Marketing Livestock
One purpose of Quality Counts
• Reveal impact of 76,000
market projects
How many pounds of carcass
are there?
• Terms & Calculations:
• Live weight – Total weight of livestock at slaughter
• Carcass weight – Total weight of livestock after slaughter
• Dressing percentage – Percentage of the live animal that ends
up as carcass (Carcass weight ÷ Live weight) x 100
• Total number of livestock – Total number of live
animals being slaughtered
Carcass weight x Total number of livestock =
Total pounds of carcass
Total Entry Numbers
Market swine: 32,751
Meat goats:
23,817
Market lambs: 11,323
Market steers:
TOTAL:
8,435
76,326
PORK
Avg. wt. – 269
D. P. – 74.7%
6,580,985.9 lb
Pork Carcass
•Ham – 24%
•Side (Belly) – 19%
•Loins – 18%
•Picnic – 9%
•Boston butt – 8%
•Miscellaneous - 22%
Pork Carcass Dressing Percentage
Dressing percentage = Carcass weight as a percentage of
Live weight
Carcass weight ÷ Live weight x 100
Factors affecting dressing percentage
gut fill
weight of hide
weight of feet
degree of muscling
weight of head
fat thickness
Reasons for Variations in
Dressing Percentage
• Livestock are processed different ways.
Ex. Pork is harvested with the skin on, thus yielding higher
dressing percentages.
• Livestock are fed different diets. This can increase
or decrease gut fill, which can in turn affect dressing
percentage.
Ex. Grain fed vs. natural fed (forage)
• Weight of skin or pelt varies with livestock species.
– Ex. Sheep or goats that are shorn vs. unshorn
– Ex. Different breeds have thicker skins (Continental vs. Zebu)
• Livestock have different types of stomachs.
– Ex. Swine have monogastric (single-compartment) stomachs
SHEEP
Avg. wt. – 130
D. P. - 54%
794,874.6 lb
Lamb Carcass
•Leg – 39%
•Shoulder – 26%
•Breast – 10%
•Rack – 9%
•Loin – 7%
•Flank & kidney – 4%
Lamb Carcass Dressing Percentage
Dressing percentage = Carcass weight as a percentage of
Live weight
Carcass weight ÷ Live weight x 100
Factors affecting dressing percentage
gut fill
fatness
wool
muscling
mud
GOATS
Avg. wt. – 90
D. P. - 50%
1,071,765 lb
Goat Carcass
•Leg – 39%
•Shoulder – 26%
•Breast – 10%
•Rack – 9%
•Loin – 7%
•Flank & kidney – 4%
What do consumers want?
• Goat meat or cabrito is being purchased primarily
by immigrants from Mexico, the Middle East and
the Caribbean.
Ethnic groups within metropolitan areas (New York,
Chicago, California) want to return to foods of their
cultures.
• People of different religions purchase different parts
of the goat.
• Three most consumed portions are rack, loin and
legs.
Goat Carcass Dressing Percentage
Dressing percentage = Carcass weight as a percentage of
Live weight
Carcass weight ÷ Live weight x 100
Factors Affecting Dressing Percentage
gut fill
hay and straw feeding
weaning
large horns & testicles
fatness
breed
lactation
mating
carcass weight variation
dry pastures
heavy fleece
gender
BEEF
Avg. wt. – 1256
D. P. – 61.2%
6,483,731.5 lb
Where does our beef come from?
Beef Carcass Breakdown %
What do consumers want?
• Processors are extracting single muscles from different
portions of primals.
Improving taste and quality of individual cuts of meat
• Consumers want improved taste and color.
Palatability and appearance are crucial when consumers
purchase meat products.
• Leaner meats
Done by extracting single muscles, processing methods, or
emphasizing better quality grades by producers
• Country of origin labeling
Organic and natural meats
Telling the story of the products
Beef Carcass Dressing Percentage
Dressing percentage = Carcass weight as a percentage
of Live weight
Carcass weight ÷ Live weight x 100
Factors Affecting Dressing Percentage
gut fill
feed type
class of country
transit loss
fatness
breed
pregnant cows
bruising
carcass weight variation
sale method
weather conditions
Grand Total:
14,931,357.0
pounds of carcass!
Results – Entry Number Trends
Project
2000
2006
% Change
Beef cattle
7,582
8,435
11.25%
Swine
34,126
32,751
-4.03%
Sheep
11,837
11,323
-4.34%
Goats
17,651
23,817
34.93%
TOTAL
71,196
76,326
7.21%
2006 Results
Project type
Market
Breeding
Total
Beef cattle
8,435
7,055
15,490
Swine
32,751
2,882
35,633
Sheep
11,323
1,338
12,661
Goats
23,817
2,331
26,148
TOTAL
76,326
13,606
89,932
What does this mean?
• Your project can affect thousands of
people!
• Think about the CONSUMERS!
• You never know who they might be.