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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 April 2015
Responding to the needs of the feeder cattle industry, the USDA (1979) implemented a new feeder cattle grading system which broke from the traditional method of using consistent grade terminology throughout the marketing process. The terms Prime, Choice, Good, etc. were replaced by three frame sizes (large, medium, and small) and three thickness scores (1, 2, and 3). The change from carcass quality terms to production-oriented terminology was deemed necessary because the product characteristics desired by cattle feeders differ from those desired at slaughter by the slaughterer-packer.