Hump Over Two Inches Costs You

Plenty of cattlemen figure that a black hide and a good frame is all it takes to qualify for a premium Angus program. It is not. There is a check on the neck, and it has cost more than a few loads some money. Here is how it works and what to do about it.

The rule

The Certified Angus Beef specification that USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service posted says no hump may exceed 2 inches. The grader takes an extension of the top line, sets it level with the back, and measures the lean perpendicular to that line at the center of the hump. In other words, how far does that hump stick up above where a straight back would run. You can read the spec on the USDA AMS beef page.

Why they care about a neck

The hump comes from Bos indicus breeding, the Brahman side of the family. Those cattle earned their place in the South. They handle heat and bugs better than most, and a lot of good commercial cows carry some. But university research has reported that cattle with more of that influence tend to give more variable tenderness. A published description of the brand's standards lists the hump limit as protection against cattle with more variable tenderness. The brand sells on a steak being the same good steak every time, and a hump is a cheap, easy way to screen for the cattle that might not be.

Why color is not enough

The brand starts with cattle that are predominantly black hided. Then it layers other checks over the top, the hump among them. Black hides come on a lot of cattle. Plenty of crosses are black. So color tells the plant very little about what is underneath. The hump, together with the genetics requirement tied to the Angus Association's live animal spec, catches what the hide cannot. Industry reporting says the large majority of fed cattle in the U.S. are black hided, and yet only a minority meet the brand's full set of standards. Black hide opens the door. It does not pay the bill.

If you run some Brahman cross cows

I will not tell you to quit using them. If you run cows in hot country, heat tolerance matters, and a cow that holds up in August is worth a lot. But know the tradeoff. If you aim for a branded program, you will have more misses on the neck as the Brahman percentage goes up. So do the math, and decide where you want to sell.

• Ask the buyer how the hump is checked at their plant and whether they have been calling it close.
• Look at your cattle in profile, standing square, before you sort. A hump you can see from the alley will probably show on the rail.
• Track which sire groups throw the misses. If one bull keeps throwing humped calves, that is information.
• Consider selling the humped cattle on a different grid. They are not worth less as beef, they are simply not eligible for the premium.

farm.fm's page on Angus cattle genetics helps if you are rethinking breeding decisions, and the University of Nebraska beef extension site has research on breed type and carcass traits.

It is a pass-or-fail check

Here is what makes the hump hard. It is pass or fail. You can have the best marbling in the county, a perfect ribeye and ideal weight, and if the hump measures over two inches the carcass is out. Feed will not fix it and neither will a smart marketing plan after the fact. That makes it a decision you make years earlier, when you pick the bull and the cow.

It also means buying calves with unknown backgrounds is a gamble. A stocker or feeder calf with some Brahman in him can look fine at a few hundred pounds and show a hump as he matures. If you buy cattle to feed, ask about breeding, look at the head and ears and the loose skin under the neck, and price in the risk. Cattle that miss on the neck still make good beef. They simply sell on a different grid, and the discount is the price of not checking.

Selling the honest way

Do not let a salesman tell you that a certain bull produces cattle that always qualify. Nothing does. The best bet is a record of your own carcass data matched to the sire. Our related reading is the bull buying checklist. If you need services or suppliers, the agriculture directory is a good starting place, and the brand's own site is certifiedangusbeef.com.

This site is independent and not affiliated with the American Angus Association or Certified Angus Beef LLC. Specs change, so confirm current requirements with the packer or the official documents before you sell.