First-generation seedstock producers Kevin and Lydia Yon, along with their children, Drake, Sally, and Corbin, have been continuously improving their farm since they drove the first fence posts on what was a 100-acre abandoned peach orchard in 1996.
Telling their story to the cattle curious was awkward at first for John and Gaye Pfeiffer. Now, they look forward to hosting hundreds of people every year, sharing everything about the beef cattle life cycle and why they choose Angus cattle on their central Oklahoma farm. Their dedication to teaching and connecting with those further down the supply chain earned them the 2021 CAB Ambassador Award.
Establishing a world-class seedstock operation in the Southeast didn’t happen overnight, and the family humbly insists they’re no different than many others. Indeed, their vision, use of technologies, and dedication to deliberate improvement make them unique.
How cattle are fed matters, but much of their potential for grid success is already set before cattle even set hoof in the yard. Cow-calf producers are the designers of the raw material.
The subject of herd improvement is more nuanced than, “Buy better bulls.” Yet, that’s a pretty foundational place start. This Black Ink column explores the idea of buying better.
So far in 2021, Choice carcasses are at a higher premium to Select than in any of the previous five years. This is important, not because Choice carcasses are the production target, but because the producer’s share of the Choice premium is the foundation on which CAB and Prime premiums are added.
The pastures at Dalebanks Angus near Eureka, Kan., hide the plants’ challenge well. Native big and little bluestem adapted over the ages to thrive in the shallow soil, only a few inches deep in places, that blankets the underlying limestone. Shards of flint mingle with the roots.
It’s a call to serve, the same that led John Grimes to run for the American Angus Association board of directors. The sun now setting on his second three-year term, he reflects on his leadership as Certified Angus Beef® board chairman. The head of Maplecrest Farms in Hillsboro, Ohio, says there’s no instant gratification in the cattle business, with constant change cattlemen have to be nimble.
When the industry was going one way, Matt Perrier saw his parents and grandparents going another. That dedication to quality, to the Perrier family and Dalebank Angus’s goal of “practical, profitable genetics,” was rewarded with the 2020 CAB Seedstock Commitment to Excellence award.
Fed cattle prices have stabilized and improved in the later part of July, but are still lower than a year ago. With a backlog of cattle on feed longer, greater eligibility is joining up with higher quality grades to increase July certified head counts above those seen a year ago.