Carcass Class - Preview of what you're buying!!

This was the first year that the DM County fair offered a 'Carcass Class'. It's a class you have to pay a nominal fee for, $15 and it tells you what your 'beef' looks like on the INSIDE!! They had a pretty good entry for their first year, with 46 entries. Since you have to pay to enter, not everyone did it. Hopefully as they continue to offer it, more and more people will enter. They were very pleased with the first year turn out.

Well, how in the heck do you do that, BEFORE.....well, you know. Apparently it's pretty easy, you use an ultrasound! Who would have thought! I guess it makes sense.

When the kids came into the fair with their cattle on Wednesday, the did the weigh in and then went over to a chute where a person ran an ultrasound over them to judge the quality of the carcass. They provide you with information on, beginning weight, final fair weight, Average weight of gain (that's how much weight they've gained each day on average. Daphne's was 3.84 lbs...I do NOT want to stay at their house long!! It also gives you the area of rib eye, fat cover, USDA Grade and other information that's outside my grasp. It's actually very interesting. I'm probably one of the few that think so...but if you want more information you can look at -

http://meat.tamu.edu/beefgrading.html
(no icky pictures Rilda!!!)

Both of Daphne's steers are home grown and her returning bucket bottles from last year. These are calves, that for whatever reason their mothers didn't want them. The smaller of the two actually had a broken leg as a newborn that Chris "farmered up".
Apparently he did an awesome job!

Here's Daphne's #4 weight of gain and #4 Carcass Class Steer

540 lbs started weight
1365 lbs finished weight (215 days later)
Ear # 84


WATCH YOUR FEET!!!!


Daphne's #7 rate of gain and 13th in the Carcass Class.
This is Daphne's 'baby'.
496 lbs started weight
1250 lbs finished weight (215 days later)
Ear # 85

Why ear tags and No name??
Well, after naming her first few calves, Daphne thought she
would get so attached if she just used an ear #.
She realizes now that it doesn't matter, in essence, the
ear tag becomes their name.
It doesn't sound like she'll be switching back to
names any time soon.