Relationship between ultrasound measurements and fat thickness or rib eye area in carcass of beef cattle

One hundred sixty-two animals were used during a 2-year period to evaluate the accuracy of ultrasound measurements to estimate carcass subcutaneous fat thickness (CFAT) and area of Longissimus muscle located between the 12(th) and 13(th) ribs (CLMA). Twenty-four hours before slaughter animals were ultrasonically measured to determine subcutaneous fat thickness (UFAT) and area of Longissimus muscle (ULMA). The correlation coefficients between ultrasound measurements and CFAT and CLMA were 0.95 and 0.97, respectively. Differences between ultrasonic and carcass measurements were expressed in actual (FDIFF and RDIFF) and absolute (FDEV and RDEV) basis. Means of FDIFF and RDIFF in both years indicated that ultrasound overestimated CFAT by 0,16 mm and underestimated CLMA by 0.26 cm(2). Overall means of FDEV and RDEV were 0,34 mm and 1.28 cm(2), respectively. Analysis of year effects showed that FDIFF was greater in year I while RDIFF was higher in year 2. FDIFF indicated that ultrasound measurements overestimated CFAT in animals with < 2 mm CFAT and underestimated CFAT in those with > 4 mm CFAT. Similarly, animals with CLMA < 50 cm(2) were overestimated while those with CLMA > 50 cm(2) were underestimated. Standard errors of prediction adjusted for bias of ultrasound measurements were of 0.40 mm for standard error prediction of subcutaneous fat thickness and 1.66 cm(2) for standard error prediction of area of Longissimus muscle. These results suggested that ultrasound can be an accurate estimator of carcass traits in beef cattle.