Turn Larger Livestock into profit opportunities New alternative carcase cutting specifications have been developed specifically for larger beef cattle that will benefit the industry. AHDB has recently undertaken analysis of both smaller and larger cattle, with consistent animal age being the most important factor, and has developed a range of cuts utilising seam butchery. Smaller cattle produce smaller muscles, which makes the manufacture and process of these smaller muscles into traditional steaks and joints easier to manage. Equipment is traditionally configured to handle this size more efficiently. The issue with larger cattle has been that if cut in the traditional manner, the consumer ends up with a thin, larger surface, as the processor/retailer are governed by weight parameters along with pack sizes. Livestock age at slaughter is important with 16-24 month fast finished cattle providing optimum market opportunities. Important to remember is that feed conversion efficiency (FCE) reduces as animals get older and heavier. Genetics play an important role also in providing fast finishing high yield cattle and are explained in more detail inside the leaflet.
Seam Butchery The recent work by AHDB has shown that the yield figures for larger cattle are similar and if seam butchered offer as good, if not a better, option for the end consumer. The advantage of seam butchery is that this allows for the removal of connective tissue and gristle that would be included under traditional butchery methods. Adopting this method has been proven to be very successful for a number of catering butchers for their customers in the foodservice sector.
Genetics Whatever finished weight producers are targeting, to optimise quality, animals should be managed to achieve their potential growth rate. Producers should therefore select animals with growth potential suited to their system of production. Within a system, using the best genetics for growth and carcase traits will optimise performance and minimise cost. The use of estimated breeding values to select the sire is a valuable tool to improve production efficiency and reduce cost. The selection of animals for higher growth rates has probably contributed to increased mature size of cattle and hence heavier slaughter weights, so breeders should record mature size to enable breeding objectives in the future to incorporate this.
CATTLE COMPARISONS Carcase/side weight (kg)
300/147
Carcase/side weight (kg)
425/210.5
Primal weight
28.985
Primal weight
42.416
Carcase Grade
-U3
Carcase Grade
-U4L
Primal Cost/kg
£7.50
Primal Cost/kg
£7.50
Total Primal Cost
£217.39
Saleable meat yield Small cattle – 67.99%
Total Primal Cost
£318.12
Larger cattle – 67.94%
Retail Sales Value For smaller cattle prepared in the traditional way and based on a cost price of £7.50/kg – retail sales value equated to £349.32, delivering a gross margin of 37.77%
For the larger cattle prepared in an alternative way (with the exception of the fillet) seam butchering the rump into three muscles, the sirloin was prepared as sirloin cannon and the rib-eye was cut in half across the eye muscle. Based on a cost price of £7.50/kg – retail sales value equated to £512.53, delivering a gross margin of 37.93%
Primal summary
Value
Gross Margin
Profit %
Smaller size
£349.32
£131.93
37.77%
Larger size
£512.53
£194.41
37.93%
Increased Profit
£163.21
£62.48
0.16%
Carcase weight 300kg with traditional cutting methods Product name
Rump and Loin +4 bone rib
Primal weight
28.985
Price per kg Wholesale cost
Percentage of carcase
100.00%
£7.50 £217.39
Product description
AHDB code
Selling price (£/kg)
Value £
Rump Steak
Rump B006
3.984
13.75%
£14.99
£59.72
Sirloin Steak – standard
Sirloin B006
5.422
18.71%
£21.00
£113.86
Fillet B006
2.514
8.67%
£34.00
£85.48
Fore rib B008
3.162
10.91%
£18.50
£58.50
Trim muscle 98%vl
Trim B022
1.098
3.79%
£7.50
£8.24
Trim muscles 85%vl
Trim B019
3.528
12.17%
£6.67
£23.53
19.708
67.99%
Bone & waste (kg)
8.984
31.00%
Drip/Cutting loss (kg)
0.293
1.01%
Fillet Steak – standard Rib-eye Steak
Total saleable meat
Weight (kg) Red Meat Yield %
Total Sales Value
£349.32
Gross Margin
£131.93
Gross Profit
37.77%
Carcase weight 425kg with alternative cutting methods Product name
Rump and Loin +4 bone rib
Primal weight
42.416
Price per kg Wholesale cost
Percentage of carcase
100.00%
£7.50 £318.12
Product description
AHDB code
Selling price (£/kg)
Value £
Bistro rump
Rump B003
1.428
3.37%
£25.00
£35.70
Prime rump
Rump B003
2.960
6.98%
£14.99
£44.37
Picanha Steak
Rump B013
1.698
4.00%
£17.99
£30.55
Premium Sirloin Cannon
Sirloin B010
5.460
12.87%
£27.00
£147.42
Fillet Steak – standard
Fillet B006
3.188
7.52%
£34.00
£108.39
Fore rib B008
4.278
10.09%
£18.50
£79.14
Trim muscle 98%vl
Trim B022
1.920
4.53%
£7.50
£14.40
Trim muscles 85%vl
Trim B019
7.880
18.58%
£6.67
£52.56
Total saleable meat
28.812
67.94%
Bone & waste (kg)
13.184
31.08%
0.420
0.99%
Rib-eye Steak
Drip/Cutting loss (kg)
Weight (kg) Red Meat Yield %
Total Sales Value
£512.53
Gross Margin
£194.41
Gross Profit
37.93%
For further reading visit http://beefandlamb.ahdb.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Manual7-feedinggrowingandfinishingcattleforbetterreturns.pdf
Cutting the larger carcase using seam butchery
Alternative cutting spec for Sirloin Cannon
Alternative cutting spec for Rump Picanha
Prepared from a three-rib bone-in sirloin with the rump (“D� muscle) section removed. The eye muscle is seamed out and fat and gristle removed. The lean eye muscle is cut lengthways into two cannons, which can then be cut into premium cannon steaks.
Cut from the cap of the rump. In traditional rump steak, it is cut along the grain but, in this case, cut across the grain and, therefore, more tender to eat.
Alternative cutting spec for Rump Bistro
Alternative cutting spec for Prime Rump
This premium lean steak is cut from the most tender part of the rump, which contains no gristle and leaves no plate waste.
This premium steak is cut from the centre part of the rump. The benefit is that a layer of thick gristle is removed and, because it is single muscle, the steak will not fall apart.
To watch the video we have produced on larger livestock visit www.qsmbeefandlamb.co.uk/library-cutting-videos