139,469 research outputs found
Origin and assessment of bruises in beef cattle at slaughter
No full textStudies of bruises, as detected on carcasses at the slaughterhouse, may provide useful information about the traumatic situations the animals endure during the pre-slaughter period. In this paper, we review scientific data on the prevalence, risk factors and estimation of the age of bruises in beef cattle. Risk factors such as animal characteristics, transport conditions, stocking density, livestock auction and handling of the animals are discussed. Investigation of the age of bruises could provide information on when in the meat chain bruises occur and, could help to pinpoint where preventive measures should be taken, from the stage of collecting the animals on the farm until slaughter. We review the methods available to assess the age of the bruises; data on human forensic research are also included. The feasibility to identify traumatic episodes during the pre-slaughter period, in order to improve animal welfare is discusse
FEASIBILITY OF OPERATING A LAMB SLAUGHTER PLANT IN NORTH DAKOTA
No full textA group of North Dakota lamb producers who are members of Valley Wool Growers Association identified several niche markets for high quality North Dakota lambs. The potential availability of a closed, but formerly federally inspected, livestock slaughter and meat processing facility in Steele County heightened their interest in determining the feasibility of a cooperatively owned lamb slaughter and processing facility. The cooperative would be patterned after existing and proposed slaughter cooperatives, whereby cooperative members would own shares to supply lambs to the plant on a year-round basis. The analysis was conducted in several sections corresponding to critical factors which affect feasibility of the plant. The critical factors analyzed included federal inspection requirements, the potential of an adequate supply of lambs, the potential for a viable niche market, plant investment and operating costs, expected return, alternative lamb purchase prices, alternative lamb carcass sales prices, and several investment and expense scenarios. The building and equipment investment was projected to be 3,013,877 per year which included 2,340,000 for lamb purchase. Income from lamb meat sales and pelts was estimated at 0.90 per pound and selling for 213,877 at full capacity. Therefore, other scenarios were investigated which would enable the plant to operate profitably. The maximum price that could be paid for lambs to pay all investment and operating costs, including a 7.5 percent return to member equity, was 0.7358, or a reduction in the lamb carcass sales price to 0.7004. The range in probable prices that could be paid for lambs is 0.80 per pound with a likely price of $0.75. The proposers of the cooperative will need to decide if prices in this range would be sufficient to lure enough member investors to provide the 20,000 lambs necessary to operate the plant.lambs, slaughter, processing, niche market, lamb prices, lamb carcass prices, feasibility, cooperative, federal meat inspection, plant operating expenses, Agribusiness,
The Political Economy of Quality Measurement: A Case Study of the U.S. Slaughter Cattle Market
No full textAs agricultural products move from being economic commodities to quality-differentiated goods, price dispersion within specific markets increases and implicit subsidies from high quality producers to low quality producers are removed. This paper examines how these distributional effects can influence patterns of support and opposition to changes in marketing arrangements. The simple model developed is calibrated using data from the U.S. slaughter cattle market. Estimates of the economic impact on producers of measuring quality more accurately are found to be similar in size to previous estimates of market power price suppression in the market.quality, captive supplies, cattle, asymmetric information
RISK AND MARKET PARTICIPANT BEHAVIOR IN THE U.S. SLAUGHTER-CATTLE MARKET
No full textIncomplete information generates uncertainty for market participants in the slaughter-cattle market. Buyer and seller behavior in the presence of that uncertainty is examined. Statistically significant risk premiums are charged by packers when buying slaughter cattle on either a live- or dressed-weight basis compared to buying on a grade-and-yield basis. Pratt-Arrow risk-aversion coefficients are calculated for buyers and these remain constant over all marketing methods. Sellers market cattle under all three marketing methods, suggesting producersÂ’' attitudes toward risk (risk-aversion coefficients) vary.Risk and Uncertainty,
The political economy of quality measurement: a case study of the USA slaughter cattle market
No full textAs agricultural products move from being economic commodities to qualitydifferentiated goods, price dispersion within specific markets increases and implicit subsidies from high quality producers to low quality producers are removed. The present paper examines how these distributional effects can influence patterns of support and opposition to changes in marketing arrangements. The simple model developed is calibrated using data from the USA slaughter cattle market. Estimates of the impact on prices of measuring quality more accurately are found to be similar in size to previous estimates of market power price suppression in the market.Livestock Production/Industries,
Factors associated with pleurisy in pigs: a case-control analysis of slaughter pig data for England and Wales.
No full textA case-control investigation was undertaken to determine management and health related factors associated with pleurisy in slaughter pigs in England and Wales. The British Pig Executive Pig Health Scheme database of abattoir pathology was used to identify 121 case (>10% prevalence of pleurisy on 3 or more assessment dates in the preceding 24 months) and 121 control units (≤5% prevalence of pleurisy on 3 or more assessment dates in the preceding 24 months). Farm data were collected by postal questionnaire. Data from respondents (70 cases and 51 controls) were analysed using simple logistic regression models with Bonferroni corrections. Limited multivariate analyses were also performed to check the robustness of the overall conclusions. Management factors associated with increased odds of pleurisy included no all-in all-out pig flow (OR 9.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.3-29), rearing of pigs with an age difference of >1 month in the same airspace (OR 6.5 [2.8-17]) and repeated mixing (OR 2.2 [1.4-3.8]) or moving (OR 2.2 [1.5-3.4]) of pigs during the rearing phase. Those associated with decreased odds of pleurisy included filling wean-to-finish or grower-to-finish systems with piglets from ≤3 sources (OR 0.18 [0.07-0.41]) compared to farrow-to-finish systems, cleaning and disinfecting of grower (ORs 0.28 [0.13-0.61] and 0.29 [0.13-0.61]) and finisher (ORs 0.24 [0.11-0.51] and 0.2 [0.09-0.44]) accommodation between groups, and extended down time of grower and finisher accommodation (OR 0.84 [0.75-0.93] and 0.86 [0.77-0.94] respectively for each additional day of downtime). This study demonstrated the value of national-level abattoir pathology data collection systems for case control analyses and generated guidance for on-farm interventions to help reduce the prevalence of pleurisy in slaughter pigs
The Potential Impact of a Proposed Ban on the Sale of U.S. Horses for Slaughter and Human Consumption
No full textBoth federal and state governments in the United States are being asked to enact laws that would make slaughtering of horses for human consumption illegal. In the past, the United States was one of the principal exporters of horsemeat to Europe. This paper examines the impacts of a proposed ban on the U.S. horse industry and the U.S. export market for horsemeat. Findings indicate a loss of approximately $300 per horse in the United States as a result of such a ban. The supply of U.S. exported horsemeat has declined during the past decade. The results suggest that the most significant factors influencing this decline are lower real prices and competing imports.horse slaughter, horsemeat, meat exports, Agricultural and Food Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,
OPTIMAL HOG SLAUGHTER WEIGHTS UNDER ALTERNATIVE PRICING SYSTEMS
No full textThree hog genotypes are simulated to determine how producer profits, economically optimal slaughter weights, and carcass component weights change under three pricing models. Live weight pricing pays more for the fatter barrows whereas a three component (separate payments for fat, lean, and byproducts) and six component (separate payments for major primal cuts, other lean, fat, and byproducts) pricing system pay more for the leaner gilts. Implications for selection of genetic stock and pricing system are presented.Swine production management, Hog pricing systems, Hog marketing, Livestock Production/Industries,
AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF COMPETITION IN THE PRICE DISCOVERY PROCESS FOR SLAUGHTER LAMBS
No full textBuyer competition in the price discovery process for slaughter lambs at an Oklahoma teleauction was studied. Number of buyers positively influenced both absolute and relative sale prices but did not significantly affect buyer gross margins. Buyer market shares also affected prices paid and buyer gross margins. Thus, competition among buyers was found to be important in the price discovery process.Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,
Carcass Quality Volume and Grid Pricing: An Investigation of Cause and Effect
No full textThe relationship between publicly reported weekly grid premiums and discounts for specific carcass characteristics and the percentage of those characteristics reflected in total weekly slaughter volume (i.e., proportional slaughter volume) is investigated. Granger Causality and multi-lag VAR models were used to investigate if grid premiums and discounts were efficiently transmitting market signals to producers with respect to carcass quality attributes. The empirical evidence indicates that there is little evidence to suggest that grid prices are providing efficient price signals to buyers and sellers with respect to market valuation of desirable and undesirable beef carcass characteristics.grid pricing, price discovery, price reporting, slaughter cattle
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