Everyone in the beef chain seems to agree we need more of it. That’s the simple explanation for a trend that shows hot carcass weights (HCW) have increased 200 pounds (lb.) in four decades. But for all the opportunities that presents, there are many challenges. John Stika, president of Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), talked about both at last month’s Harlan Ritchie Beef Symposium during Midwest American Society of Animal Science meetings in Des Moines, Iowa. “The production side is looking for something bigger to cover their increased costs,” he said, “but the retail and foodservice sides are looking for [more units of] something much smaller that’s easier to manage from a portion-control standpoint and a unit-cost standpoint.”
John Simons ranches with his family near Enning, S.D., where they’ve focused on reducing variability in their Angus-based cowherd for the last 20 years.“If your calves all look the same, they’re just a pretty package,” he says. “And pretty sells.” Sticking with one breed and bloodline for several years lets Simons produce calves that not only have the same phenotype but also perform similarly in the feedlot and on the rail.
Selling fed cattle on a live basis is no longer standard practice, and some day it could end up as no more than historical reference. “The old selling-them-live method has given way to formula sales,” says Mark McCully, assistant vice president for Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB). Data from Cattle-Fax and the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows a sharp decline in cash sales in the past seven years, from 52.1% in 2005 to just 26% in 2012. The inverse of that is the steep gain in negotiated sales, like grid marketing and other arrangements, which moved up from less than half of sales to more than three-quarters during those years.
But I’ve spent the last seven years of my life learning about how to add value to cattle, so I can’t think of auctions without also recounting all the ways cattlemen can make the most of them.
the marketing element is so important. In our segmented industry it’s often challenging to show a true marketing advantage when comparing a superior set of calves to a more common set on the same day.
The world continues to become more complicated. The cattle industry is not immune to this, and in case you haven’t been reading the popular agricultural press, here’s some hard facts: Beef cow numbers in the U.S are at their lowest point since the late 1950’s. There’s a huge drought in the soutwestern part of the […]
Some people set out to make a lasting change on their industry, but Max Deets, Beloit, Kan., says he never thought of himself in that light. Instead the cattle feeder’s natural leadership ability, quest for improvement and genuine respect for others led him to some of the most influential roles in the beef business.
It won”t be long until spring has flown past, summer is creeping by and we need to start making tough cattle marketing decisions. Maybe you calve in the fall and these decisions are really quickly approaching: Sell now or keep them on grass? Retain ownership, partner or send them to the auction barn? How much will the cost of feedstuffs impact those decisions?
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