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Genetic bootstraps
You decide. Each time you buy a bull, keep a heifer or cull a cow, you choose a future for your herd and, collectively, for a beef industry that is either blessed or burdened with high prices. “I don’t want record prices because of the lowest beef supplies in 50-some-odd years, said a University of Missouri livestock economist. “I want the highest price because demand is pulling us along.” Most everybody in the cattle business would want what Scott Brown wants. There were certainly nods of agreement at the March 12 Midwest Section, American Society of Animal Scientists meetings in Des Moines, Iowa.
End meats help drive
T-bones, sirloins, filets and strips—these are the beef cuts referred to as “middle meats.” Such steaks make up 12% of the carcass, but represent just under half of its total value. That and the difference in cooking method lead many to believe it’s the only place where beef grades matter. Not according to experts like longtime market reporter Bruce Longo, of Urner Barry, and the data he tracks.
Value-based cattle marketing dominates
Selling fed cattle on a live basis is no longer standard practice, and some day it could end up as no more than historical reference. “The old selling-them-live method has given way to formula sales,” says Mark McCully, assistant vice president for Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB). Data from Cattle-Fax and the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows a sharp decline in cash sales in the past seven years, from 52.1% in 2005 to just 26% in 2012. The inverse of that is the steep gain in negotiated sales, like grid marketing and other arrangements, which moved up from less than half of sales to more than three-quarters during those years.
Angus calves at auction bring record premiums
Record-high calf prices last year spelled good news for most U.S. ranchers, but there was an extra bonus for many of them. That came in the form of record-high premiums paid for Angus calves at auction compared to non-Angus contemporaries, as reported to Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB). The database on more than 300,000 calves sold in 13,794 lots at 10 markets since 1999 is part of the company’s “Here’s the Premium” project.
Bull power investment pays
Many people have a distinct strategy for purchasing a new pickup. They want certain features, they’re willing to pay more for this, but not that. They figure value and how much it’ll be worth for resale X-number years down the road. But when those same ranchers go to buy a bull, it’s hard to follow such a plan. Action at the auction can lead to price “opportunities” and buying less than they really wanted. Jim McGrann, emeritus ranch management economist at Texas A&M, says bull-buying should be more like a vehicle purchase and less like shopping the bargain bin on an after-Christmas sale.
Small change$, big returns
Change doesn’t have to be dramatic and sweeping to make an impact. Bill Rishel, a registered Angus breeder from North Platte, Neb., says little gains in efficiency, functionality and carcass merit all add up.
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