To evaluate different methods of estimating bovine carcass composition, seventy yearling bulls of the "Asturiana de los Valles" beef breed were slaughtered and their carcass composition estimated by a commercial dissection of the right half-carcass and by tissular dissection of the 6th and 10th rib of the left half-carcass. Correlation and regression analyses were used to identify the most accu...

Although carcass trait selection programs have primarily focused on carcass marbling (quality grade), recent changes in the North American beef industry will very likely increase the economic importance of carcass composition (yield grade). Ultrasound technology is a valuable tool in these efforts. This review summarizes recent research pertaining to the role of ultrasound in improving carcass ...

Live weight and ultrasound measures of fat thickness and longissimus muscle area were available on 404 yearling bulls and 514 heifers, and carcass measures of weight, longissimus muscle area, and fat thickness were available on 235 steers. Breeding values were initially estimated for carcass weight, longissimus muscle area, and fat thickness using only steer carcass data. Breeding values were a...

Results of this study indicate that correlations between real-time ultrasound loin depth and carcass loin muscle area and between carcass loin depth and carcass loin muscle area are high. However, using carcass loin muscle area as the true value, the standard error of prediction for real-time ultrasound loin muscle area was lower than those for loin muscle areas predicted from either real-time ...

Carcass data from more than 4,400 Southdown x Romney ewe and wether lambs collected over a 16-yr period were analyzed for the effects of sex, rearing status, and growth rate. Ewe lambs grew more slowly than wethers and had .78 kg less carcass weight at the same age. The carcass weight advantage for wethers was nearly all caused by heavier fat-free weight. Based on fat depths, the fat on ewe lam...

The objectives of this study were to estimate genetic parameters for the carcass price and carcass traits contributing to carcass grading and to investigate the influence of each carcass trait on the carcass price using multiple regression and path analyses. Data for carcass traits and carcass prices were collected from March 2003 to January 2009 on steers of Korean cattle raised at private far...

The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for the weights of different wholesale cuts, using an experimental and a commercial data set. The experimental and commercial data sets included 413 and 635 crossbred Belgian Blue, Charolais, Limousin, Angus, Holstein, and Simmental animals, respectively. Univariate analyses using a mixed linear animal model with relationships were ...

Total insulin specific binding (IB) and the number and affinity of insulin receptors on mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) were used to predict carcass composition of heifers and steers. Dependent variables were kidney fat, body cavity fat, s.c. fat, intermuscular fat, lean and bone. Independent variables were parameters that could be measured on the live animal, including insulin receptor characteri...

An experiment was conducted to determine prediction equations that used readings for total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC) in the model for estimation of total fat-free lean and total fat weight in the pork carcass. Ultrasound measurements of live hogs were used to select 32 gilts that represented a range in weight, muscling, and fatness. The TOBEC readings were recorded on warm carcass si...

The objective of this study was to estimate genetic correlations between calving difficulty score and carcass traits in Charolais and Hereford cattle, treating first and later parity calvings as different traits. Genetic correlations between birth weight and carcass traits were also estimated. Field data on 59,182 Charolais and 27,051 Hereford calvings, and carcass traits of 5,260 Charolais and...