JUDGING CATTLE ON CUTS

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30396, 21 March 1964, Page 9

JUDGING CATTLE ON CUTS

'THE first beef cuts comA petition will be held in the South Island next week. It is the Methven Agricultural and Pastoral Association’s competition, which will be held at the Islington works of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company. The first of these competitions in the country was held recently by the Feilding Agricultural and Pastoral Association and the account which follows gives some idea of the complexity of the judging system used. Writing of this competition in the latest issue of “Borthwicks Bulletin,” Mr R. A. Barton, senior lecturer in sheep husbandry at Massey University, says that the steers were judged on the hoof, and were later slaughtered at Borthwicks freezing works, Feilding, where the carcases were judged. One side of each carcase was processed to yield fabricated cuts for export and these cuts were also judged. This beef cuts competition may, in the future, replace the chiller beef competition in which the live cattle and their carcases are judged and then the placegetters are sent to London for appraisal by a panel of Smithfield judges. As no quantity of chilled beef has been exported from New Zealand for a number' of years and'nearly all beef exports are in the form of trimmed, boneless cuts shipped mainly to the United States, it was felt that a new basis for judging beef should be instituted.

The writer, in devising a judging system for beef cuts, reviewed the methods used in America and adapted these to the local situation. However, no claim is made that the method as used is perfect.

The right side of each carcase was cut into a series of cuts and each cut was trimmed of excess fat The trimmed cuts and fat were weighed separately for each side. The weights were multiplied by a price factor and the total of these calculations was called the unit value. The hindquarter cuts included inside, outside, knuckle

striploin, tenderloin, 31b to 51b, and over 51b, sirloin butt, flanksteak, thin flank, shankmeat, trimmings, kidney fat, fat and bones and the forequarter cuts: cube roll, brisket, chuck, ciod, shankmeat, table trimmings, trimmings, fat and bones. The outline of the ribeye of each entry was traced on to tracing paper and, from this tracing, the area of the ribeye was determined by using a compensating polar planimeter —an instrument used by surveyors to obtain the area of irregularly shaped paddocks etc. The depth of fat over the ribeye was measured in two places and the average calculated. The area of the ribeye and the depth of the fat were obtained on the left side of each carcase which had been partly cut through between the 12th and 13th ribs.

Calculations were made to determine percentages of total fat, the percentage of preferred cuts (inside, outside, knuckle, striploin, tenderloin, sirloin butt, cube roll, and brisket—all but two from the hindquarter), percentage of bone and loss, depth of fat per 1001 b of carcase Weight (this is the average of two depths of fat measures over the ribeye at the 12th rib), unit value per 1001 b of side weight (this was determined by multiplying the weight of each cut by its price factor and dividing the total by the weight of the side), penalty deductions for fat, size of ribeye and meat quality, and adjusted unit value per 1001 b of side weight. The total penalty deductions were subtracted from the total unit value and the answer was obtained by dividing by the side weight and bringing this

to a 1001 b weight basis). The deductions for meat quality took into account such things as colour of red meat, colour of fat, texture of the meat, firmness of flesh and amount of gristle. In judging the cuts the greatest importance was placed on the unit value. A system of penalty points was necessary, however, in order to penalise entries for excess fat, small size of the ribeye and for unsatisfactory meat quality as determined by appraising the cuts. There was no limit to the number of penalty points that could be deducted. There was no relationship between those entries placed on the hoof and those placed on the hooks or as cuts. The on-hook placings and the placings as cuts did not coincide. The entry placed third on the hooks was awarded first prize in the cuts judging. The entry which won in the cuts section of the competition was an Aberdeen Angus steer exhibited by Mr B. T. Shannon, of Waituna West. It was placed third in the carcase contest. Its carcase weight was 6331 b and it had an adjusted value per 1001 b side weight of 218. Second prize as cuts was exhibited by Messrs S. E. Small and Son,, of Waituna West, and this entry had an adjusted unit value of 201. Third place entry was shown by Mr J. G. Wilson, of Bulls, and it gained a total of 191. The second and third prize entries were also Aberdeen Angus. The competition was successful and will, no doubt, be the forerunner of other similar fixtures. Attention will now be devoted to reducing the amount of work involved in staging and judging future competitions.