Research teams evaluate beef carcasses in packing plants every five years, looking for flaws that result in waste and added cost.
Computerized camera systems and X-rays may make the job easier.
A federal grant of more than $1 million will be used to test how computer vision systems could make it easier to assess examinations of bruises and lean yield.
For example, a camera could be trained to measure bruises and issue daily reports on carcass quality rather than making people do it, said Mark Klassen of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.
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The equipment is being tested at Agriculture Canada’s research centre in Lacombe, Alta.
“We are getting to the point with computer vision equipment that the sophistication of the measurements we can make and the quality of those measurements keeps getting better and better,” he said.
Detecting injection site injuries is harder because the scarring may be internal, which the camera cannot see.
However, the camera would see lesions and scars on the outside of the carcass, and a report could be made.
The research could also result in a new grading system for mature animals.
Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry could scan an entire carcass rather than requiring a grader to look at the rib eye. The system can analyze the ratio of muscle and bones and provide a better assessment of lean meat yield.
“My hope would be that in the long run, this can replace the human assessment of cow grades that we currently do,” Klassen said.
The system is costly but could become the new standard in large facilities.
“We want to replace the cow grading system in plants that can afford to buy this kind of equipment,” he said.
The system does not assess maturity, but the beef industry is looking at other projects to assess the vertebral column to better judge age.
barbara.duckworth@producer.com
