Date: Feb 05 2016
Consumer Connection & News Release & ResearchYou have to eat it. That’s really the only way to know if a steak is going to be good or not. So it is with all “experience goods.” Wine and beauty products are other examples.
Date: Jan 15 2016
Consumer Connection & News ReleaseNot long ago, the news was sharply higher beef prices in a still-recovering economy. Industry insiders wondered how consumers would respond. Amid the talk of fewer retail features and penny-conscious shoppers, people still turned to beef. “Sometimes we all get more worried about those price points than maybe the consumer does,” said Randy Blach, CattleFax senior market analyst.
Date: Jan 08 2016
Consumer Connection & News ReleaseAsking for a beverage at a restaurant, you might be shocked if the server replied, “What kind? Flavor A, Flavor B or Flavor C?”
Date: Oct 15 2015
News ReleaseWhen the original Angus beef brand stands above 138 USDA-certified others and charts a ninth successive record year, people wonder how that can be. The recipe includes a dash of nostalgia, a large helping of credibility and a whole lot of relevance. Throw in its niche at the very top of quality and that certain “it factor,” and you have an all-but-guaranteed formula for longevity.
Date: Aug 27 2015
Cattle Markets & Feeding Quality Forum & News ReleaseIf you don’t believe the global factors affecting the U.S. cattle market are numerous and complicated, you probably haven’t heard Dan Basse, president of Ag Resource Company, give an economic outlook. By 2040, Japan’s population will drop by 25.3 million people. Today, the Black Sea region exports 34% of the world’s wheat. Brazil’s currency, the real, has been weak for several years versus the U.S. dollar.
Date: Aug 21 2015
Cattle Markets & Feeding Quality Forum & News ReleaseIn a cyclical business, when you’re riding the good times, it probably means you’re not far from the bad ones. So it is with the cattle business, said Dan Basse, president of Ag Resource Company, as he kicked off the Feeding Quality Forum in La Vista, Neb., and Garden City, Kan., this week. “It’s not like the mid-1980s, with land values collapsing. It’s more like a slow bleed,” Basse said of the general “downturn” in agricultural commodities. Ag equipment sales have slowed, land prices are going down and grain trade has softened as the dollar strengthened.
Date: May 08 2015
Cattle Feeding & Consumer Connection & News ReleaseMoving your cattle along to meet the goals of everyone in the beef supply chain takes focus on the data-backed decisions to add and capture value. Without people like Kenny Montgomery, Ruth Ammon and Meg Groves, those dollars from down the chain might never make it back to the ranch. These are some of the people who keep the plan on course when your cattle enter the feedyard and packing plant. Montgomery is a cowboy in the classic sense. He’s tough, unassuming and resilient – maybe that’s why Pratt Feeders, Pratt, Kan., has made him a part of its team for so long.
Date: May 07 2015
Consumer Connection & News Release & ResearchThe economics just didn’t add up. Median household net wealth decreased 27% between 2000 and 2010, according to the U.S. Consumer Price Index. Canadians were in the same financially leaky boat. “Research would show that during an economic downturn, people tend not to buy premium products, to a point where they will go to a private brand or a lower price competitor to save money,” University of Guelph (Ontario) business and economics professor Tanya Mark says. “For any premium brand, we would certainly expect sales to decrease.”
Date: Apr 30 2015
News Release & ResearchModified-live vaccines. The flat iron steak. Timed breeding protocols. Without beef researchers, farmers and ranchers across the country wouldn’t have all the products and applied technology that help them manage better. Consumers wouldn’t benefit from the rising beef quality they’ve enjoyed during the last decade. Without people like Bridget Wasser, Larry Kuehn and Jon Schreffler the best answers might go unshared. These are the ones who not only do the research, but also help apply it.
Date: Apr 28 2015
Consumer Connection & News Release & ResearchThe study of why we eat beef keeps pointing past tenderness. Given only certified tender strip steaks that varied in marbling and juiciness, a carefully chosen panel of 120 consumers said flavor is where it’s at. Sensory evaluation research, as part of a joint project among Texas Tech, Utah State and Mississippi State universities, scored the strip-loin steaks to get at the role of taste fat in consumer appeal.
