It’s good to hear you’re doing a good job every now and then. That doesn’t happen nearly enough for those raising cattle.
The recent National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) and the Market Cow and Bull Summary audits were presented at World Dairy Expo, held Oct. 3-6 in Madison, WI. WLJ talked to some of audits’ contributors last week. Both were very pleased about the results.
“I think, for the very first time, we have some really good news for the dairy industry and their contribution to the beef quality assurance,” said Dr. Keith Belk, an animal science professor at Colorado State University and one of the principle investigators for the audits.
“Almost on all fronts you can name, they’ve done a better job in helping us address some of the quality defects that were entering the production chain. I told them last week in Madison, ‘Hey, I’m proud of you guys. You’re doing a good job.’”
Dairy impact
The impact of dairy cattle on the beef industry could be felt throughout the audits. For fed cattle, the percentage of Holsteins jumped from 5.5 percent as reported in the 2011 NBQA, to 20.4 percent in the recent audit. Some of the observed quality improvements could be attributed to the influx of dairy steers in the fed cattle ranks.
For example, dairy animals are almost never branded, and the rate of branded hides in fed cattle fell significantly. Brands can negatively affect the value of hides, making declining brand usage a quality goal.
The current audit showed 74.3 percent of fed cattle hides had no brands. In 2011, that number was 55.2 percent. Additionally, fewer side brands were seen, at 6.3 percent compared to 9 percent.
“We don’t want these great big side brands on the ribs on the side of the animal,” explained Belk.
“When you do that, you’re putting a brand in the middle of someone’s BMW seat. That hugely reduces the value of the most valuable byproduct of the animal, which is the hide. You’re taking a byproduct that’s worth $130 a head and you’re basically cutting that value in half. It’s a huge economic loss.”
Though not discussed in the audits, the pain associated with branding is also an important animal welfare concern for many consumers. A decline in brand usage could be an improvement from this perspective.
The sharp decline in tongue condemnations in fed cattle was another economic improvement that could suggest management improvement. Beef tongues are extremely popular in many export markets, making them an important part of the offal value of a carcass.
“The tongue is probably the second most valuable variety meat in the carcass. There was a period of time when tongues were selling in Japan for $50 a pound. They are hugely valuable,” said Belk.
In the 2011 NBQA, 10 percent of tongues were condemned, mostly for sores. The new audit reports only 1.9 percent were condemned.
“We don’t have a really good explanation for why that’s reduced, but we’re doing something better for sure,” noted Belk. “We think it’s because the industry has paid better attention to animal health and perhaps some improvement in diet handling of feedlot cattle.”
Mobility wins
One of the most impressive improvements in the audits was lameness in dairy cull cows being halved. The 2007 Market Cow and Bull Audit (most recent previous audit) reported that 49 percent of dairy cows came into packing plants lame. In the current audit, that number was 24 percent.
“[Producers have] realized that they have to monitor their cattle and get them on the trucks earlier because it helps eliminate some challenges that we have getting those cattle to market,” Dr. Dan Kniffen—chairman of the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Advisory Board and an assistant professor of animal science at Penn State—told WLJ.
Overall, the Market Cow and Bull Audit covered a wide range of improvements in especially dairy cow condition at slaughter. These included improved muscle scoring, a reduction in observable defects, and a reduction in bruising severity.
When asked about other potential reasons why dairy cow condition might have improved, Kniffen noted that the market could have played a role. He also explained that the audits focus on specific end-result quality data that do not generally include information on why changes have occurred. This leaves some things to speculation.
“We’re starting to get the industry to move in a direction of doing a lot better job of getting those cattle marketed than they might have been doing in the past. That’s speculative, but I’m hoping it’s true.”
Mobility in fed cattle is still extremely good. Almost 97 percent of fed cattle surveyed for the recent audit showed no sign of lameness. An additional 3 percent were given a mobility score of 2, meaning minor lameness that did not impact the animals’ ability to keep with the group.
Challenges continue
The audits were not all about success, however. Key quality problems remain in transportation and liver quality.
After commenting that “it is clear the cattle are being handled better and the transport link has been improved,” Belk went on to highlight some transport problems.
“We’re still on the bubble of shipping cows with enough space because the cattle supply has gotten so large in size,” he said, then added, “In the cow industry, in particular, a lot of cows are being shipped a long way.”
This round of audits included records on trailer space and trucking times for cattle for the first time. Market cows and bulls were given more trailer space on average than fed cattle were (25.3 square feet per animal compared to 12.2 square feet respectively), but the low-end of the observed range was concerning at just 6.4 square feet.
Travel times were also concerning for market cows and bulls. While fed cattle were trucked just under three hours to reach slaughter on average, culls averaged almost seven hours. The extreme high observed was 39.5 hours.
Liver quality among fed cattle declined, with 30.8 percent of livers being condemned in the most recent NBQA. In the 2011 NBQA, only 20.9 percent of livers were condemned. Most livers are condemned due to abscesses.
While Belk pointed out that the audit data does not detail the reasons for the extreme jump in liver abscesses, he speculated it might have to do with the growth in dairy steers among the fed cattle population.
Dairy steers are generally on feed longer than conventional fed beef cattle. Also, generally speaking, the longer an animal is fed, the greater the possibility for liver abscesses.
“Abscesses are caused by a few bacteria, but they basically escape the [gastrointestinal] tract and invade the liver and that’s what forms the abscesses,” explained Belk, adding that that is the current thought on abscess formation but it is not known for certain.
“And as you know, there’s a great deal of pressure on conventional feeding to reduce the number of antimicrobials that are being used in the production system,” he continued. “When you pile those things on top of each other, you see a pretty hefty increase in the liver abscesses.
Both audits concluded that in many areas “significant improvements have been made” yet noted the need for continuing efforts.
“An important strategy for improved industry health and success came through loud and clear,” read the final conclusion of the NBQA.
“Utilizing BQA and its principles to increase consumer confidence and enhance industry commitment would encourage greater beef demand and improve industry unity. Carrying this BQA message throughout the industry all the way to consumers has a harmonization quality that would benefit every audience. And it could be one key to helping the industry move further down the road.” — Kerry Halladay, WLJ editor
