Ultrasound Use for Body Composition and Carcass Quality Assessment in Cattle and Lambs.

Genetic evaluation for carcass quality traits has evolved over time, in large part because of introduction of new technology, such as ultrasound measures of body composition. Ultrasound-measured body composition traits emulate important carcass traits, are very informative for selection purposes, are acquired before final selections of seed stock candidate animals are made, and have seen high adoption rates by beef seed stock producers. The Ultrasound Guidelines Council certifies technicians who collect and interpret ultrasound data for beef producers. Multiple traits important to beef quality and quantity are evaluated at the same time with one scan session.
(Published by Elsevier Inc.)