A grading system built for American Full Blood Wagyu — measured by precision optical scan, weighted for what actually matters at the table, and applied to every carcass we ship. No translation from a foreign scale. No subjective ranking. Just the numbers, and what they mean.
The Japanese BMS scale was created for Japanese cattle, graded by Japanese inspectors, against a 12-point standard built for the carcasses produced in that system. Translating an American Full Blood Wagyu carcass into BMS is an approximation — a useful one, but an approximation all the same.
We use the MIJ-30 optical marble camera — the same technology used to certify carcasses in Japan — to capture twenty-six distinct measurements of every ribeye we grade. Density. Fineness. Particle distribution. Lean and fat color. Texture. The science is settled. What was missing was a system that translated that science into a number our customers could actually use.
A great steak isn't the percentage of fat. It's where the fat is, how fine it is, and how evenly it's woven through the muscle. The Index measures all three — and we put it on every box.
Every carcass is assigned a Composite Marble Index between 0 and 100, calculated from its scan data. The number determines the tier. The tier determines the cut. The cut determines the price.
The rarest carcasses on our ranch. Exceptional density, ultra-fine distribution, near-perfect color. Reserved for our membership and select chef partners.
Our standard for premium retail. High marbling density with excellent particle structure. The everyday luxury of the Carney line.
Our entry tier into the Carney line. Strong marble character with the genetic integrity and ranch provenance our customers expect.
Carcasses scoring below 70 do not ship under the Carney name. They are sold to wholesale partners or returned to the herd's general inventory.
The MIJ-30 optical scanner captures hundreds of data points per ribeye. We weight the four that determine eating quality.
CMI = (D × 0.40) + (F × 0.25) + (P × 0.20) + (C × 0.15)
The total intramuscular fat as a percentage of the ribeye cross-section. The single strongest driver of richness.
How delicate the marbling appears. Finer grains melt faster and read as silk, not fat — the texture of true Wagyu.
How evenly the fat is woven through the lean muscle, rather than pooled in a few large deposits.
Bright, vivid lean and clean white fat. Indicators of freshness, diet, and proper finishing.
Each of the four components is scored from 0 to 100 against the same tier thresholds that define the scale, then combined by the formula above.
A component sits at 90 when it reaches the Reserve threshold, 80 at the Prime threshold, and 70 at the Signature threshold, scaling smoothly between. Density above the Reserve floor continues to climb toward a perfect 100; fineness is scored on the negative NFI axis, where a more negative reading is a finer grain. The composite is the weighted sum — published to the whole number on every lot page and every box.
Worked example — a representative Reserve carcass: Density 96, Fineness 93, Distribution 92, Color 89 → CMI 94.
Every grading system measures something. Most measure visually. Ours measures objectively — and tells you what was measured.
| USDA Prime | Japanese BMS | Carney CMI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Visual inspection | Visual inspection | Optical camera scan |
| Scale | 3 grades | 12 levels | 100 points |
| Measures density | Approximate | Approximate | Yes — to 0.01% |
| Measures fineness | No | No | Yes |
| Measures distribution | No | No | Yes |
| Carcass traceability | Limited | Yes | Lot-specific to ranch |
| Reproducible | No (subjective) | No (subjective) | Yes — same camera, same result |
Every cut that ships from Carney carries the Composite Marble Index of the carcass it came from. Traceable to the scan. Backed by the only proprietary optical grading system applied to American Full Blood Wagyu.
We publish the formula. We publish the data. We publish the score. If you ever want to see the scan that produced your steak, ask — and we'll send it.