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Carcass Evaluation

Carcass & Meat Quality: 13 guides

• Backfat Over One Inch: How Excess Fat Costs Angus Carcasses CABFat cover is a necessary part of finishing, but past one inch it becomes a liability.
• Camera Grading and Angus Cross CalvesWhat USDA-approved imaging instruments measure on a carcass, and what that means for crossbred cattle.
• How to Read a Beef Carcass Data Sheet: Ribeye, Backfat and Yield GradeHot carcass weight, ribeye area, fat thickness, marbling and grades: what each number on a carcass report tells you about your cattle.
• Inside the Multipacker Supply StudyA look at what an annual review of nearly 2 million Angus-influenced carcasses can and cannot tell a producer.
• Marbling Texture: The Quiet CAB SpecificationHow much marbling a steak has is one question. How the flecks are sized and spread is another.
• What Moderately Thick Muscling MeansThe muscling requirement is judged by eye on the rail, so it helps to know what graders are looking at.
• What "Modest00" Means on a Carcass GridThe marbling score at the heart of Angus premium programs, explained for producers and buyers alike.
• Prime Share of Fed Cattle Carcasses: What It Means for Angus ProducersHow to read the Prime percentages that circulate in industry reports, and why two honest numbers can differ.
• Reading a Carcass Sheet Against the CAB SpecsHow to match the ribeye, fat and weight columns on your data sheet to Certified Angus Beef limits.
• The Ribeye Size Trade-OffWhy brands cap ribeye size and carcass weight, and why producers are paid to grow more of both.
• Understanding USDA Beef Grades: Prime, Choice and SelectQuality grades and yield grades measure different things. Here is how the grading system works and what it means at the meat counter.
• Why CAB Raised the Ribeye Area Limit to 17 Square InchesA longstanding size limit moved in 2025. Here is the reasoning and what it changes.
• Why Most Angus Carcasses That Miss CAB Miss on MarblingInsufficient marbling accounts for the large majority of misses, and that points toward selection.

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