Earlier this month, the USDA launched a pilot program to explore a new method of service delivery to beef packers. Matching imaging technology with robust data management and program oversight, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) developed a process for determining the official quality grading and certification of carcass beef remotely.
Official grades, including USDA Prime and USDA Choice, accurately communicate meat quality across the supply chain among producers, packers, processors, distributors, and consumers. While more than 90 percent of fed beef in the U.S. is officially graded, the service is almost exclusively used in larger packing operations. By eliminating most travel expenses incurred for retaining a USDA Grader at a packing facility, the Remote Grading Pilot for Beef (RGP Pilot) can dramatically reduce the overall cost of service for independent beef packers, in particular, those who may only need five or even 50 carcasses graded at a time.
“On average, a beef carcass that grades as USDA Prime is valued at hundreds of dollars more than an ungraded carcass, but costs for this voluntary USDA service often prevents smaller scale processors and the farmers and ranchers they serve from using this valuable marketing tool,” Secretary Vilsack said at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO. “This remote grading pilot opens the door for additional packers and processors to receive grading and certification services allowing them to access new, better, and more diverse marketing opportunities.”
The RGP Pilot utilizes imaging technology and digital data collection to mirror what the USDA Grader does when physically in the packing facility. The RGP Pilot follows initial testing conducted by AMS in 2023 and provides the USDA an opportunity to expand testing and engage a larger stakeholder audience in the further development of the program.
AMS will only charge processors in the program for the time spent reviewing the pictures. The pilot will allow the AMS to gather information involving costs and how to ensure the integrity of the program.
The Remote Grading Pilot for Beef is limited to domestic beef slaughter facilities operating under federal inspection and producing products that meet the eligibility criteria for the USDA grading program.
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