Considerable efforts have been made to provide cow-calf producers with information to help them make informed decisions about adding value to calves. Despite demonstrated market incentives to retain calves, many producers still sell right after weaning. We postulate this observed behavior is...

Beef tenderness is critical in consumer satisfaction with beef steak products. Current fed cattle valuation systems do not differentiate carcasses based upon tenderness variation. However, considerable research indicates consumers are willing to pay more for tender relative to tough beef steak....