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BALTIMORE — The Agricultural
Marketing Service said Thursday that it is planning to conduct
a "prospective study" on age-verified cattle to convince
Japan and other trade partners that the United States' method
of age verification by USDA meat grading methods is reliable.
The study will be conducted only after trade is re-established
with Japan and is meant to convince skeptics that grades
A-50 and above may be reliably under 21 months of age.
At present, Japan has agreed to accept cattle with grades
of A-40 or better as guaranteed to be under 21 months of
age. The United States, however, does not have enough cattle
of that grade to restore trade to pre-BSE levels, and since
nearly all cattle of this grade are 15 months or younger,
there would not be time to fatten them to profitable weights.
Dr. Justin Ransom, meat marketing specialist with AMS, told
an overflow audience at ICoMST that the agency is seeking
partners who can provide animals of known age for the study,
which will slaughter related cattle at various ages and
grade their carcasses to quantitatively verify that U.S.
grading methods very accurately indicate age.
Ransom said that USDA also is looking at other age-verification
methods, with the proviso that they be functional at U.S.
line speeds.
Producers interested in participating in the study may contact
Ransom at Justin.ransom@usda.gov
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