Good cattle news abounds

I’ve shared enough examples of how teamwork between rancher and feeder can create better beef, but this last week at the Cattle Industry Convention and Tradeshow I was reminded how cooperation between all stakeholders can really move the needle.

Heading into the convention, I asked you all to share your good news. I jotted down pages full of notes and came away feeling pretty proud of our industry.

In no particular order, here’s a list of some of the items I found both interesting and encouraging:

-We learned about new beef products coming down the pike (like microwaveable hamburger!) that will help build beef demand.

-John Lundeen, director of market research for NCBA, told us about consumer attitudes toward beef. One of my favorite observations: When consumers are asked if they think beef is safe, they say, “Yes!” He says, “We are winning here.”

-“The beef industry reduced its environmental impact by 9% from 2005 to 2011.” Way to go producers!

-Free Trade agreements give us better market access to market our high-quality beef. (That comment from Cattle-Fax reminded me of a recent story I did on South American beef demand, just one good example of that.)

-The difference between an ungraded beef carcass and a Prime one is $60/cwt. “That’s real money!,” Cattle-Fax told the crowd.

And the notes go on and on, and hopefully I can recap more of the week here later on.

But we not only picked up on good news from speakers and presentations, but also from talk in the hallways and Twitter chatter. Several people tweeted us their thoughts via #GoodCattleNews, covering everything from the weather at home (rain—halleluiah) to future beef demand.

When we got home, we threw all those participants in a virtual hat (random.org, that is) and found our steak package winner:

We can’t argue with that logic, Jennifer! We know health=more profitable, higher quality cattle.

Thanks for playing along. You may not be grilling in Tampa-like temps, but hopefully you’ll feel the same optimism we did last week as you enjoy your Certified Angus Beef (R) brand steaks!

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

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