Cattle Live Weight from Heart Girth

Schaeffer's formula: weight (lb) = heart girth^2 x body length / 300, both in inches; the heart girth is the circumference just behind the front legs (around the barrel at the heart), the body length is shoulder-point to pin bone. A steer 70 in around and 55 in long estimates 70 x 70 x 55 / 300 = 898 lb; a 60 x 48 in heifer estimates 576 lb. The girth dominates because it captures the barrel's cross-section, so pull the tape snug at the smallest point behind the shoulder with the animal standing square. Calibrated for mature beef-type cattle; it runs off for very young, very fat, dairy-type, or heavily pregnant animals. An on-farm estimate; a certified scale governs a sale weight, and a vet or the tape maker's chart governs a dose or market decision.

live_weight_lb = heart_girth_in^2 x body_length_in / 300 (Schaeffer's formula). Heart girth = circumference behind the front legs; body length = point of shoulder to pin bone; both in inches.

Cattle live-weight estimation from heart girth (Schaeffer's formula; Penn State / University of Missouri Extension 'Estimating Cattle Weight'), by name; a certified scale governs a sale weight and a vet or the weigh-tape maker's chart governs a dose.

The heart-girth weight relation is public extension-service practice; the girth and length are the animal's tape measurements.

Estimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.

Field names used by the API: heart_girth_in, body_length_in, live_weight_lb

• Schaeffer's formula weight (lb) = heart girth^2 x body length / 300, both in inches; girth behind front legs, length shoulder-point to pin bonePenn State / Univ. of Missouri Extension
• Calibration range for mature beef-type cattle; off for very young/fat/thin, dairy-type, or heavily pregnant animals; a certified scale governs a sale weightextension-service weigh-tape guidance