Welcome to the 2002 Beef Quality Challenge

The beef cattle industry is looking for ways to capture more value from its products. More and more cattle are being sold on a carcass grid or formula basis. The goal of this year''s Beef Quality Challenge is to teach cattle producers what they need to consider when selling cattle on “the grid.” The initial step in finding solutions to beef quality and value challenges is greater knowledge of how our industry works from gate to plate. Therefore, this challenge will explain the factors that influence the value and quality of cattle as they are sold to the packer. Secondly, we hope this contest will create a forum for discussing potential solutions to beef quality challenges. Dan Hale, Ph.D. meat scientist, Texas A&M University

Objective: Match the Steer to the Grid

The field of 10 finished steers is pictured in the contest materials, which are available in a PDF file (see "Download Contest Materials" below) or in the October 2002 issue of BEEF magazine. The steers have been placed into two groups (pen A and pen B). Pen A represents five steers from a central Texas auction market, and there is no pre-auction history on these cattle. The five steers in pen B were Premium Value Added Calf (VAC-45) calves purchased from a central Texas auction market. Presented with each steer picture is the steer identification number and final live pay weight (lbs.) after the 140-day feeding period in the feedyard. On the entry form, match each steer to the optimal marketing option, either grid A and grid B. Details on these two marketing options are listed on the final page. Winner in each category will be selected based on the highest number of correct matches. In case of a tie, the first tie-breaker is to estimate the range in total carcass value from highest to lowest among all 10 steers. The range is calculated by subtracting the lowest total carcass value from the highest total carcass value.

Download Contest Materials

Steer Photos and Cattle Information (download) This requires Adobe Acrobat, a free download from www.adobe.com.

Prizes

Under 13 years old — $500 savings bond & trophy 14 - 18 years old — $500 savings bond & trophy Over 19 years old — $1,500 in cash Feedyard team — $5,000 worth of Zinpro® products

How to Enter

All entry forms must be received in the office of the Texas A&M University Meat Science Section by Nov. 15, 2002. Late entries will not be considered. Other rules can be found on the entry form. You may enter either by way of regular mail, fax, the BEEF Web page at www.beef-mag.com or the e-mail address below. regular mail: Dan Hale Meat Science Section 348 Kleberg Center College Station, TX 77843-2471 fax: Meat Science Section 979/845-9454 e-mail: dhale@tamu.edu The objective is to match each steer to one of two marketing options (carcass grids). In the December issue of BEEF magazine, using these 10 steers as the backdrop, we will present articles giving the results and discussing grid marketing, calf health programs, preconditioning, genetics, feedyard management, marketing and carcass and meat quality issues. Winners will be announced in the January 2003 issue.

Last Year's Contest Results

Results of the 2001 Beef Quality Challenge Early this year, two pens of 10 steers were purchased from auction markets located in Central Texas. One pen (Pen A) was of unknown origins with no pre-auction market information for use in our purchase decision. The second group of 10 steers (Pen B) was purchased from an auction market during a Premium Value-Added Calf Sale (VAC-45). These cattle were preconditioned a minimum of 45 days after weaning and were wormed, vaccinated and... More

Last Year's Contest Winners

2001 Beef Quality Challenge Winners No contest entrant correctly selected the top five net return steers, which tells us visual appraisal can''t replace good information when evaluating calves. More