Ultrasonic Prediction of Lean Cut Percent in Swine

Abstract

The objective of this study was to develop a simple equation for predicting lean cut percent using measures on live pigs. The analysis indicated that a common regression equation can be used for barrows and gilts of different breeds. Multiple regression formulas for predicting lean cut percent based on live and carcass measures were derived and compared. The results indicate that lean cut percent can be predicted on the live animal utilizing six ultrasonic fat measures and liveweight with a correlation of at least 0.8. The addition of carcass L. dorsiarea to the prediction equation was of little value for increasing accuracy of estimating lean cut percent. Three models of varying simplicity utilizing liveweight and six ultrasonic measures were compared. The following equation is recommended: estimated % lean cuts = 65.4 + 0.066 live wt. (kg.) −.85 total backfat (cm.) −2.51 ham fat (cm.).