Agricultural News
Texas Cattle Feeders Support Dentition to Help Determine the Age of Cattle
Fri, 28 Oct 2016 23:01:33 CDT
The Texas Cattle Feeders Association and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association filed comments with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) this week supporting a petition to revise the United States Standards for Grades of Carcass Beef to include documentation and dentition as authorized methods to determine age.
TCFA's comments stated, "New scientific research clearly demonstrates that dentition is a significantly less subjective and more accurate method of determining age, without compromising product quality and tenderness. Additionally, permitting the use of dentition will correct an erroneous standard that currently discriminates against fed heifers (which present with skeletal ossification more advanced than actual age) and will benefit consumers and cattle producers by increasing the number of cattle eligible for an A maturity grade. This change could provide beef producers approximately $59 million in added revenue."
The petition was filed by NCBA, USMEF, American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and based on scientific research funding through the Beef Checkoff. A copy of the petition is available by clicking here.
TCFA and NCBA will continue to work with AMS to update the carcass grading standards to ensure the most accurate value determination possible. In addition, TCFA requested that AMS work with meat scientists and the cattle industry to develop changes to the current yield grading system that better represent modern cattle production and carcass fabrication style and more accurately predict actual red meat yield.
You can review the complete set of comments offered by the Texas Cattle Feeders by clicking here.
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