JUDGE'S COMMENTS

Waikato Times, Volume 106, Issue 22762, 10 November 1945, Page 8

JUDGE'S COMMENTS

CHILLED BEEF ON HOOKS ! | | SYSTEM OF MEASUREMENT ! An explanation of how the chilled ' beef was judged at the Horotiu i freezing works recently, the entries 1 previously having competed on the hoof at the Waikato Agricultural and Pastoral Association’s Peace , Show, was given by Dr. C. P. Mci Meekan to larmers and butchers at a field day at the Horotiu works. The beef was judged by Dr. Mc- | Meekan, Messrs H. Kneebone, T. i Marks and F. Merritt and the system I used was by measurement. Dr. McMeekan said that with regard to the | judging of beef this was the first ! time such methods had been adopt- : ed. He said that for the past ten years Dr. Hammond (Cambridge), Dr. Burgess (Argentina) and himself had been endeavouring to find a bet- ; ter method of judging, i “In the past the farmer has either been placed first, second, third or nowhere and this is the only infor- , mation he gets as to the quality of his stock,’’ said Dr. McMeekan. “He seldom gets more than this unless i verbally from the judge. | No Help to Breeder i “This does not help the breeder as lit gives the general but not the specific information to help him to improve the quality of his beef in the future,” continued Dr. McMeekan. He pointed out that with regard to pigs the measurement sys- , tern developed had achieved its purj pose of raising the quality of the ; pigs and increased their value from i the trade’s point of view, j “We have collected a lot of data ! from Argentine and British sources 1 and want to see how our carcases measure up and to provide a system similar to that used in the judging iof pigs,” the speaker continued. ! “One of the main things is to provide ! each exhibitor with points of his j markings. i “The allocation of points is now on j the basis of 70 per cent by measurej ment and 30 per cent by eye judgei ment. We would like to do all the 1 judging by measurement but unfortunately there are some things | important to the trade which cannot be measured, although they are not major points. Allocation of Points “Of the 70 points for measure--1 ment, 20 are allocated for fullness of meat, which is judged by the measurement of the depth of the eye muscle—a single measurement,” said the speaker. He pointed out that although the loin was the chief consideration, it was often the weakest point with the carcases. “From the fact that we have taken apart thousands of carcases we know th-at the eye muscle is a good indication of the loin beef” continued Dr. McMeekan. “An allocation of 15 points is given for fat cover. This is extremely important as the amount of fat can be too great or i too little.” Question of Weight ! “For balance an allocation of 10 points is awarded because the hind end in a good beef animal should be heavier than the fore end. Weight comes into the judging, too, as five points are given, based mainly on the requirements for export. With regard to eye judging, 15 points are allocated for rib cover and evenness of fat. “For colour and texture of muscle five points are allowed, the lighter the colour the better. What is required is a pale cream' colour not a bright yellow,” said the judge. “We are quite satisfied with the results of the judging,” said Dr. McMeekan. He stated that the judges had in mind the carcases required by the London markets and they had all the measurements of Smithfield winning animals as a basis.