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Tag: beef exports

Relevant and getting better

Ninth straight record sales year for CAB

by Laura Conaway

When the original Angus beef brand stands above 138 USDA-certified others and charts a ninth successive record year, people wonder how that can be.

The recipe includes a dash of nostalgia, a large helping of credibility and a whole lot of relevance. Throw in its niche at the very top of quality and that certain “it factor,” and you have an all-but-guaranteed formula for longevity.

The  Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand rounded out its 37th fiscal year (FY) at the end of September 2015, still leading the beef quality movement because of that one ingredient in particular: relevance.

“We’re here to be more intentional on those things that really strengthen the brand and increase its relevance to our mission and each and every one of our partners and their customers,” says CAB President John Stika. After an 11th consecutive year of sales growth to a record 896 million pounds, 14 million more than last year, he comments, “our goal is to get better.”

That’s what it took to set records in FY 2015. In the fourth straight year with fewer eligible cattle, the brand’s 31 licensed packing plants saw a 1.1-million-head (8%) decline in those Angus-type cattle identified. Yet, certified carcass numbers only dropped by 1%. Greater utilization of each carcass (261 lb. sold compared to 250 lb. last year) produced the net sales increase of 1.6%.

In the face of record high cattle and beef prices tied to tight supplies, cattlemen and women showed they had built in quality and sent their best. That allowed independent graders to certify nearly 67,000 carcasses per week, totaling 3.48 million for the year, thanks to the record high CAB acceptance rate of 27.5%. Ten years ago that number was 14%.

For any group or brand to progress, each of its component parts must work in unison. Mark McCully, CAB vice president of production, credits the circular workings of supply and demand.

“Angus breeders responded to the market signals and built better-grading cattle which allowed us to grow, thus creating more demand and even bigger signals.”

Ranchers’ selection decisions and proactive management worked in concert with the feeding sector’s reaction to a market that demanded more pounds on each animal, more days on feed. In turn, CAB adjusted its hot carcass weight (HCW) specification from a cap of 999 lb. to 1,050 lb., to garner more product for end users, all without compromising the brand’s premium nature.

“The trend for increasing carcass weight is not a new phenomenon,” McCully says, but genetic improvement allowed for greater efficiency. “We found it critical to make an adjustment in our specifications to maintain relevance both to the cattlemen who are growing these larger, more efficient animals, and our licensed partners that need supply of high quality product.”

Those partners – all 17,500 of them – cater to a consumer base that holds quality in higher regard as prices climb.

Inside overview

From a division standpoint, foodservice led the charge. Following last year’s trend for the most growth, it built on that to sell a record 334 million pounds, up 10.6% over last year. While retail experienced a slight decline of 3.4%, it still commanded the leading share of all pounds sold at 41%. International sales reached a plateau of 120 million pounds. Tariffs, currency exchange rates and port labor issues contributed to a sales decline in Eastern Asia while Mexico, the Middle East and Central and South America grew in spite of those challenges.

Breaking the carcass down, the Value-added Products Division had its second-best year as CAB fajita meat, tri-tip and pot roast contributed to 23.5 million pounds sold, 6.3% more than last year. End meats led overall growth with a 2.6% hike, while middle meat sales were down only 2%, a result of record prices. CAB Prime sales set a record at more than 12 million pounds.

Fulfilling purpose

Per its design, Stika says the brand achieves its mission every day the people who raise Angus cattle realize its value.

“Because of those who have been willing to engage this brand and support us in pursuit of our mission statement, Certified Angus Beef has been allowed to become a brand of impact,” he says, “and we are in a better position today to be able to deliver on our original purpose than ever before.”

Part of that involves positioning the brand in targeted areas of influence. For example, 13.5% of brand sales were outside of the U.S. in FY 15. To further leverage that presence in 52 other countries and focus on a leading market region, CAB opened a Tokyo office in August. Takayoshi Hirayama, CAB senior manager there, works to help the brand become more engaged and embedded in the Asian beef product market and consumer community.

Domestically, that impact is easy to note in those who walk through the brand’s Education & Culinary Center (ECC) doors. FY 15 saw 44 new Master’s of Brand Advantages (MBA) students graduate, and the ECC hosted 105 groups. Those were comprised of people in and outside of the beef industry, all with the goal of increasing their knowledge and understanding premium beef’s value.

Demand for hands-on education and the media tools to serve partner needs saw the year end amid construction of an expanded ECC kitchen and meat lab as well as new video and audio production rooms in the main office.

Growth can manifest itself in a number of different ways, Stika says, but relevance is the key.

“If we take the opportunity to expand our perspectives today, I assure you we will have more influence over the results we expect to achieve tomorrow.”

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20141107_110611_resizedIf you’ve ever been in charge of lining up supplies and help for weaning or shipping calves, you know a thing or two about details.

Imagine those preparations on a global scale. Dan Chase lives and breathes details. He’s at the helm of a team of 7 of people who work in logistics for SYSCO International Food Group, near Plant City, Fla.

By the latest tally, beef exports add $326.92 to the value of cattle, and without people like Dan, that simply wouldn’t be possible.

The team gets an order, secures the product from the plant, and then preps the beef for its final destination.

“We have a tri-lingual labeling team that creates the labels and then opens each box to attach it to each individual piece,” says the industry veteran.

At the same time, they’re doing some math. They find out what else is being shipped with the beef, as everything from cheese and peanut butter to cups and plates might need to fit in the same 20-foot or 40-foot container (that’s up to 50,000 lb. of goods to coordinate). They arrange a steamship line, trucking to get that container to the port, and a way to get the empty one back. They make sure nothing will expire before it reaches its destination.

And once the food is on the ocean, it’s smooth sailing. Ah, just kidding. Then, it’s “go time.”

IMG_0711_bigger“Then we start the paperwork,” Dan says. The list is long: a commercial invoice, a packing list and certification of origin. If it’s headed for the Middle East, the container will also need a USDA affidavit that the boxes are good for export, verification that the beef passed the Halal harvest standards, a plant number, and on and on.

“All documents have to be notarized and have to go to the consulate in their country and they’ll stamp them and send them back to us,” he says. The process generally takes two to three weeks, and they’re on a timeline, because they want the paperwork to beat the product to port.

Dan and his team are thorough and confident. “It’s the outside sources we cannot control,” he says. Like when an embassy runs out of notary stickers (yes, that really happens, and more frequently than you’d think), and the process comes to screeching halt.

IMG_0714They monitor “milestones,” or where the documentation should be at certain points, and if it gets lost or delayed?  “We go into ‘full alert’ mode,” Dan says.

Although most of the logistics team has probably never rounded up loose calves, I am confident they approach lost documents with the same sense of urgency. If overseas customers want high-quality U.S. beef, they don’t want them to wait.

The next time you sell cattle, maybe take a minute to appreciate folks like Dan Chase who are “riding herd,” making sure your beef gets to consumers across the globe. They’ve certainly helped beef up your bottom line.

May that bottom line be filled with Black Ink,

Miranda

PS–Want to catch up on the whole series? Check out these links below:

 

From ‘happy accidents’ to intentional beef quality

 

by Miranda Reiman

Doing more with less. In the cattle business, that’s more than a nice idea; it’s the new survival plan.

“In any manufacturing system, if the number of units is reduced, the revenue per unit must increase,” said Pete Anderson, director of research for Midwest PMS, a U.S. livestock feed company.“The cattle industry must focus on maximizing revenue from each animal produced.”

Larger carcasses? Certainly, he said, but also increasing the value of each pound sold.

Anderson presented his paper, “External Influences on North American Beef Production: How Will the Cattle Feeding Industry Adapt?” as part of the Plains Nutrition Conference in San Antonio, Texas, last month. The full paper is available at https://cabcattle.com/research.

“Premium carcasses like CAB [Certified Angus Beef] or Prime used to be a happy accident that occurred at the outer end of the population distribution, just because there were millions of cattle fed,” he said.

Packers “creamed the coolers” to find quality they could sell for a higher value, but today real-world examples show ranchers reaching 50% Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand and Prime on large numbers of cattle, with better than average feedlot performance.

“Economic signals are telling us that we need to do more of that,” Anderson said: even with a spike in grading, the Choice-Select spread remains relatively strong and premiums for CAB increasing.

Pete Anderson

“While U.S. per capita consumption has declined with supply, increasing prices are as sign of solid demand; a growing population will continue to consume beef,” he said, but the opportunities aren’t limited to domestic growth.

Exports accounted for $307 per head in 2013, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. By 2030, North America and Europe will have just 18% of the world’s middle class population, compared to 63% in the Asian Pacific.

“North America should get in, stay in and dominate the premium beef market,” Anderson said. “Our resources are best utilized creating big, high-quality cattle that produce an enjoyable eating experience and maximize revenue per animal.”

The cattle that fit that description will only get more valuable, he predicted.

“We will not manage $2,000 cattle the same way that we used to manage $900 cattle,” Anderson noted. “While in the past, cost of production was the primary focus, emphasis will shift toward growing revenue.”

That requires a more specialized approach than the feeding industry typically uses today, he said, one based on individual records, sorting, and performance projections with applied management and marketing.

“Value for ‘known’ feeder cattle will shift from simply reputation and feeding experience to include measureable diagnostics that improve predictability,” Anderson said.

The economics of tools, such as DNA testing, change when comparing 30 million head of feeder cattle worth $700 each to 24 million worth $1,300 apiece.

Of course, creating a premium product generates more revenue, but does nothing to produce more product.

“Despite a shrinking cattle herd, beef production in tons has increased since 1950,” he said. Cattle numbers have dropped, “but productivity increased dramatically so that we now get more beef and more milk from 90 million cattle than we used to get from nearly 140 million.”

Growth genetics are a large part of that success story, and Anderson expects that to continue.

In the PMS Midwest database for the last quarter of 2013, nearly 25% of the steers gained more than 4 pounds (lb.) per day and converted at less than 6 lb. of feed per lb. of gain. The average “out” weight was 1,469 lb.

“The proliferation of big, high-performing cattle changes the economics of cattle feeding and creates new opportunities,” Anderson said.
In addition to improved potential, the use of technology and a marketing shift (from live weight to carcass-weight basis) accelerated this trend across the industry.

How big is too big? “It is hard to bet against a straight line for 40 years, but there are reasons to expect the increase to pause for a while.”
Those include beta-agonist and implant usage leveling off, along with drought implications.

Experts predict heifer retention will increase soon increase cow numbers, but Anderson said this “maximize-each-head philosophy” will still apply.

“The recent USDA projection of a 16% increase in the U.S. cowherd by 2023 seems more like the upper limit of possibility than a realistic forecast,” he said.

Challenging times give the beef industry an opportunity to write its own story.

“Cattle producers are subject to external influences to a greater degree than ever before,” Anderson said. “Responses to these forces will shape the industry and determine its future.”

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Mark Ahearn Completes Term as CAB Board Chairman

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CAB export expert on quality

 

by Miranda Reiman

Cattlemen know overseas markets are important to their bottom line. Maggie O’Quinn, of Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), recently reminded producers how significant they are to exporters.

Speaking at the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association annual convention March 31, the CAB executive account manager for Latin America and the Caribbean explained the value of trade relationships, the logistics of exporting, and why producers should care.

“You are the design engineers for the No. 1 thing that we export: quality,” she said. “Quality is our unique selling proposition.”

The U.S. is not a low-cost supplier like some competing countries.

“We are not going to be all things to all markets, but U.S. beef is known for quality from Dubai to Tokyo to Aruba,” said O’Quinn, who serves on the 2011 U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) executive committee.

The quality niche is an import role to fill, because strong international demand last year added a record $153.09 per head to the value of each harvested animal, she said.

“They’ll use products that aren’t big sellers domestically,” O’Quinn said. “Who eats liver? My granny made liver and onions and I personally don’t like it, but thanks to Egypt and Russia livers add $6 per head in value.”

Japan and Korea are big markets for short ribs, so opening those back up has added more than $20 per head.

“The chuck, the round and the short plate now account for 52% of the export value of each animal,” O’Quinn said. “That’s compared to 42% coming from the middle meats.”

CAB is in 69 countries, and international sales represent more than 10% of the company’s total tonnage, but staff members are still working to introduce other places to high-quality U.S. beef.

“We’re truly developing the market for fresh beef in Trinidad,” she says. “Beef, in their minds, is this frozen, awful stew meat. It’s a challenge to shift from that mentality to get an upscale presentation and correct merchandising with refrigeration.”

That’s what O’Quinn and her team work on every day, but that’s just one of the challenges. The distributors and exporters that they work with face many hurdles in getting product from point A to point B.

O’Quinn shared an example: “To get from Tyson Foods, in Dakota City, Neb., to Faisal al Nusif in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it takes a long, long time and a lot of work.”

It takes two weeks for one load of tenderloins to get from the packer to a distributor in Atlanta.

“The minute the product is received, the box label is sent for translation from English to Arabic,” she said. “Then the distributor has to physically open each box and apply an Arabic label to each piece of beef. It requires 12 additional people to handle this work and it takes two days.”

After all that, it’s inspected by USDA and receives export approval. The container, accompanied by letters and forms from USDA and the Georgia Health Department, is frozen and then loaded for shipping to the Middle East.

“It’s loaded on a boat and the first stop is Port Said in Egypt, then through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, around the Arabian Peninsula, through the Strait of Hormuz and eventually into the Persian Gulf to the port city of Dubai,” O’Quinn said.

The product spends anywhere from 24 to 35 days on the boat, so by the time it reaches distribution channels in Dubai it’s probably already 50 days post-harvest.

“The freight cost is about $4,500 per container,” she said. “Then there’s the cost to legalize the documents, for those extra employees, the cost of the stickers, insurance, special storage and even extra financing costs.”

That’s why the going menu rate for a 10-oz. Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) tenderloin in Atlanta is $35, compared to $65 in the world’s only seven-star hotel, Burj al Arab (the Arabian Towers).

The reason it’s worth that goes back to the inherent quality, O’Quinn said.

“You have a role in ensuring that, and in our ability to market quality,” she said. “Thank you for all you do.”

Ready for the world?

Beef producers must set the stage for Asian beef trade boom

by Laura Nelson

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.

“Producers need to be acutely aware of the export opportunities and the real economic might those carry,” he says, projecting an 8% boost in trade volume would raise cattle prices by $9 to $13 per hundredweight (cwt.).

Basse says beef consumption in the U.S. is at its lowest level in 12 years, but demand around the world is increasing with population and wealth, from India to China. Until 1998, the average Chinese person made less than $1,000 a year. Today, it’s $3,900 and rising.

“When you go from dirt poor to a little better than just poor, you want more diet diversity,” notes Alex Avery, director of research at the Hudson Institute. “That means grain diversity, fried foods, then meat, milk and eggs. Dietary improvement is a consistent relationship with rising affluence.”

The two trade analysts were speakers at the November Feeding Quality Forums, co-sponsored by Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), Pfizer Animal Health, Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed LLC and Feedlot magazine at Garden City, Kan., and South Sioux City, Neb.

CAB international director Geof Bednar shares that optimism while noting several obstacles. “Global trade is probably the biggest opportunity for the beef industry,” he says. “But the really difficult part of that equation is gaining the access we need to get into those markets.”

Although China’s borders are currently closed to U.S. meat, Bednar says it’s an important border for producers and beef marketers to watch along with other Asian trade doors.

“As soon as China opens up, it will be a very significant market for the beef industry and for CAB,” he says.

The world’s largest branded beef company has found its way into other Asian markets. South Korean sales set a record in 2009 at 6 million pounds, and although sales to Japan are slowly rebounding from the 2003 trade disruptions, CAB didn’t waste time finding other markets to fill the gaps. By expanding efforts in Taiwan, Vietnam and Hong Kong, the brand has reached countries that are open and hungry for high-quality beef.

“Our brand is able to withstand more turmoil from an economic standpoint verses commodity beef,” Bednar says. “That’s because of the relationships we build through licensing and the way we go to the market, let alone the quality level.”

CAB-licensed distributors sell product in more than 60 countries, through a growing network of licensed partners in foodservice and retail. New licensee Wilson International is a leading meat distributor in Hong Kong, which, although part of China for more than a decade, has remained a free trade zone.

“Hong Kong has been gaining considerable momentum in our markets,” Bednar says. “But a key fact there is that Wilson International also has five business units in five major other Chinese cities. So that’s positioning us well, ready if China’s markets ever open up, too.”

Meat demand in Hong Kong has risen more quickly than in other Chinese districts, Avery says.

“Hong Kong is very wealthy in comparison to the whole of China,” he points out. “Compared to their mainland contemporaries, the average Hong Kong person eats twice as much pork, four times as much poultry and four times as much beef.”

Demand is about more than numbers, of course.

“As we think about global marketing, we also have to start thinking about the customers and their position in being from a country that is not a ‘net food producer.’ That makes them much more interested in where food comes,” Bednar says.

Asian consumers in particular are more interested in a “story” behind their food, something that Bednar says the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand provides. “Japan and Korea imagine the U.S. beef industry as a factory industry. They just can’t image the rancher back in Iowa or wherever it might be,” he says. “To get the most out of these markets, we have to tell our production story. That’s an advantage we have over commodity.”

Basse says it will take a focus on opening the doors, followed by intense consumer marketing campaigns to fully realize the economic potential of international trade.

“We must have people thinking globally and talking about the advantages we have relative to other countries that are trying to sell beef,” he says. “We have to tell the world’s consumers about the safety and quality of U.S. beef.”

Premium beef brand shatters sales records

Certified Angus Beef ® brand finds opportunities for growth

 

by Jennifer Schertz

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.

Product sales from Oct. 1, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2009 topped 663 million pounds. That eclipsed the previous fiscal 2008 record of 634 million pounds by 4.6%, and the fiscal 2007 record of 584 million pounds.

Just as significantly, monthly sales figures reached new heights – 62 million pounds in August 2009. May, June, July and September 2009 also finished among the top 10 months in the brand’s 31-year history. Strong demand during grilling season buoyed monthly sales beyond the 60-million pound mark for the first time in July, August and September.

Consumers still prefer quality products in challenging times, becoming even more aware of the ratio of price to value, explained John Stika, CAB president.

“Arguably, this advanced our brand’s position,” Stika said. “The premium quality pays even greater dividends when consumers apply a higher level of discretion to where they spend their dollars.”

Retailers achieve unprecedented success

Representing more than half of CAB sales, the retail division had its best year ever with 343.5 million pounds sold. September was the division’s best sales month, surpassing 33 million pounds, and representing the fifth consecutive month that its many retail partners contributed to sales of more than 30 million pounds.

Retailers benefitted from consumers shifting their dining patterns to include more meals at home. Al Kober, CAB director of retail, said much of the division’s growth – a 7% increase over the previous year – came from existing retail accounts rather than the addition of new partners.

Expanded offerings meet consumer needs

Some retailers also expanded their premium beef offerings and boosted sales by introducing the brand’s extensions – Prime and Natural. Reasor’s, a 15-store chain in Oklahoma, was the first retailer to introduce Certified Angus Beef ® brand Prime Natural, an elite option in the natural category.

“Consumers are looking for more restaurant-quality items in stores,” explained Kober. The CAB Prime line, historically more popular in foodservice channels, found new success with retailers this year as more product was available to them. Sales of Prime increased 7.5% overall.

Foodservice division poised for growth

Foodservice partners recognized that the best strategy in an uncertain economy was to build their own brand on quality, said Mark Polzer, CAB vice president of business development. With restaurants seeing fewer customers, it’s even more important for them to provide memorable experiences to ensure repeat business, he said.

The foodservice division’s 200 million pounds represented more than 30% of the brand’s sales. In spite of industry-wide declines in dining out, CAB gained a stronger market share in the last year, and is positioned for growth as restaurant traffic rebounds.

Global partners drive brand sales

International sales grew to 69 million pounds, a 4% increase over the previous year and more than 10% of the company total.  That level of sales, not seen since 2003, was attributed to the brand’s partners in Canada, Mexico and South Korea.

Canadian sales were up 11% to nearly 27 million pounds, a record particularly noteworthy in a year when total U.S. beef exports to Canada declined 12%. Mexico remained the No. 2 global market, despite economic challenges, devaluation of the peso and concerns over the emergence of H1N1 influenza. South Korea capitalized on the brand’s high-quality end cuts to drive a 46.5% increase in sales. It was a banner year for CAB across Asia, with 26% growth for the continent.

Increasing demand for Angus cattle

In 2009, the brand commanded consumer and breeder awareness around the world. More than 60% of U.S. cattle were black-hided, and Angus bulls were selling at healthy premiums. Approximately 14.1 million head were identified for evaluation and nearly 2.8 million were certified, an increase of 8% over the previous year. Acceptance rates climbed to 19.8%, continuing a four-year trend.

“I believe our best days are yet ahead,” said Stika.

The Certified Angus Beef ® brand is a cut above USDA Prime, Choice and Select. It has offered consumers quality, consistency and integrity since the first pound was sold in 1978. Only 8% of all beef can achieve the benchmark standards, now offered through more than 15,000 partner businesses in the United States and 45 other countries. For more information, visit www.certifiedangusbeef.com.

Exports key to beef demand

Feeders focus on the high-quality beef that leads to a brighter future

 

by Steve Suther

Opportunities hide within every challenge, but beef producers can find them through analysis and planning. That was part of the take-home message at the Feeding Quality Forums, Nov. 10 in South Sioux City, Neb., and Nov. 12 in Garden City, Kan.

“While domestic demand struggles, tremendous economic growth in Asia points to market potential for high-quality U.S. beef,” said Dan Basse, president of the Chicago-based AgResource Company, who reprised his 2007 role as lead speaker.

The fourth annual sessions were sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health, Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), Feedlot magazine and Land O’ Lakes Purina Feed LLC. More than 150 cattle feeders and allied professionals attended.

Beef exports represent just 7% of production, compared to pork and poultry each around 19%, Basse told them. “If U.S. beef could get that export share up to 14%, it could add $9 to $13 per hundredweight (cwt.) to cattle prices.”

He suggested devoting some beef checkoff funds to building global demand. “You will need to broaden your base to generate more income and finance feed purchases in the volatile grain markets,” Basse said. In the short term, demand from a recovering ethanol industry will help support an upward trend in corn prices, he added.

Mark McCully, CAB assistant vice president for supply, pointed out reasons for the recent increase in beef quality grades and highlighted the greater demand for Certified Angus Beef ® brand product that makes it a more rewarding and stable target than simply USDA Choice.

One measure of that demand can be seen in CAB international sales. At 10% of the company’s 663 million pounds in 2009, the ratio outpaces exports of all U.S. beef.

McCully agreed that global markets hold a key to the future and noted there are few obstacles to greater supply.

“We keep finding more areas where the high-quality beef target coincides with making a profit,” he said. “Producers just have to understand their own cost-value relationships that govern the purchase of feeder calves, use of technology and marketing strategies.”

Genomics, or DNA marker-assisted selection of cattle, holds greater promise to adding more quality and profit potential, according to Mark Allan and Kent Andersen of Pfizer Animal Genetics.

The charted markers for various traits have increased from just seven in 2004 to 54,000 today. That lets seedstock producers make decisions earlier to focus on promising lines, and plans for “marker-assisted management” will open this world to commercial cow-calf, stocker and feedlot operators, Allan and Andersen said.

Making the most of genetic potential requires focused nutrition, said Ron Scott, director of beef research for Purina Mills. He reviewed data on health and weather factors relating to performance and grade before settling into a discussion of feeding strategies.

The ideal balance of grains, vitamins and minerals optimizes beef quality and producer profitability. Scott presented details on industry research into distillers’ byproducts and the most effective feeding levels, generally from 12% to 25%.

 However, finishing diets mainly just fill the marbling cells determined much earlier in life. Recent research has concluded that nutritional marbling starts with fetal programming, especially in the third trimester, Scott said.

“It’s based on the concept of epigenics, that the environment can cause genes to behave differently,” he explained. “Studies of Holocaust survivors and their offspring prove such changes are permanent and can be passed on to future generations.”

Beef cows are “the most nutritionally challenged” of livestock, seemingly by design. “We plan for them to lose weight during the winter,” Scott noted, countering, “What if we cared for the cowherd like we do pregnant women?”

In a closing presentation Alex Avery, director of research for the Hudson Institute, suggested “the tide is about to turn” in both the real and figurative “Food Wars.”

Fear of hunger has fueled war for centuries, but Avery focused on the war of ideas about how food should be produced, considering that demand for it will more than double in the next 40 years. It could triple if living standards keep trending higher.

All that added demand won’t come just from the growth in population, which should peak at 8.25 billion in 2050, but mainly from growth in disposable income in Asia, he said.

Echoing comments from Basse, Avery said the beef industry should not look to U.S. demand for its future base, because domestic demand for meat has stagnated to the point of “social debates that elevate myth over science.”

Among the myths he works to dispel are global warming, organic utopia and the supposed unsustainable nature of large-scale farming.

“Corn-fed beef and dairy are the most planet-friendly products we can have,” Avery said. “Unfortunately, some research is ignored by mainstream media and even government organizations. Pandering to perceptions justifies their budgets.”

Author of “The Truth About Organic Foods,” Avery challenged producers to engage the media by adding “planet-friendly” claims to all packaged fresh beef. “That will force them to face facts, even though it’s a debate they don’t want to have,” he said.

The event was covered by BeefCast, and audio versions of the presentations are available at http://www.beefcast.com/2009-certified-angus-beef-feeding-quality-forum. Email info@certifiedangusbeef.com for print or other details.