Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 49 



two animals yield carcasses of the same value per pound, then the 

 difference in live value per cwt. will be the difference in dressing percentage 

 multiplied by the price of one pound of carcass beef. From this we see 

 that the price the packer can pay for cattle is limited very largely by 

 two important factors — (1) the dressing percentage and (2) the price 

 he can obtain for carcass beef. A third important factor affecting the 

 market price of cattle, the value of the by-products, is discussed in the 

 next chapter. 1 



Factors determining dressing percentage.^The chief factors de- 

 termining the dressing percentage of a steer are (1) quantity of flesh, 

 both lean and fat, (2) paunchiness, and (3) refinement of head, bone, 

 and hide. Well-bred steers, well fattened and with straight lines, that 

 is, free from paunchiness, dress out 62 to 65 per cent. The highest 

 record known to the writer, where the steer was dressed in the usual 

 manner, is 69.9 per cent. Aged dairy cows which have outlived their 

 usefulness as milk producers are sent to market; they are very paunchy 

 and very thin, and dress around 45 per cent. Here a fourth factor in 

 dressing percentage is introduced, namely weight of udder, which some- 

 times is considerable. The cow's udder is removed in slaughtering. 

 In determining the dressing percentage, the refinement of head, bone, 

 and hide is of less importance as a rule than quantity of flesh or 

 paunchiness, although in some animals the weight of hide is a con- 

 siderable item. 



How the carcass is produced.-^Before discussing the qualifications 

 of a good carcass, it will be profitable to consider briefly how an animal 

 grows and builds up the parts of its body which eventually make up 

 the carcass. The carcass consists of bone, muscle, connective tissue, 

 and fat. At birth the calf weighs about 70 pounds. Its bones are 

 soft and elastic, and its muscles are tender. It carries a certain degree 

 of fatness, depending on how well it was nourished before it was born — 

 in other words, on how well its mother was fed. Up to weaning time 

 it subsists largely upon its mother's milk, which is primarily a bone 

 and muscle builder, producing growth. 



When weaned, the future development of the calf depends upon 

 (1) ancestry, (2) feed, and (3) management. If its ancestors were 

 dairy animals, it will not produce a valuable carcass. However, we 



1 Usually the returns from the sale of both carcasses and by-products enable 

 packers to pay more for live animals than they receive from the sale of the carcasses. 

 (See table, page 67.) If packers pay exactly as much for the live animal as they 

 receive from the sale of the carcass, then the live value of the animal per cwt. is the dress- 

 ing percentage multiplied by the price of one pound of carcass beef^ of the class and grade 

 yielded by the animal. For example, if the dressing percentage is 60 and the carcass 

 is of a class and grade selling at $20 per cwt. (20 cents per pound), the live value of 

 the animal is $12 per cwt. Thus we see that the packer buyer must use good judg- 

 ment not only in estimating dressing percentages, but also in estimating the grade 

 of carcasses the animals will yield. 



