Jeanne - Simme Valley":209uh43m said:I'm not trying to say anything other that only 1.9 mill qualified out of 9 mill. That's AAA's report - not mine. I guess I wouldn't be real proud of that unless they are trying to impress the idea that they are very STRICK with their requirements.
Or maybe, , they're not trying to impress anyone. Maybe they're just reporting the facts!! Goodness what an idea!! Last year was an especially bad year for CAB. With the demand for beef being so good, feeders were not feeding cattle as long, thus fewer were "finished" to meet CAB specs. When you consider all the other "black" breeds, I think that's still a pretty good qualification percentage. We know Angus meet CAB specs at a higher rate.
The statement about too much Brahman genes, was in the "unknowledgeable" article that was all wrong. They were testing cattle that had passed the CAB program and were finding less Angus genes than they PERCEIVED should be in the carcasses. They are a company that is trying to sell their testing program so they came up with an outrageous news report to get noticed. This article was in the Wall Street Journal, besides other places.
MARC has research showing that the higher the Brahman influence in a carcass, the more likely it will be tough. A few years ago, the Brahman Association was supporting some feed tests and collecting carcass data to identify those Brahman blood lines that produced efficient, tasty cattle. I'd be interested to know if the tests are still ongoing? Nolan Ryan Branded Beef is the only branded beef program built on Brahman genetics. They aim for the Select grade, then use three different methods to tenderize it to meet their "guaranteed tender" claim. They sell the carcasses that grade Choice into the general meat market.
Angus cattle & Jersey do quality grade quite well. But, so do the Simmental and probably many other breeds. The BIGGEST factor on whether an animal grades - is the feeding & management program. Well, at least that's what I think. But, who am I?
I don't think "many other breeds" grade well. Of course, so many of them have added Angus, it might have improved their grading. But not all Angus grade, so it depends on what bloodlines they used. About 30 years ago, with the influx of Continental cattle, including Simmental, not enough cattle were making the grade. Some segments of the beef industry got the USDA to lower the grading standards. That's when the Angus Association started CAB. They believed consumers would be willing to pay more for a quality cut of beef. It took a long time, but they were eventually proven right.
Management and feeding are important in quality and yield grades. But if an animal doesn't have the genetics to marble, you can feed him forever and not get marbling. You need both to meet the CAB specifications.