughter swine grades are U.S. No. 1, U.S. No. 2, U.S. No. 3, U.S. No. 4, and U.S. Utility. These are based upon a measurement of last rib backfat thickness in inches, degree of muscling (thick, average, thin), and carcass quality (acceptable or unacceptable color, firmness/wateriness, marbling). Beef quality grades are a composite of intramuscular fat (marbling), maturity, and color/texture of the lean. There are separate grade names for young animals (prime, choice, select, standard) and older animals (commercial, utility, cutter). Other agricultural commodities have similar groupings of products into categories with the same characteristics.

Grades and Quality Interactions

In the United States, the area of production for most agricultural products is far from the consuming population. Much of the livestock is produced in the central part of the country while a majority of the population lives within 200 miles of the coastline. The effective marketing of products with differential prices for quality requires identification of several parameters. A knowledge of the different raw or live products that will be sold and the different characteristics associated with the products must be established. This allows sorting and classification criteria to be initiated and tested in the marketplace. Another essential element is the development of terminology that is understood in all areas of the market. These allow for communication among buyers and sellers. If the live or raw products are not classified into uniform groups, then there is less efficiency in processing due to the variation. Most processed products are sold based upon a specified set of criteria, with minimal deviation in each trait that compose the group.

An example of the importance of quality criteria and grading standardization is the goat and goat meat industry. Goat meat is primarily purchased by ethnic or religious consumers located in larger city population centers in the U.S. Most is sold as intact carcasses or cubes of cut goat meat. Approximately 80% of the current live goat population is located in Texas, mandating that either live animals be transported long distances to sites of slaughter near the consumption areas or carcasses must be shipped long distances. Trucks are used to haul goats from Texas to the east or west coasts and the goats lose weight (shrink) and may lose tissue mass during the transit. This reduces the quality of the live goat at the market or slaughter plant. If goats are slaughtered in Texas and transported as carcasses, often the meat is overly dry or extremely wet due to the conditions within the refrigerated transport. In these cases, the meat quality is deteriorated by shipment. To further confound these factors, there is often no distinction for age, conformation, or ultimate palatability of the meat. Therefore, there are no effective means or common terms for buyers at processing plants to communicate well with live goat sellers or for purchasers of goat meat to communicate with meat sellers. The lack of Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications that define the criteria desired in specific meat primal cuts or portioned units by restaurants, hotels, hospitals, schools, prisons, and other mass merchandisers of portion-controlled meats limits the sale of goat meat in traditional markets.

Quality Grade Strategies

Effective marketing and efficient price differential requires the following activities:

Definition of quality in terms and traits that can be measured.

Development of uniform methods of testing, preferably cheap, nondestructive, and easy to obtain.

Verification of the suitability of uniform groups based on the grades in actual market, production/consumption, and buyer/seller conditions.

Evaluation of product profitability and price spreads based upon the different grades.

Reduction of variation in products within a specific grade.

Test marketing of products of desired quality levels.

Consultation of all available resources with needed expertise- individuals, written information, and pictorial information, if available.

The use of these quality strategies will provide a small agricultural producer with an idea of the type of products that are being offered in the market, the degree of variation in the product mixes, the differential prices with different grades, and the degree of profitability associated with producing to meet a specific grade target. Analysis of these factors will allow the producer to identify the type of raw or live product that should be produced to result in the product of the selected quality grade or type.

Often marketing of the product can be accomplished in a regional area or in niche markets if the producer understands the opportunities available in marketing products of specific quality. This requires additional efforts by the producer to:

Train and educate potential buyers on the specific traits and variations in the products.

Maintain consistent quality and provide high levels of continued service to receive repeat sales.

Manage all aspects of their production to result in the desired products.

Adhere to the grading criteria to maintain the integrity of the marketing system and to continue the trust established with their buyers.

Summary

Quality is the consistency of specified traits combined with a knowledge of the buyer needs and the ability of the product to satisfy that need. A quality evaluation system or grades are needed for effective marketing to facilitate communication, sales/purchases, and trust in the individuals and products. Success in marketing will be enhanced if the producer approaches marketing with a specific strategy for targeting a specific quality grade and maintaining uniformity of products.

Both grade and quality parameters must be identified for effective market communication. Development of relevant quality grades for products where none currently exist or are not uniformly applied can open new marketing channels for agricultural products.

Mailing address for the authors: Department of Animal Science, Francioni Hall, LSU Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803

Back to Table of Contents