Preliminary results from the 2022 National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) revealed increased efficiency across the beef supply chain as consumers expect the industry to provide a safe, quality product.
The beef audit started in 1991 and has been conducted every five years. The last audit was conducted in 2016, with the most recent audit delayed due to the pandemic. The purpose of NBQA is to provide a set of measurements for beef producers to assess industry progress on various issues to determine quality conformance that will affect beef demand from consumers.
Since the first audit, industry concerns have evolved to include not only carcass quality and blemishes, but food safety, sustainability, animal welfare and the growing disconnect between producers and consumers.
Trey Patterson, CEO of Padlock Ranch, said at a recent NBQA virtual media event that the audit provides a snapshot of the industry and provides an idea of where it needs to focus.
Patterson stressed that information from the audit is important to producers as it allows them to challenge themselves to look at the big picture and see where improvement is needed.
Findings
Based on individual interviews with stakeholders from across the cattle industry, as well as in-plant research, key findings for fed cattle from the 2022 NBQA include:
• Food safety is no longer a consideration, but an expectation for consumers.
• Compared to the 2016 audit, the most considerable improvement was overall increased efficiency across the beef supply chain.
• Companies are striving to increase their sustainability and are working with the entire beef supply chain to do so.
• The industry felt the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and more cattle over 30 months were harvested.
• Foreign materials continue to present a problem. Clay Mathis, director and endowed chair of the King Ranch Institute at Texas A&M University, said at the media event that 100% of the packing plants found buckshot and the industry needs to figure out the sources and work to eliminate it.
• There was an increase in the usage of electronic identification. Patterson said while there was an uptick in the use of electronic identification since the last audit, it is still not where it needs to be.
“I know this can get tricky in the industry (and) that there are concerns about ‘I don’t need someone looking over my shoulder,’” Patterson said. “I think we need to continue to educate and promote it and we need to partner within the industry to figure out how to get traceability done so that if we have an infectious disease outbreak, that can be isolated.”
• There was an increase in the frequency of Prime and Choice quality grades, while Select decreased.
Jeffrey Savell, vice chancellor and dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, said in previous audits, a 7% goal of Prime seemed unattainable. Still, this audit had a 7% achievement rate and sometimes as high as 10%. Savell said it points to the industry and what people in the seedstock and cattle feeding industry can do to achieve those targets and the marketplace is rewarding them for meeting what consumers want.
• The quality of beef produced is improving, with increases in carcass weight and fat thickness and increases in percentages of Yield Grade 4 and 5 carcasses.
Challenges
Mathis noted that the latest audit revealed more bruising than they would like to have seen, and the industry needs to look at ways to minimize it. This includes looking at facilities and how cattle are transported. Mathis said one way to reduce bruising is to look at the design of trailers, as the audit showed bruising occurred on the top lines of the cattle where they are rubbing their backs. Mathis noted the audit showed a greater proportion of trucks had separated the bulls from the cows when transporting cattle and it has helped with bruising. The media event panelists said the increase in size and weight of the animal also plays a role and is something the industry needs to look at.
Brandi Karisch, associate professor and Extension beef cattle specialist for Mississippi State University, said having truck drivers familiar with Beef Quality Assurance practices and getting certified will help keep animal care at the forefront of their minds.
Another concern with the producer panel was the issue of cows going to slaughter with full bags after weaning. Karisch said producers should hold off on taking open cows to the sale barn until they are dry. Mathis said milk spilling from full bags onto carcasses or the floor would lead to contamination.
The panelists said the audit provides an opportunity to continue making changes and modifications to producing quality beef to feed consumers.
As of WLJ press time, the full NBQA report had yet to be released. To read more about the audit, visit www.bqa.org. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
