Students and faculty from The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) meat science program had the chance, for the first time since 1991, to participate in a national research effort supporting the American beef industry.
Early last year, a team from Ohio State, representatives from 12 other universities, and members of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service collected data from 33 large-scale meat processing plants across the nation. This survey, called the National Beef Quality Audit, has been conducted every five years since 1991 to assess the quality of the national beef supply and identify areas for improvement. In addition to quality, the audit has recently expanded to include food safety, sustainability, and animal well-being. Survey results from 2022 were released this summer.
“Producers can’t fix what they don’t know,” said Dr. Lyda Garcia, the organizer and lead for Ohio State’s team and an associate professor in the Department of Animal Sciences (ANSCI). “If they’re not doing a good job with their practices and they’re causing more harm than good, then this type of audit can help capture poor management practices. But this audit can also capture what they’re doing right and should be commended for.”
Garcia joined Assistant Professor Dr. Ben Bohrer (ANSCI), former Animal Welfare Specialist Dr. Jessica Pempek (ANSCI), and Assistant Professor Dr. Andrea Garmyn (Michigan State University) to lead more than a dozen CFAES students in hands-on research experiences collecting data for the audit.
Last spring, after undergoing rigorous training, the team made the trek to four meat processing plants in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Donning protective gear and hardhats adorned with Buckeyes, the team reported to each plant around 3:30 in the morning.
Garcia assigned students to different sections of each plant based on their skills, experience, and comfort levels in the packing plants. The team then recorded complex variables (such as hide color, presence of horns, bruising, identification tags, and more) into data books as thousands of carcasses whizzed by.
“We have the manpower and talent here, but the formation of my team was very strategic,” Garcia said. “I had a faculty member in every area where data was collected by students; I had to think about their safety as well as ability to collect the information and use critical thinking.”
After collecting data in each area and meticulously double-checking their books for accuracy, students surveyed facility staff about food safety, sometimes only leaving around 5 p.m. after working 12-hour shifts.
“It made for very long days,” said Emily Reer, a student who participated in the audit. “I’ve got a lot of respect for those people working there.”
Extreme temperatures, a cacophony of noises, and other conditions added to the challenge, but the students performed skillfully, Garcia said.
“It’s not an easy environment,” she said. “It is extremely loud because of the fans moving air around. Floors can be slippery. There are people everywhere, walking and working. It can be a dangerous setting if you’re not careful.”
Kayla Scott, another student who participated, said the experience helped her put into perspective the gigantic scale of the American beef industry. Ohio State’s Meat Laboratory only processes up to 12 beef cattle a day, compared to large-scale cow-bull plants, which may handle up to 2,000 animals, and fed-beef plants, which can take on nearly 6,000.
“It was almost an overwhelming sight at first because there’s so many moving pieces, hundreds of people doing different things all at the same time, and a constant flow of cows moving by,” said Scott. “It kind of puts you in awe of how much food we produce in the United States, how many people it takes to produce all of that, and how much work it all takes.”
Ohio State’s data books and survey results were sent to Texas A&M University for data entry and analysis, along with the information collected elsewhere around the country.
Key Takeaways from 2022 National Beef Quality Audit for Market Cows and Bulls and Fed Cattle
| Read the 2022 Market Cows and Bulls 4-page Report | Read the 2022 Fed Cattle 4-page Report |
Scott, a third-year animal science/animal industries major and meat science minor, said the audit experience helped her understand if she wanted to explore meat science as a future career.
“I knew this was a good way to get my foot in the door, get my feet wet, and see if I actually liked being involved in research,” she said. “Just the sheer size and scale of everything was one of the things that impressed me the most and made me really certain of my decision to continue to pursue meat science.”
The biggest lesson for Scott was learning how important it is for producers to maintain a standard of quality for consumers.
“I think it’s really special that students get to participate in projects like these,” she said. “It’s a great steppingstone to figuring out what you want to do and learning things more in depth.”
Though Reer—who graduated in December 2022 with a major in agriculture business and minors in animal science and meat science—grew up raising beef cattle on her family’s farm, the audit was instrumental in giving her industry knowledge, making her more well-rounded and boosting her professional resume. Reer now works as an associate account manager at Sakura Wagyu, her “dream job,” she says.
“I always wanted to be in agriculture; I fell in love with it,” Reer said. “This experience just made me that much more valuable to the companies I was applying to.”
Garcia said she is proud of the growing meat science program at Ohio State and was thrilled to be a key player in data collection for the national survey. Garcia hopes the Buckeyes will be invited back for the next audit, in 2027.
“I was ready to catapult the program to another level,” Garcia said. “We’re not done, but we’ve made strides. It all boils down to showing the nation the quality of students we have.”
Additional Resources
National Cattleman's Beef Association (NCBA) NBQA summary