Recently there has been a lot of attention paid to marketing within the core. On most grading grids within western Canada is core is approximately 85-100 (dressed) kgs. This range is quite often the weight categories where the highest index, and weight premiums are possible for individual carcasses. While percent in core and sort loss are important factors to monitor, they don’t tell the entire story when it comes to determining where the greatest profit potential is within a particular grading grid.

Figure 1 displays the sort loss across various weight classes using the 85-89.99 kg weight class as the base for the comparison. Based on the information provided, it is quite apparent the 90-99.9 kg weight class continually provided a greater income potential. It is also apparent all weight classes less than 85 kgs or greater than 105 kgs would significantly reduce income potential (as seen by the negative lines for these weight classes). When comparing the 100-104.9 kg weight class to the 85-89.99 kg weight class, we can see that it was out performed throughout the first 19 weeks, provided approximately the same return between weeks 19 to 31, and provided greater return throughout the rest of the year. The relationship between these two weight categories is largely dependent on hog and feed price fluctuations throughout the year.