To commemorate its 50 year anniversary, BEEF Magazine has recognized 50 top beef industry leaders. Charles E. Murphey spent part of his career at Texas A&M University, and we celebrate his inclusion in this prestigious list.  JWS

Charles E. Murphey

Charles E. Murphey was considered for more than two decades to be the nation’s authority on livestock and meat standards and specifications.

Murphey, who died in 1988, served for 35 years as a livestock and meat marketing specialist for USDA. He observed in the 1940s that livestock, carcasses and meat were too fat. Following a series of investigations, Murphey developed the well-known “Murphey Equation,” which led to the establishment of the USDA Beef Yield Grades in 1965.

More than 20 million beef carcasses from fed cattle are yield-graded each year with application of the same Murphey Equation he devised almost 50 years ago. Murphey’s insistence regarding the importance of beef cutability to cattle producers, meat packers, retailers and consumers is said to have resulted in the savings of billions of dollars to the industry.

Born in Attica, KS, Murphey opened and closed his career in meats research at Texas A&M University, retiring in 1983.

via Photo Gallery: BEEF Honors 50 Top Industry Leaders | BEEF Magazine.