The 2010 beef business trends include exceptional prices, increased quality and better rewards. “Slaughter cows and bulls were a hot commodity and producers cashed in on those record prices from the spring through the fall,” said Paul Dykstra, beef cattle specialist with the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand. He tracks USDA grading trends and harvest numbers in his weekly column, Rearview Mirror on Quality.
With all the work there is to do on a farm or ranch, cattle producers don’t have time to spend hours in front of a computer. It may seem ironic, but that’s why the Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) supply development team has entered into the “social media” scene.
Connecting to the consumer is a hot topic any time of the year, as more and more people want to learn about the food they eat. That’s especially important in the perception-rich world of branded beef. A 33-year-old company owned by 30,000 rancher-members of the American Angus Association is empowering its stakeholders with the facts. Those cattlemen are learning how to explain the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand and what makes it different. Last fall the company released the Brand Ambassador Training program, an on-line course that takes less than 15 minutes to complete and provides a user-friendly overview of CAB specifications, business model, sales objectives and success stories.
The Kansas Angus Association is working with Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) to better reward members or their customers as they learn more about carcass merit in their herds, or at least five representative spring-born steers. The 2011 Carcass Data Project (CDP) $5-per-head enrollment deadline of Dec. 15 allows participants couple of weeks for Dec. 28-30 delivery to the CAB-licensed McPherson County Feeders, near Marquette, Kan.
Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) is searching for producers who use Angus genetics to raise the quality beef bar. Each year the company seeks nominations for two Annual Conference awards that honor producers for an enduring commitment to finding superior Angus genetics that enhance carcass traits. “We celebrate those moments when producers excel and show the way for others,” says Larry Corah, CAB vice president. “So every year, we recognize one commercial and one seedstock producer who use every means in striving toward the ideal, from genetic selection to coordinated management and marketing.”
Managing for beef quality isn’t an arbitrary end-product objective, panelists pointed out at a Cattlemen’s College® session. According to moderator Larry Corah, vice president of Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), it also means managing for more profit. “Managing for Quality: A supply chain approach” was presented at the National Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show’s annual educational event Feb. 2 in Denver, Colo.
Producers can’t wait for profit to knock on the door; they must seek it out, and according to one economist, that means now. “It’s time,” Dan Basse says. “It’s time that the beef producer think globally and sell his very-high-quality product overseas.” The president of AgResource Company, Chicago, says failing to act in the near term will literally cost a fortune.
Records are made to be broken. That’s the prevailing sentiment at Certified Angus Beef LLC, (CAB) which, despite a challenging global economy in fiscal 2009, achieved record sales for the third consecutive year. The Certified Angus Beef ® brand logged several divisional and monthly records along the way.
A decade ago, distillers grains were not common feedstuffs. Today they’re routinely included in cattle finishing diets, at levels that can boost beef quality grades. Chris Calkins, University of Nebraska meat scientist, says when “wet distillers grains plus solubles” (WDGS) are fed at moderate levels, marbling scores increase.
White Land & Cattle Company treats all the little things like big ones. Gary White manages the family-owned feedlot that has been in business near Lexington, Neb., for 35 years. Its 2,500-head capacity is the perfect size to focus on all the details, White says.
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