Local connections for worldwide consumer satisfaction

I live in the heart of cattle country. I get to see good cattle every time I drive to town. And even sometimes outside my back window.

But what’s even better than taking in this good scenery? Learning more about it.

On Monday I traveled just north of the interstate to pay a visit to Anne Burkholder, who has become something of a celebrity in the beef industry. Many people have heard of this Florida-native, Ivy League grad turned Nebraska feedlot manager.

She didn’t set out to be in the limelight, but rather to tell beef’s story. Her Feedyard Foodie blog is a place where anybody can learn what happens each day at the feedyard. She values the relationship between food producer and food consumer. (Which is probably also why she became a CAB-licensed partner, but that’s a story for another day.)

Take this snippet from our interview, for example: “If we don’t consistently deliver a product that they want, they’re going to leave us. And beef is not inexpensive, so it’s something that a lot of people have to make a sacrifice to be able to put on their dinner table. For the overall good of our industry, in the long range, long term, we really need to be striving for quality all up and down the chain. We’re in the beef business.”

But Anne also values relationships with her rancher suppliers. She has cultivated many local customers who send cattle her way. And that’s what led me and Anthony to a pasture just a few miles down the road from Will Feed a few days later.

There we learned from cattleman Pat Laird,who works with Anne to make his cattle better. She always buys his calves but still gives him performance and carcass data back. They coordinate weaning and health strategies.

In short, they work together to make that relationship with the consumer a lasting one.

And now every time I get off my interstate exit and see those pretty Angus calves, I’ll admire them that much more because I know they’ve got more than just eye appeal going for them.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

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