CAB Drives Brand Relevance with Specification Update

Evolution of cattle type, management technology and production economics continue to shape the beef business. As a pioneer in the branded beef space, the Certified Angus Beef ® brand has remained relevant throughout the supply chain via continued innovation.    

Effective the first week of March, the brand will modify its ribeye area (REA) specification from the current 10 to 16 square inch acceptable range to include carcasses wth ribeyes measuring up to 17 square inches.

Innovating to drive industry relevance has been a focus of Certified Angus Beef since it’s inception. For instance, in 2007 the brand transitioned from the “yield grade of 3.9 or leaner” standard to specifications for each of the yield grade component traits, including carcass weight, REA and backfat thickness.

Adapting to increasing fed cattle finished weights generated incremental shifts in the brand’s upper hot carcass weight (HCW) limit in 2014 and 2022. While heavier carcasses have inevitably resulted in larger beef cut sizes, we have been purposefully slower in modifying the REA specification until now.

In the past three years, our packing partners have shared data with us on six million carcasses, allowing us to evaluate marbling, fat thickness, REA and HCW—tracking seasonal effects and overall industry trends. The data reveals that, since shifting our maximum HCW  50 lb., up to 1,100 lb. in 2022, the proportion of carcasses excluded from CAB certification due to excessive REA size has increased by 30%. This means that in 2024, ribeye size has been the reason carcasses don’t qualify in 20% of the cases where Angus-eligible carcasses fail to meet brand standards.

Increasing the REA target by an inch represents a subtle shift in the distribution of ribeye sizes across all CAB carcasses. Data on more than two million carcasses in 2024 shows that just 7.4% of the brand’s certified carcasses would have fallen within the range of 16.1 to 17.0 square inches. As well, the shift will have little impact on middle meat steak thickness. The difference from a 12 oz. center-cut strip steak will vary less than one tenth of an inch between carcasses measuring a 16.1 inch ribeye versus a 17.0 inch ribeye. (Schiefelbein et. al., Colorado State University 2024)

It’s this research and examination that have culminated into the decision to further evolve the brand’s standards with this adjustment. As total fed cattle supplies trend lower in the short term, this move will positively impact everyone in the brand’s supply chain, alleviating some downstream supply pressure.

From a cattlemen’s view, the shift embraces current, and most likely future, production trends. It is not a directive toward larger cattle, rather a logical shift to sharpen the brand’s relevance in response to the evolving cattle population.

Increasingly important carcass-based cattle values will reward a few more of the highest quality carcasses previously constrained by ribeye size, especially those near the upper end of the allowable weight limit. It’s also important that producers realize that insufficient marbling is easily the primary reason that Angus-type carcasses are unsuccessful in meeting CAB specifications, with 82% of failures owing to that reason alone in 2024.