If there was a lesson in 2022, it was that the beef market is very sensitive to declines in quality grade, as evidenced through price signals. It’s the first time in recent history where we’ve gone backwards — albeit ever so slightly — and customers are telling us they have unfulfilled demand. That’s reflected in the premiums paid, and that’s saying something after two years of extremely high premiums.
Diving into 2023, the much-discussed beef cow herd culling comes home to roost, bringing on a supply challenge for the beef industry. Everyone downstream from the packer needs to be prepared to see more frequent, potentially wider price spreads for quality within the shrinking supply setting.
While the competition is growing, the brand’s team of 150 diligently works to differentiate CAB from the rest of the pack. Consumers can feel confident purchasing the Certified Angus Beef ® brand, a high-quality product that is the result of Angus farmers’ and ranchers’ commitment to quality.
Quality starts long before feedyard rations reach the bunk, and it weighs heavily on the bottom line. Brian Bertelsen, vice president of field operations for U.S. Premium Beef, discussed marbling’s impact on grid marketing at CAB’s annual Feeding Quality Forum.
For Hands, there’s no short answer to anything. Problems are approached with thoughtful consideration to every possible outcome. Solutions are executed with care. It’s more than a suggestion on how to treat everything from people to cattle to equipment, it’s simply the Triangle H way. They work to be the best in everything they do – a mindset that he’s passing on to his daughter.
The Bootheel 7 brand that marks the hips of the Wasserburger’s cow herd could stand for the seven state wrestling titles held between three boys in the fourth generation, but that mark far predates their competitive drive. It’s been the brand carried by Wassserburgers looking for the ‘W’ since the homesteading era.
The Larson’s determined journey toward elusive perfection helped Larson Angus Ranch earn the Certified Angus Beef 2022 Seedstock Commitment to Excellence award presented at the brand’s Annual Conference Sept. 22 in Phoenix.
Certified Angus Beef regularly collects data on millions of fed cattle to discover how cattlemen can capture more value for high-quality carcasses beginning on the ranch. When black-hided cattle don’t earn the CAB stamp, it’s most often for missing the mark in marbling, HCW, REA and backfat.
Annual grid, formula and contract premiums paid on CAB carcasses in 2021 totaled $182 million, up from the 2019 record of $92 million. Cattlemen who raise black Angus-influenced cattle that meet the brand’s specifications have the chance to earn more than ever before.
Prime cutout values and grid premiums have been rich in the third and fourth quarters of the past two years. Yet the spillover into the first quarter this year shows that the market is reacting to the recently smaller availability, retreating back to the 2019 supply pace.
