By Burt Rutherford, Contributing Editor
“They called ‘em whaat?”
That’s an exclamation likely uttered throughout the history of the cattle business by sellers and buyers alike. While evaluating cattle is an art unto itself, that’s why it’s important to have standards so folks on both sides of the trade speak the same language and have a basis for determining price, according to Kayley Ellis, USDA Market News Service officer in charge overseeing retail market reporting as well as new-hire training.
And that’s why grading standards for feeder cattle were enacted in 1980 and the feeder cattle standards were revised in 2000. “There are four primary factors that we consider when evaluating feeder cattle,” she said during a USDA Feeder Cattle Training session, Aug. 14 at the Colorado State University Agricultural Research, Development and Education Center. Those are thriftiness, frame size, muscle score and fleshiness.
When cattle come into the ring at a livestock auction, the USDA Market News reporter on hand first looks at thriftiness. “Basically, is the animal ready to perform or does it need intervention before we can expect it to perform normally?” If the animal or animals are deemed unthrifty, they aren’t included in the auction market report, she said.
If the feeder cattle pass that test, then the market reporter assigns a frame size of large, medium or small. “Frame size is not just the animal’s overall size, but its skeletal size in relation to its age,” she said. “And the reason frame size is important is because it projects the weight of the animal when it reaches Choice grade.”
That’s not the finished weight, she emphasized, but the weight it’s expected to cross from the Select grade and become Choice zero. When evaluating a group of feeder cattle, the market reporter will evaluate the majority of the lot when he or she calls a frame score.
A large-frame animal will be tall and long bodied for its age. For steers, USDA standards anticipate large frame steers will hit Choice (½ inch of fat at the 12th rib) at 1,250 pounds and heifers at 1,150 pounds, Ellis said.
Medium-frame animals aren’t quite as tall or long-bodied. “The ground clearance is about even with the depth of body, which is something I like to look at when evaluating frame size,” Ellis said. Medium-frame steers are expected to hit Choice at 1,100 to 1,250 pounds and heifers at 1,000 to 1,150 pounds.
Small-frame animals show more depth of body than leg length – basically short and squatty, and perhaps even showing a little fat, Ellis said. “We don’t see a ton of these true small frames through the auctions with improvements in genetics. But when we do see them, they bring a discount typically.”
Often, beef producers will see a combined medium-to-large frame score on the auction report. “This includes the top 50 percent of the medium grade and the lower 70 percent of the large grade,” she said. “And we’d anticipate this combined grade to reach Choice for steers at about 1,175 to 1,350 pounds and for heifers, 1,075 to 1,250.”
Typically, the breeds in the combined medium-to-large frame score will be mostly English or English-Continental crosses, she said. Those called large frame are most often straight Continental breeds, she added.
After frame scores are determined, USDA market reporters look at muscling. There are four muscling scores, 1 through 4. Feeders given a No. 1 muscling score are moderately thick throughout, according to “U.S. Standards for Grades of Feeder Cattle,” an Ag Marketing Service publication. ( Access the publication at https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/feeder-cattle-grades-and-standards.)
“They are moderately thick and full in the forearm and gaskin, showing a rounded appearance through the back and loin and with moderate width between the legs, both front and rear,” according to the standards.
Feeder cattle earning a No. 2 score show muscling that’s a little flatter in expression, Ellis said, but still fairly thick throughout and standing a little narrower than a No 1. Typically, No. 1 and No. 2 are going to be represented mostly by beef breeds but can show a little dairy influence, while No. 3 and No. 4 will look more angular, showing strong dairy influence. “There is always something that breaks that general rule, but for the most part, that’s what you can expect,” she said.
In a No. 3 and especially a No. 4, their legs are nearly side by side. “So overall, it lacks the muscle to put them apart,” she added.
Just like with frame scores, USDA Market News reporters will combine muscling scores. “The general rule of thumb is that if 80 percent of the lot is the same muscle score, that’s what they’ll be reported as,” she said. “So if you have a group of 10, and eight of them are No. 2s, the whole lot’s going to be reported as No. 2. If five are No. 1s and five are No. 2s, they’ll be reported as 1-2s.”
The final evaluation by USDA Market News reporters look at is fleshiness. “This is not necessarily something that we report for every lot, but for evaluation purposes it’s something we look at because it’s something that can definitely influence the price for that lot,” Ellis said.
Flesh scores run 1 to 9. One through 3 will be thin fleshed, 4 through 6 will be average flesh and 7 through 9 will be fleshy.
The flesh score is different from muscling because it’s an indication of condition. “Typically, your thinner-fleshed lots are going to bring a premium,” she said. “They’re probably going to demonstrate some compensatory gain and take right off on feed, whereas fleshy animals might bring a little bit of a discount.”
USDA Market News Service has several ways to quickly access market reports. Go to the main USDA Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News at https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/livestock-poultry-grain for dashboards, reports and data.
Or download the Market News app on your phone. Go to your app store and type in USDA Market News and download. When you open the app, you’ll see the four market news divisions. Select which you want and hit “apply.” The app then lets you customize local, regional and national reports, as well as search for previous reports and reports by state, commodity and other key words.
Grades of Thrifty Feeder Cattle (Frame Size)
- Large Frame (L) – Large framed, tall and long bodied for their age.
- Medium Frame (M) – Thrifty, have slightly large frames, and are slightly tall and slightly long bodied for their age.
- Small Frame (S) – Thrifty, have small frames, and shorter bodied and not as tall as specified as the minimum for the Medium Frame grade.
Grades of Thrifty Feeder Cattle (Thickness)
- No. 1. Predominate beef breeding. They must be thrifty and moderately thick throughout. They are moderately thick and full in the forearm and gaskin, showing a rounded appearance through the back and loin with moderate width between the legs, both front and rear.
- No. 2. High proportion of beef breeding and slight dairy breeding. They must be thrifty and tend to be slightly thick throughout. They tend to be slightly thick and full in the forearm and gaskin, showing a rounded appearance through the back and loin with slight width between the legs, both front and rear.
- No. 3. Thrifty and thin through the forequarter and the middle part of the rounds. The forearm and gaskin are thin and the back and loin have a sunken appearance. The legs are set close together, both front and rear.
- No. 4. Thrifty with less thickness than the minimum requirements specified for the No. 3 grade.
