Which makes sense, since he was talking to Wagyu breeders and Wagyu is a breed known for exceptional marbling. In fact, about 60 percent of beef grading now is done or aided by technology. Beyond that, he told Wagyu breeders that USDA began a pilot program early in 2023 to provide virtual grading to small packing plants. Beef grading is a voluntary service provided by USDA and paid for by the producer or the packing plant. With traditional beef grading, whether a camera is used or not, a human grader looks at every carcass.