In their Prime
Of course, I already knew that when I dialed up South Dakota producer Rich Blair, of Blair Brothers Angus, but I was reminded of that with each story he told about their journey to produce the best beef. (They aim for CAB and Prime, with some loads hitting as much as 50% of the latter.)
I’m sure I’ve talked about this myth before, but in case you wanted to hear it put to rest by one of your own, I’ll bring it up again. Plus the way he told the story made me smile.
Myth: You’ve got to have some pretty fancy cattle to produce great beef.
Fact: It’s really not about looks, as Rich found out back in the mid-90s.
“I can still remember the first time I got a Prime carcass and I thought, ‘Wow, that cow must really look special.’ So I went out and found her in the herd and I can still vividly remember looking through the cows and…..well, there she was.
I was never so disappointed in all my life! She just looked like the rest of ‘em.
But the thing she did, is that she made me $200 more than the cow standing next to them and it didn’t cost me a thing. Her calf ran with the bunch, he just had the genetics to grade Prime and the rest of ‘em didn’t.”
His suggestion for making more of those Prime-makers? Study the data, and that will lead you to one solution: straightbred commercial Angus. But that’s another real-world story for another day…
May your bottom line be filled with black ink,
Miranda
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