Being “barn blind” is when the owner thinks whatever is in their barn is great and should bring top dollar. The problem arises when we don’t correctly assess the product we are selling. The buyer sees the issue, and we don’t. There is a very long list of reasons for discounts. Most often it’s the big-ticket items that reap discounts: frame and muscle.

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Jason Duggin

Sadly, feeder calf grades are rarely explained and even more rarely understood. We have access to price reports, but it would take some doing to find the definitions of the differences. Feeder cattle reports list prices by some combination of frame (L, M, S) and muscling (1, 2,3).

These grades are predictors of carcass merit on the rail. These attributes highly correlate with how they will gain and convert in the feedlot.

A large-frame feeder steer (L) is graded as such by a combination of visual factors that suggest it will not have 0.5 inch of fat and potentially grade low Choice or better until it is over 1,250 pounds. A steer’s body conformation and skeleton relative to its age is what makes this visual determination.

Medium-framed feeder steers are projected to weigh between 1,100 and 1,250 pounds when they finish with 0.5 inch at the 12th rib. Upper medium-framed cattle are oftentimes valued like large-framed. Small-framed steers will finish less than 1,100 pounds and will receive heavy discounts. Heifers are graded with 100 pounds slide (Medium = 1,000 to 1,150 pounds).

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A feeder steer or heifer that has a muscle score of “1” is expected to have above-average muscling on the rail for its carcass weight and is described as moderately thick. For reference, a 700-pound carcass needs a 12.22 ribeye to meet yield grade requirements.

No. 1 feeder cattle are described as moderately thick and expected to measure with a larger ribeye than required and have better yield grades. Upper 2 muscled feeders are still valuable. Low 2’s and 3’s are discounted. Take out the bad apples when marketing groups.  end mark

Jason Duggin