New Results Released on Market Cow and Bull Audit

New Results Released on Market Cow and Bull Audit

Russell Nemetz
Russell Nemetz
Hi everybody it's time for your Land and Livestock Report here on the Ag Information Network of the West-I'm Russell Nemetz.

Newly released audit data about market cows and bulls suggests the industy has made significant improvements in several areas, including: herd management techniques, animal welfare and handling, hide damage, injection-site location and bruises.

In all cattle types surveyed, the vast majority of cattle walked normally into the packing facility with no apparent lameness. There has been a trend toward increased body condition scores in beef and dairy cows since 2007, the research showed, while body condition has stayed relatively constant for the bull population.

Meanwhile, about 98 percent of cattle surveyed had no visible swellings resulting from an injection of animal health products, and incidence of injection-site lesions in the round have dropped considerably since 1998.

While identification of bruising in the 1999 National Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit helped lead to significant industry improvements in bruise reduction from 1999 to 2007, there is still an opportunity to decrease the prevalence of carcass bruising. In addition, greater attention to the size and location of brands could reduce lost opportunities in hide value.

For more information about the National Beef Quality Audit, visit BQA.org. For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.

That's your Land and Livestock Report-I'm Russell Nemetz.

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