Stock judging: finished beef and beef carcase

When stock judging beef cattle or carcases, the points below should help you to understand what to look for.

What to look for in finished beef

Always look for length, width and depth of fleshing throughout.

Above and below the dotted line:

As much as possible above the line – good-quality, expensive cuts
As little as possible below the line – lower-quality, cheaper cuts

1. Brisket

Good	Poor
Light	Broad, full or wasteful

2. Shoulder

Good	Poor
Broad and deep	Lacking flesh
Well-developed	Narrow
Well-fleshed

3. Ribs

Good	Poor
Well-sprung and trim	Soft and fat

4. Belly (Underline)

Good	Poor
Clean
No waste
Parallel with top line

5. Chine

Good	Poor
Full-fleshed	Weak, lacking flesh

6. Top line

Good	Poor
Long	Short
Wide	Narrow

7. Loin

Good	Poor
Long and deep	Lacking flesh
Full	Narrow

8. Rump

Good	Poor
Well-rounded	Shallow and concave
Broad	Pin bones prominent

9. Hindquarters

Good	Poor
Well-fleshed in first and second thighs	Flat and shallow
Muscle development carried well down to the hocks	Narrow, lacking width
	Lacking muscle development

Where to start with beef carcase

Stand back and have a good look from a distance at the group. Get a general impression of the carcases to judge, i.e. appearance, type, etc. Identify if heifer, steer or bull carcases.

Be methodical. Start at:

The round (second thigh, top piece and rump)
Then back (loin and forerib)
Then shoulder

What to look for in a beef carcase

A. Second thigh

B. Top piece

C. Rump

D. Loin

E. Forerib

F. Shoulder

Proportion of hindquarters to forequarters – well-fleshed hindquarter to light forequarter is preferable.

Colour, quality and texture of fat

Good	Poor
White/creamy	Yellow
Firm	Oily

Points to look for in a beef carcase

Conformation

The round (A, B and C)

Shape of round.

Good: Well-rounded, convex in profile, fullness of flesh through the second thigh, top piece and rump
Poor: Narrow, concave in profile

The back (D and E)

Thickness of back – in proportion to the size of the carcase, should be broad and thick.

Depth and area of eye muscle – deep and broad loin with fleshing carried well around the ribs.

The shoulder (F)

Thickness of shoulder area – look for neat, compact shape that blends well with forequarter.

Shape of forequarter – compact and well-fleshed while still being well balanced in proportion to the hindquarters.

Fat

Distribution of fat throughout carcase – there should be a light cover of fat, evenly distributed with no patchiness or heavy fat deposits internally or externally that require trimming.

Amount of fat over eye muscle – Even distribution, thin layer (4–8 mm), covering the external surface, with light deposits intramuscularly.

There should be a thin distribution of fat over the eye muscle from the beef carcase. This image shows a beef carcase which has too much fat.

Example of a beef carcase which has too much fat.

There should be a thin distribution of fat over the eye muscle from the beef carcase. This image shows a beef carcase which is ideal.

Example of an ideal beef carcase.

Useful links

Download our guide to stock judging

If you would like a hard copy of A guide to stock judging please contact publications@ahdb.org.uk or call 0247 799 0069.

Topics:

Selection and carcase classification

Sectors:

Beef & Lamb

Tags:

Young Farmers stock judging YFC beef