When it comes to stocker nutrition, an old-fashioned strategy might be the way of the future. That’s what Dale Blasi, Kansas State University (K-State) Extension beef specialist, said about limit-feeding calves in the growing phase. The scientific research goes back decades, but at this year’s 13th annual Feeding Quality Forum in Sioux City, Iowa, he presented new reasons to give it fresh look.
The IBM brand isn’t often associated with the cattle business. But that may change, thanks to the tech giant’s IBM Food Trust and its use of blockchain. That’s just what it sounds like: blocks of information that form a chain, linked via Internet to allow information sharing that is seamless, efficient and secure.
For the staff, it was a big family reunion, getting to show extended kinfolk from across the United States the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand’s Wooster, Ohio, home. For Angus breeders, it was a bit like drawing back a curtain to see what happens behind the logo.
You want a cattle vaccine that’s both safe and effective, but sometimes you have to choose which of those ideals gets the upper hand. That’s according to Paul Walz, the Auburn University veterinarian who spoke at the Feeding Quality Forum late this summer in Sioux City, Iowa. Vaccination programs must be true to the label protocols, yet individualized for each farm or ranch and the level of risk they can accept.
It’s a great time to own cows, but only if you have a competitive cost structure with the right genetics and management to compete in today’s marketplace, Rick Funston said. While input costs should be minimized in times like these, “breakeven at best” for many, he said, it won’t pay to compromise fertility in the process.
Economic theory suggests more supply will lower the price, and higher prices tend to lower sales for a commodity. “A commodity like beef,” older textbooks might say. Premium beef has not always borne that out, particularly in the decade since the Great Recession of 2008, says CattleFax analyst Lance Zimmerman.
For many cattle across the United States that’s the difference in a marbling score of 492 versus 500. Those commodity Choice carcasses are just a few fat flecks away from upper two-thirds Choice and their share of the $50 million that packers pay each year for cattle earning that high-quality designation.
Extending a 14-year streak of year-over-year growth and the third year for sales above 1 billion pounds, the first and largest branded beef company reported record sales of 1.21 billion pounds in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, ending Sept. 30. That was an 8.1% increase, or 91 million pounds.
Certified Angus Beef ® is the Brand that Pays®. At a rate of $8,500 per hour, 24-7, that was $75 million for 2017, up from the $52 million paid in 2015; the linking year came in at $63 million. That brings the 20-year total for CAB premiums to $688 million, more than half of it paid in the last seven years.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to use this site, we will assume that you are in agreement.
