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Beef retail cut, hot standard carcase weight {AU}| cattle processing | AusLCI, U

Unit process Australia v00.00.000

Include all activities taking place at the abattoir, as well as the rendering process to result in the production of meat and co-products of offals, raw hides, pet food and rendered products (meat and bone meal, blood meal and tallow). Management of by-products (gut content) is also included. Representative of an average Australian abattoir, the source data is representative of 68% of national red meat production (bovine and ovine). All activities is expressed per kilogram of Hot Carcase Standard Weight (HCSW), a common industry measure. The dressing rate can be used to convert the HCSW into liveweight (LW). At the abattoir, the hot carcase is allowed to cool down, a process during which it will shrink through moisture loss, reported as chilling loss by the industry. The cold carcase is then processed into retail cuts. The proportion of retail cut produced from a cold carcase is referred to as the retail yield. It was developed as part of the LCAgMetrics project, a partnership between Agrifutures Australia and Lifecycles, funded by the Australian Government's Sustainability Reporting Uplift Grant as part of the National Agriculture Traceability Grants Program. Documentation for this dataset can be found in the 'LCAgMetrics Methodology for developing Life Cycle Inventory' report, available at https://agrifutures.com.au/ Reference flow: 1 kilogram of hot carcase standard weight Production volume: 1868988 tonnes/yr Activities included: The activity starts with the delivery of cattle to the abattoir and ends ends once end products are ready to be delivered (abattoir gate). Energy values: Undefined Nutritional values: Undefined Geography: Australia Technology level: Current Time period: 2020-2025 Record: Paul-Antoine Bontinck; Tel: +61(0)3 9417 1190; email: office@lifecycles.com.au; company: Life Cycle Strategies; Country: AU Generator: Paul-Antoine Bontinck; Tel: +61(0)3 9417 1190; email: office@lifecycles.com.au; company: Life Cycle Strategies; Country: AU

Sector
Material
Contributor
—
Last updated
10 Jun 2025
Reference ID
38a9b0ce-a0df-37ef-8531-96a6a4e3b0ea

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Documentation

Quantitative reference
Beef retail cut, hot standard carcase weight {AU}| cattle processing | AusLCI, U
Sampling procedure
Data collected from secondary sources, including industry reports and statistics
Creation date
10 Jun 2025
Is copyright protected
No
Is infrastructure process
No
Tags
material
Sources
Australian Food Composition Database/2025/Food Standards AU NZ
Co-product market reports/2024/MLA
Edible offal as a valuable source of nutrients/2024/Latoch A.
Environmental Performance Review/2025/AMPC
Meat retail price/2024/MLA
Supply chain transport and logistics dashboard/2025/CSIRO
Beef co-product compendium/2009/MLA

Product outputs

Flow AmountUnitComment
Beef edible offal , biogenic C not balanced {AU}| cattle processing | AusLCI, U 0.06510170158810641 kg Carbon content, fossil: 0.0 kg C/kg dry mass. Carbon content, non-fossil: 0.438 kg C/kg dry mass. Dry mass: 0.29 kg/kg wet mass. Wet mass: 1 kg/kg wet mass.
Beef pet food, hot standard carcase weight , biogenic C not balanced {AU}| cattle processing | AusLCI, U 0.011289313061200214 kg Carbon content, fossil: 0.0 kg C/kg dry mass. Carbon content, non-fossil: 0.438 kg C/kg dry mass. Dry mass: 0.29 kg/kg wet mass. Wet mass: 1 kg/kg wet mass.
Beef raw hide , biogenic C not balanced {AU}| cattle processing | AusLCI, U 0.10536691444157235 kg Carbon content, fossil: 0.0 kg C/kg dry mass. Carbon content, non-fossil: 0.153 kg C/kg dry mass. Dry mass: 0.33 kg/kg wet mass. Wet mass: 1 kg/kg wet mass.
Beef retail cut, hot standard carcase weight {AU}| cattle processing | AusLCI, U 0.6848849464535536 kg Carbon content, fossil: 0.0 kg C/kg dry mass. Carbon content, non-fossil: 0.438 kg C/kg dry mass. Dry mass: 0.3 kg/kg wet mass. Wet mass: 1 kg/kg wet mass.
Rendering feedstock, beef , biogenic C not balanced {AU}| cattle processing | AusLCI, U 0.6862396636764533 kg Carbon content, fossil: 0.0 kg C/kg dry mass. Carbon content, non-fossil: 0.345 kg C/kg dry mass. Dry mass: 0.54 kg/kg wet mass. Wet mass: 1 kg/kg wet mass.

Technical inputs

Flow AmountUnitComment
Carbon correction factor {AU}| | AusLCI, U -0.20145732781674497 kg Allocation correction for retail cuts - which is the only product for which biogenic carbon has been rebalanced in this inventory. For the other coproducts a subsequent balancing process is used.
Cattle, manufacturing beef, cattle, live weight {AU}| market for manufacturing beef | AusLCI, U 0.4686098079995264 kg —
Diesel, burned in building machine {GLO}| market for diesel, burned in building machine | Cut-off, U 0.002055 MJ —
Diesel, burned in building machine {GLO}| market for diesel, burned in building machine | Cut-off, U 0.018495 MJ —
Electricity, low voltage {AU}| electricity production, photovoltaic, 3kWp slanted-roof installation, single-Si, panel, mounted | Cut-off, U 0.001713 kWh —
Electricity, low voltage {AU}| market for electricity, low voltage | AusLCI, U 0.175817 kWh —
Heat, central or small-scale, other than natural gas {AU}| heat and power co-generation, biogas, gas engine | Cut-off, U 0.15207 MJ —
Heat, central or small-scale, other than natural gas {RoW}| heat production, hard coal briquette, stove 5-15kW | Cut-off, U 0.223995 MJ —
Heat, central or small-scale, other than natural gas {RoW}| heat production, mixed logs, at furnace 100kW | Cut-off, U 0.150015 MJ —
Heat, district or industrial, other than natural gas {RoW}| heat production, light fuel oil, at industrial furnace 1MW | Cut-off, U 0.047265 MJ —
Heat, district or industrial, other than natural gas {RoW}| heat production, propane, at industrial furnace >100kW | Cut-off, U 0.06987 MJ —
Natural gas, burned in <30MW wall fired boiler {AU}| | AusLCI, U 0.75213 MJ —
Prime cattle, live weight {AU}| market for prime cattle | AusLCI, U 1.251669595098248 kg mass of liveweight animal required to produce one kilogram of hot carcase weight, calculated using the dressing rate.
Spent dairy cow, live weight {AU}| market for cull dairy cow | AusLCI, U 0.001942819985559207 kg —
Tap water, at user, Australia {AU}| | AusLCI, U 5.621 kg —
Transport, truck, 16 to 28t, fleet average {AU}| | AusLCI, U 0.5725704592585076 t*km —

Outputs to treatment

Flow AmountUnitComment
Biowaste {RoW}| treatment of biowaste, industrial composting | Cut-off, U 0.14676105946226944 kg —
Waste treatment, municipal waste average, at landfill {AU}| | AusLCI, U 0.0215 kg —
Wastewater treatment {AU}| | AusLCI, U 2.66377 l —

Elementary flow inputs

Flow Sub-compartment AmountUnitComment
Water, river, AU — 0.584 l —
Water, well, AU — 1.095 l —

Elementary flow outputs

Flow CompartmentSub-compartment AmountUnitComment
Methane, non-fossil Emission to airunspecified 0.001991786 kg —
Nitrogen Emission to watersurface water 0.000007601489999999999 kg —
Phosphorous Emissions to waterriver 0.00001344879 kg —
Water Emissions to waterriver 0.58473 kg —
Water Emission to airlower stratosphere + upper troposphere 0.0225786244001782 kg —

Parameters

NameValueFormulaDescription
total_energy 17.320719553362103 FR_retailCut*energy_retailCut+FR_offal*energy_offal+FR_hide*energy_hide+FR_petFood*energy_petFood+FR_RenderFeedstock*energy_RenderFeedstock —
FR_hide 0.061180789 — (2,1,5,1,na,na)[kg/kg LW] Calculated as ratio of hide and live weight, based on information reported in MLA (2009)
DM_petfood 0.29 — Dry matter fraction
All_En_hide 1.782010727407032 FR_hide*energy_hide/total_energy*100 Energy based allocation
All_RenderFeedstock — iff(All_SWITCH=0;All_Eco_RenderFeedstock;iff(All_SWITCH=1;All_Mass_RenderFeedstock;iff(All_SWITCH=2;All_En_RenderFeedstock;All_Pro_RenderFeedstock))) Selected allocation to render feedstock based on allocation switch - default is economic
All_Pro_hide 12.829453207306365 FR_hide*protein_hide/total_protein*100 Protein based allocation to hide
CC_livecattle 0.541 — (2,3,3,1,1,na) Carbon content 0.541 of animal as DM. (Average carbon content of 0.175 C/kg liveweight assuming dressing of 63%, carcase composition of 70% meat, 20% fat and 10% bone; dry matter content of 15% by-product (blood, rumen, heads and hooves), 25% meat, 85% fat and 74% bone; and carbon content of 53% by-product, 53% meat, 76% fat and 7.5% bone.)
WW_landapp 0.5 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[-] Fraction of wastewater applied to agricultural land from AMPC (2025)
DM_Livecattle 0.319 — Dry matter fraction of cattle
value_offal 4.2060053 — (2,1,1,1,na,na)[AU$/kg] Reported value for CY24, in MLA's Monthly co-product market reports for a range of edible offals
BioC_all_corr_retailcut -0.20145732781674497 BioC_Actual_Retailcut-BioC_all_retailcut This is the correction to the biogenic carbon required to balance the biogenic carbon for retail cuts rs in kg C.
coal 0.223995 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[MJ/kg HCW] Energy consumption from AMPC (2025)
spent_dairy_FR 0.0011280890233090434 total_spent_dairy/total_cattle_heads —
value_RenderFeedstock — — [AU$/kg] Assumed to be nill
WW_sewer 0.41 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[-] Fraction of wastewater released to sewer from AMPC (2025)
All_Mass_RenderFeedstock 44.191343926164194 FR_RenderFeedstock/total_mass*100 Mass based allocation
CC_RenderFeedstock 0.345 — (2,3,3,1,1,na) Carbon content of 0.5 as DM
LW 1.7222222230833335 HCW/dressing_rate [kg LW/kg HCSW] Mass of live weight animal required to product 1000 kg of hot carcase
CC_gutfill 0.5 — Estimate
diesel 0.018495 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[MJ/kg HCW] Energy consumption from AMPC (2025)
value_petFood 4.2060053 — (3,1,1,1,4,na)[AU$/kg] Assumed to be equal to offal value
FR_RenderFeedstock 0.39846174 — (2,1,1,1,na,na)[kg/kg LW] Calculated as ratio of all material going to rendering (inedible offals, whole blood, etc) and live weight, based on information reported in MLA (2024)
All_Pro_offal 4.753179184505008 FR_offal*protein_offal/total_protein*100 Protein based allocation to offal
BioC_Inputs 0.29721938903749867 LW*DM_Livecattle*CC_Livecattle kg biogenic carbon imported in with input animals
CC_retailcut 0.438 — —
BioC_Balance 0.05701784256655512 BioC_inputs-BioC_outputs Current balance between biogenic carbon inputs less biogenic carbon outputs in kg C.
N 0.013 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[g/L] Nitrogen release to rivers after treatment, from AMPC (2025)
CC_Petfood 0.438 — (2,3,3,1,1,na) Carbon content of 0.4 as DM, NIR 2023 (DCCEEW 2025)
DM_retailcut 0.3 — —
road 332.4602665 — (3,1,1,1,na,na)[km] Weighted average of distance between property/feedlot/saleyard and the abattoir. As reported in CSIRO's TraNSIT model (https://benchmark.transit.csiro.au/)
All_retailCut 98.05928567599975 iff(All_SWITCH=0;All_Eco_retailCut;iff(All_SWITCH=1;All_Mass_retailCut;iff(All_SWITCH=2;All_En_retailCut;All_Pro_retailCut))) Selected allocation to retail cuts
dressing_rate 0.580645161 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[kg HCSW/kg LW] Calculated as the ratio between the hot carcase weight and live weight, based on information reported in MLA (2009)
value_retailCut 25.66940575 — (2,1,1,1,na,na)[AU$/kg] Reported value for CY24, MLA (2024) Australian retail meat prices, https://www.mla.com.au/prices-markets/statistics/
All_offal 1.527275712408163 iff(All_SWITCH=0;All_Eco_offal;iff(All_SWITCH=1;All_Mass_offal;iff(All_SWITCH=2;All_En_offal;All_Pro_offal))) Selected allocation to offal based on allocation switch - default is economic
waste_undefined 0.0215 — (2,2,1,1,na,na)[kg/kg HSCW] Average waste production from AMPC (2025)
All_Pro_retailCut 36.6922363112965 FR_retailCut*protein_retailCut/total_protein*100 Protein based allocation to retail cuts
CH4_WWT 0.001991786 — (2,2,1,1,na,na)[kg/kg HSCW] Calculated from direct emissions from wastewater reported in AMPC (2025)
energy_RenderFeedstock 15.80743365 — (3,na,4,1,na,na)[MJ/kg] Calculated based on the energy content of tallow, meat meal and blood meal, and yield of those materials from processing waste, as reported in Wiedemann and Yan (2014)
WW_river 0.09 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[-] Fraction of wastewater released to river from AMPC (2025)
total_prime_cattle 1530091068.0 — [kg LW] Total mass of prime cattle, as calculated in the relevant market process
total_spent_dairy 2374981.0 — [kg LW] Total mass of spent dairy cattle, as calculated in the relevant market process
energy_petFood 19.36635 — (3,na,1,1,4,na)[MJ/kg] Assumed equal to offal
DM_RenderFeedstock 0.54 — Dry matter fraction
total_protein 0.1311413409685951 FR_retailCut*protein_retailCut+FR_offal*protein_offal+FR_hide*protein_hide+FR_petFood*protein_petFood+FR_RenderFeedstock*protein_RenderFeedstock —
All_Mass_offal 4.192313323374047 FR_offal/total_mass*100 Mass based allocation
wastewater_FR 0.89 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[-] Fraction of raw water which is released as wastewater, sourced from AMPC (2025)
total_mass 0.901673732 FR_retailCut+FR_offal+FR_hide+FR_petFood+FR_RenderFeedstock —
protein_RenderFeedstock 0.147777342 — (3,na,4,1,na,na)[kg protein/kg] Calculated based on the protein content of tallow, meat meal and blood meal, and yield of those materials from processing waste, as reported in Wiedemann and Yan (2014)
total_cattle_heads 2105313455.7 total_prime_cattle+total_culled_breeders+total_spent_dairy —
All_En_petFood 0.7329260773413324 FR_petFood*energy_petFood/total_energy*100 Energy based allocation
All_Mass_hide 4.192313323374047 FR_offal/total_mass*100 Mass based allocation
FR_moistureLoss 0.013110169 — (2,1,5,1,na,na)[kg/kg LW] Calculated as ratio of moisture loss and live weight, based on information reported in MLA (2009)
protein_retailCut 0.121 — (3,na,1,1,na,na)[kg protein/kg] Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2025) Australian Food Composition Database, F000473: Beef, all cuts, separable fat, raw
All_En_RenderFeedstock 36.364872127329875 FR_RenderFeedstock*energy_RenderFeedstock/total_energy*100 Energy based allocation
CC_hide 0.153 — Carbon content 0.0 of wet season mix
energy_hide 5.045 — [MJ/kg] Calculated based on the protein and fat content
All_SWITCH — — 0: economic; 1: mass; 2: energy; 3: protein
protein_hide 0.275 — [kg protein/kg] as reported by Sarker M.I. (2018) Preservation of bovine hide using less salt with low concentration of antiseptic, Part I: Effectiveness of developed formulation
fuelOil 0.047265 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[MJ/kgHCW] Energy consumption from AMPC (2025)
LPG 0.06987 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[MJ/kg HCW] Energy consumption from AMPC (2025)
gasoline 0.002055 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[MJ/kg HCW] Energy consumption from AMPC (2025)
FR_retailCut 0.39767513 — (2,1,5,1,na,na)[kg/kg LW] Calculated as ratio between saleable boneless meat and live weight, based on information reported in MLA (2009)
All_Eco_offal 1.527275712408163 (FR_offal*value_offal)/total_value*100 Economic allocation used as default in AusLCI
renewable 0.001713 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[kWh/kg HCW] Energy consumption from AMPC (2025)
All_petFood 0.26484551444187293 iff(All_SWITCH=0;All_Eco_petFood;iff(All_SWITCH=1;All_Mass_petFood;iff(All_SWITCH=2;All_En_petFood;All_Pro_petFood))) Selected allocation to pet food based on allocation switch - default is economic
All_En_retailCut 56.8936509308424 FR_retailCut*energy_retailCut/total_energy*100 Energy based allocation
culled_breeders_FR 0.2720960174120641 total_culled_breeders/total_cattle_heads —
All_hide 0.14859309715022329 iff(All_SWITCH=0;All_Eco_hide;iff(All_SWITCH=1;All_Mass_hide;iff(All_SWITCH=2;All_En_hide;All_Pro_hide))) Selected allocation to hides based on allocation switch - default is economic
protein_offal 0.1649 — (3,na,1,1,na,na)[kg protein/kg] Latoch, A. et al. (2024) Edible offal as a valuable source of nutrients in the diet - a review, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16111609
water_ground 1.095 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[L/kg HCW] Water consumption from AMPC (2025)
BioC_Actual_retailcut 0.08999388196399694 FR_retailCut*CC_retailcut*DM_retailcut*LW The actual amount of biogenic carbon which should be allocated to retail cuts in kg C.
retailCut_rate 0.674074074 — (2,1,5,1,1,na)[kg retail cut/kg HCSW] Calculated as the ratio between the mass of retail cut and the hot carcase weight, based on information reported in MLA (2009)
waste_misc 0.0215 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[kg/kg HCW] Waste production from AMPC (2025)
BioC_Products 0.24020154647094355 (FR_retailCut*CC_retailcut*DM_retailcut+FR_offal*CC_offal*DM_Offal+FR_hide*CC_hide*DM_hide+FR_petfood*CC_Petfood*DM_petfood+FR_RenderFeedstock*CC_RenderFeedstock*DM_RenderFeedstock+FR_gutFill*CC_gutfill*DM_gutfill)*LW kg biogenic carbon in outputs of all products in the inventory before applying allocation
total_value 10.410114858864866 FR_retailCut*value_retailCut+FR_offal*value_offal+FR_hide*value_hide+FR_petFood*value_petFood+FR_RenderFeedstock*value_RenderFeedstock [$/kg] Calculated based on value of each output and fraction of live weight
natural_gas 0.75213 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[MJ/kg HCW] Energy consumption from AMPC (2025)
energy_offal 19.36635 — (3,na,1,1,na,na)[MJ/kg] Calculated based on the fat and protein content, as reported in Latoch, A. et al. (2024) Edible offal as a valuable source of nutrients in the diet - a review, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16111609
FR_offal 0.037800988 — (2,1,5,1,na,na)[kg/kg LW] Calculated as ratio of edible offal and live weight, based on information reported in MLA (2009)
total_culled_breeders 572847406.7 — [kg LW] Total mass of culled breeders, as calculated in the relevant market process
DM_gutfill 0.1 — Estimate
wastewater_generation 6.497 water_total*wastewater_FR [L/t HCSW] Total wastewater generation
DM_hide 0.33 — Dry matter fraction
water_tap 5.621 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[L/kg HCW] Water consumption from AMPC (2025)
P 0.023 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[g/L] Phosphorous release to rivers after treatment, from AMPC (2025)
electricity 0.175817 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[kWh/kg HCW] Energy consumption from AMPC (2025)
energy_retailCut 24.78 — (3,na,1,1,na,na)[MJ/kg] Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2025) Australian Food Composition Database, F000473: Beef, all cuts, separable fat, raw
water_surface 0.584 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[L/kg HCW] Water consumption from AMPC (2025)
value_hide 0.2528361 — (2,1,1,1,na,na)[AU$/kg] Average value per hide for CY24 calculated based on monthly reported value in MLA Co-product market reports, https://www.mla.com.au/prices-markets/Trends-analysis/co-product-market-reports/. The weight of one hide was estimated as 28 kg, based on data reported in Figure 4.1 of ACCC (2017)
All_Eco_hide 0.14859309715022329 (FR_hide*value_hide)/total_value*100 Economic allocation used as default in AusLCI
BioC_all_retailcut 0.2914512097807419 LW*DM_Livecattle*CC_Livecattle*All_retailCut/100 Biogenic carbon allocated to retail cuts in kg C.
All_Eco_RenderFeedstock — (FR_RenderFeedstock*value_RenderFeedstock)/total_value*100 Economic allocation used as default in AusLCI
All_En_offal 4.226540137079347 FR_offal*energy_offal/total_energy*100 Energy based allocation
All_Mass_petFood 0.7269907913874993 FR_petFood/total_mass*100 Mass based allocation
bioC_Outputs 0.24020154647094355 (FR_retailCut*CC_retailcut*DM_retailcut+FR_offal*CC_offal*DM_offal+FR_hide*CC_hide*DM_hide+FR_petfood*CC_petfood*DM_petfood+FR_RenderFeedstock*CC_RenderFeedstock*DM_RenderFeedstock+Fr_gutfill*DM_gutfill*CC_gutfill)*LW Total biogenic material exported from the process in kg C
biomass 0.150015 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[MJ/kg HCW] Energy consumption from AMPC (2025)
HCW 1.0 — [kg] Mass of hot carcase standard weight (HCSW)
FR_petfood 0.006555085 — (2,1,5,1,na,na)[kg/kg LW] Calculated as ratio of pet food and live weight, based on information reported in MLA (2009)
FR_gutFill 0.085216099 — (2,1,5,1,na,na)[kg/kg LW] Calculated as ratio of gut fill and live weight, based on information reported in MLA (2009)
All_Eco_petFood 0.26484551444187293 (FR_petFood*value_petFood)/total_value*100 Economic allocation used as default in AusLCI
protein_petFood 0.1649 — (3,na,1,1,4,na)[kg protein/kg] Assumed equal to offal
All_Mass_retailCut 44.10410505337866 FR_retailCut/total_mass*100 Mass based allocation
water_total 7.3 water_ground+water_tap+water_surface [L/t HCSW] Total water consumption
All_Pro_petFood 0.8242507728808838 FR_petFood*protein_petFood/total_protein*100 Protein based allocation to pet food
CC_offal 0.438 — Carbon content 0.0 of dry season mix
All_Eco_retailCut 98.05928567599975 (FR_retailCut*value_retailCut)/total_value*100 Economic allocation used as default in AusLCI
biogas 0.15207 — (2,2,1,1,1,na)[MJ/kgHCW] Energy consumption from AMPC (2025)
All_Pro_RenderFeedstock 44.900880524011235 FR_RenderFeedstock*protein_RenderFeedstock/total_protein*100 Protein based allocation to render feedstock
prime_cattle_FR 0.7267758935646269 total_prime_cattle/total_cattle_heads —
DM_offal 0.29 — Dry matter fraction