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MEAT Standards Australia grading operations hit a number of records in the 2023-24 year, with numbers of cattle graded reaching a new high of 3.64 million head, and average MSA eating quality index score hitting a new benchmark of 58.36.
The annual MSA Outcomes report for 2023-24 released this morning shows the MSA program continues to grow its influence over the industry’s performance – even 26 years after the program was launched.
As the graph above shows, numbers graded (grey bars) hit a new record, exceeding the 2019-20 drought year when turnoff exploded due to drought.
However the percentage of adult cattle slaughtered that were MSA-graded has declined a little over the past two years (red line), to 50.4pc.
Compliance slides
Last year 94pc of carcases presented for grading met MSA requirements. That’s down from the record highs of 95.5pc in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and down 1.1pc on last year, partly due to higher grading numbers of grassfed.
Compliance among grainfed cattle reached 98.2pc, and for non-grainfeds, 89.3pc (a decrease of 1.9 percentage points on the previous year). Biggest reasons for non-compliance were high pH (sometimes expressed as dark cutting) and insufficient rib fat depth. Seasonally, non-compliance peaked in April this year, reaching 7pc.
Grainfed cattle represented 53pc of MSA-graded cattle in 2023–24. The proportion of non-grainfeds grew again in 2023–24, representing 47pc of MSA-graded cattle – an increase of six percentage points from 2022–23 as the herd rebuild continued and seasonal conditions supported on-farm finishing.
Victoria had the highest compliance to MSA minimum requirements at 97.1pc.
The total proportion of cattle treated with hormonal growth promotants in 2023–24 reduced by nine percentage points to 29pc from 2022–23. Of the grainfed cattle, 57pc were HGP-treated, compared to 10pc of non-grainfed cattle being HGP-treated.
By volume, Queensland processed the greatest number of MSA-graded cattle last financial year with 1.8 million head, making up 45pc of the national total. Both NSW and Victoria had an increase in numbers graded by more than 100,000 head. Supporting this growth has been the licensing of several new beef processing establishments, increasing the number of MSA-licensed processors to 42, from 39 in 2022–23.
Index progress
In 2023–24, the average national MSA Eating Quality Index reached a new high of 58.36 across the 3.64 million compliant carcases graded – a 0.84 increase on the previous year. Compared to ten years ago, the average national MSA Index is now 1.56 points higher.
South Australia achieved the highest average MSA Index by state of 60.64, and Queensland achieved the largest increase in MSA Index by state of 0.9 on the previous year, from 55.24 to 56.14. Both Victoria and NSW achieved a record MSA Index of 60.21 and 60.09, respectively.
The average MSA Index for both non-grainfed and grainfed cattle is at an all-time high of 58.34 and 58.38 respectively. When compared to 2022–23, that is an increase of 0.44 for non-grainfed cattle and 1.09 for grainfeds.
The increase in MSA Index was across all feed types, genders and HGP categories, and could be attributed to a general improvement in carcase traits, including a decrease in ossification and an increase in MSA marbling, the report said. This was the case for all states but was particularly noticeable in Queensland grainfed cattle.
Another driver of the improvement in MSA Index was the reduction in HGP use, noted above. The decrease in HGP use was primarily observed in grainfed cattle from Victoria and NSW.
Producer registrations
An additional 3042 beef producers and 1440 beef/sheep producers became MSA registered in 2023–24, taking the total number of MSA registered beef producers to 44,052.
MSA registered beef producers now represent 30pc of Livestock Production Assurance accredited cattle properties. Almost 14,000 beef producers consigned cattle for MSA grading during the year, an increase of 23pc on the previous year.
Victoria continues to lag well behind all other states in terms of MSA’s proportion of slaughter cattle, accounting for just 29pc of all adult cattle slaughtered. In NSW, the proportion was 62pc; in Queensland 51pc; in Tasmania 64pc; in South Australia 74pc; and in Western Australia 62pc.
Record farmgate returns
Part of the MSA Outcomes report was devoted to assessments of financial impact on the industry, which suggested that MSA delivered a record $326 million in extra farmgate returns to beef producers in 2023-2024. That figure was up from the previous record of $259m.
The reason for the dramatic $67m rise was threefold: More cattle graded; heavier carcase weights, and greater premium for MSA beef over non-MSA (see below).
Among retail butchers, MSA graded beef was worth $2.55/kg more than non-graded, or 6.2pc. Among wholesalers, the difference was larger, at $4.69/kg, or 16.7pc.
MSA program manager David Packer
According to MSA program manager David Packer the rise in value was a direct result of increased producer involvement and improvement, processors and brand owners extracting more value from the program to share along the supply chain and dedicated investment into research and development which centres around the goal to make all cattle and sheep eligible for MSA.
“The dedicated beef producers consigning to MSA have shown their ability to keep improving the quality of their beef,” Dr Packer said. The setting of a new record for average MSA eating quality index score of 58.36, demonstrated the tremendous gains the industry continues to make to produce more beef that meets consumer needs, he said.
“The MSA program continues to play an important role in contributing toward the red meat industry’s 2030 goal of doubling the value of Australian red meat sales and ensuring continued trust in Australian red meat.”
According to the report, key to the success and expansion of the MSA program were MLA’s adoption activities that support producers, processors, brand owners and other supply chain stakeholders to adopt eating quality principles to generate value.
MLA launched the new MyFeedback online platform in 2023–24 to assist producers in making data-driven decisions on farm, centred around improving carcase value attributes of eating quality, lean meat yield and health of livestock, in line with market requirements.
By collating animal disease and defect data, alongside carcase and eating quality information, producers can more accurately benchmark their performance.
“MyFeedback is being seen as a valuable source for industry to access MSA grading and carcase data in one place,” Mr Packer said. “This is an expansion to now include animal disease and defect information from participating processors, allows producers to assess all outcomes that drive performance and carcase value, and identify opportunities for the future,” he said.
MSA grading hit record the question arises how many rules have changed since MSA was first launched in 1998 and have these changes affected the quality of MSA beef one would expect that once you dilute the rules such as three four and 5 star. Most consumers would have no idea that there is a variation in the quality of MSA three four and 5 star they were marked on a point system which gave an indicator of the eating experience that a consumer could expect, Surely a gold silver bronze would give a much better indicator of MSA scoring. It is interesting to read the original business plan for MSA where it was felt that only 30% of cattle would make the grade for MSA.
In its earliest iteration back in the late 90s, MSA used a ‘3-star, 4-star, 5-star’ ranking on graded product, David. That more or less parallels your gold, silver, bronze suggestion. It quickly failed, because consumers equated ‘3-star’ with poor quality. Nobody wants to stay in a 3-star motel. You are correct in the view that nobody expected MSA to become as widespread as it has. The original model was clearly targeted at grainfed only. Nobody at the time foresaw how successful it would become in the grassfed segment, which in some recent years has exceeded grainfed in numbers graded. To your point about ‘rules being changed,’ it was stated from the outset that the program would start from a core of ‘known high performance’, and grow out from there as the science and sensory taste panel work evolved. That’s exactly what’s happened, in Bos Indicus content and countless other attributes that impact MSA eating quality. Editor
Great to see this progress and still a lot of room to utilise the knowledge over a greater range of cuts and quality bands to support differentiated multi tier branding