Current marketing practices of commercial cattle feeders often utilize value-based or “grid” marketing. One dimension of that grid includes discounts or premiums for variation of yield away from a par “USDA Yield Grade 3”. The estimation of yield stems from research conducted in the 1950s with a sample population of steers, heifers and cows.
Obviously, the cattle population of today is physically different, resulting from changes in genetics, growth promotants, management strategies, feeding technologies and ultimate end point harvest weights.