Here’s the premium

Best or worst of times, Angus cattle hold their value

by Miranda Reiman

While the cattle market fell from record highs in 2014 in a steep dive to last fall’s low, the relative demand for quality and premium bids for Angus calves fared better.

“It pays to use Angus genetics in any market,” said Steve Suther, Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) director of industry information.

That’s what the 2016 “Here’s the Premium” (HTP) calf price tracking study found in the latest edition of a project started in 1999. Data has been analyzed by Iowa State University livestock economist Lee Schulz since the 2014 study.

“The difference in calf prices between those two years is very wide,” he said, “but the rate of decrease in the Angus premium has been less than the overall feeder cattle price decrease.”

Feeder cattle futures lost nearly half of their value in that time, with a 48.3% drop, Schulz said. The lighter, 5-weight calves targeted in HTP surveys fell more sharply, by nearly 56%. Angus steers held onto more value with a setback of just 32.2% in their premium over non-Angus steers in the same two years (see Figure 1).

Auction prices for Angus heifers did not hold up as well as bids for their brothers. They still sold at a premium to non-Angus heifers, but that premium was 45.7% less than in 2014, easing off nearly as much as the decline in feeder cattle futures.

“Last fall’s Angus heifer premium was in the face of some very bearish prices for all heifers, as fewer producers were interested in buying replacements for breeding,” Suther said. “Also, this comes just two years after the highest Angus heifer premium ever recorded here, driven by rapid herd expansion.”

Price projections for calves are part of the math used to calculate a maximum bid price when buying replacement heifers, Schulz noted. These are lower now than they were in the fall of 2015 and definitely the fall of 2014, and market psychology amid great uncertainty last fall likely affected bidders’ projections for prices down the road.

“In 2014, I heard talk — and not just a little of it — of feedlots breeding heifers and selling them as replacements.,” the economist said. “Heifers at that time made up the smallest percentage of total cattle on feed we’ve seen in the history of the data going back to 1996.”

In a market with such a demand for heifers, what a buyer is compelled to pay to meet goals is sometimes more than they are “willing to pay,” Schulz added. All of that contributed to the high heifer price and record Angus premium two years ago.

Logically, the genetics and productive potential of those heifers improved by last fall, but fed cattle hit a low mark in October and bearish sentiments ruled. Bidders lowered their expectations to worst-case scenarios and Angus premiums returned to earlier trend lines.

Angus heifers in the 2016 data brought a $3.75 per hundredweight (cwt.) premium over non-Angus. Although that does not compare well with the record $6.89, Suther noted, it is only a couple of pennies less than the average Angus heifer premium for the 2008, 2010 and 2012 studies.

Eleven auction markets across the country, from California to Kentucky and New Mexico to North Dakota, submitted data as part of the survey last fall that compared auction prices for more than 16,000 calves of known Angus vs. non-Angus genetics.

Angus steers and heifers averaging 568 and 557 pounds, respectively, brought a combined average of $4.24/cwt. premium over their non-Angus contemporaries with similar weights and condition, compared to nearly $7/cwt. in the historically high cattle market. The analysis model adjusts for variance and range of weights to identify Angus premiums independent of weight.

In all, 330,530 cattle in 15,346 lots have been a part of this ongoing project in 22 surveys since its inception in 1999, running both spring and fall for the first eight years with 700-lb. cattle reported in the spring. The premium since 2008 and every other fall has averaged $5.98/cwt. for Angus steer calves and $4.24/cwt. for Angus heifers.

Over the years, participating auction markets were asked to submit sale data on cattle known to be Angus vs. non-Angus spanning four different sale dates. Other items noted included whether cattle were weaned, vaccinated or preconditioned.

Most of the markets from the original study in 1999 are still providing data for the ongoing HTP project, which has involved 15 reporting partners in all. Over the tenure of the study, California and Wyoming markets have consistently had the highest Angus premiums and Missouri was among the top three states for Angus premiums last fall.

Some auction market managers commented that each year of this study becomes more difficult for them to find non-Angus type cattle for which to report pricing data. That comes as no surprise, as the percentage of Angus cattle in the U.S. beef herd continues to rise. Some markets have stopped participating because of this lack of non-Angus comparisons, but the 2016 survey of 11 markets was the largest number of locations in a single survey year.

Jerry & Mike to the rescue

2016 Impact award for CAB recalls 1978-79 fight to reinstate

by Steve Suther

Thirty-eight years after the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand’s first sale drew so much press that USDA canceled what it had just approved, the brand was honored with the Don L. Good Impact Award from Kansas State University (K-State).

The Ohio-based company reopened six months after its carcass stamp was confiscated, and went on to sell more than a billion pounds in 2016. Why did a K-State award single out CAB? Because it exemplifies “game changer” impact, and many people in its history hold degrees from the University.

CAB President John Stika introduced several current and former staff at the K-State Animal Sciences and Industry Family & Friends Reunion Oct. 7, but only two of those never actually worked for the brand. They are part of “the rest of the story.”

Michigan native Jerry Lipsey is best known as a longtime CEO of the American Simmental Association, and spent nearly as long prior to that as a meat science professor at the University of Missouri (MU). Next to him in photos that evening is Oklahoma native Mike May, a retired USDA Standardization Branch Chief. Both earned doctorates from K-State, but their CAB connections are not well known.

“You want to hear a story?” the ever-energetic Lipsey asks. Before joining the MU faculty, he started his career in 1978 as Director of Junior Activities for the American Angus Association and ramped up the focus on the carcass side. The Association’s Executive Director C.K. Allen was new that year, too.

“One morning in early November, I get to work and C.K. said he wanted to meet with me, to come to his office at 10 o’clock,” Lipsey recalls.

CAB was cancelled on Nov. 1, 1978, just two weeks after that first pound was sold at Renzetti’s IGA in Columbus, Ohio. Almost nobody knew about that the week it happened.

“I walked into [Allen’s] office at 10 and said you know, we’ve got these things coming up, there’s an education seminar and an internship—but he waived me off and said that’s not why you’re here,” Lipsey goes on. “Then he said to come back at 1 o’clock.”

The Angus youth director worried through the rest of the morning and had little appetite for lunch.

“I thought I was ready for anything, but when I walked back into C.K.’s office at 1, there stood Mick Colvin and Fred Johnson [CAB leaders from Ohio],” Lipsey says, his eyebrows recalling the shock. They asked if he ever bought bread in the grocery store and if he recalled the brands. He did. They asked if he ever wondered why beef wasn’t branded.

“I was kind of bewildered at first, but then we talked about CAB and what was going on with USDA and the cancellation,” Lipsey says. “Did I know Mike May, the new Chief of Standardization? Yes, because we were at K-State getting our PhDs in meat science at the same time. They decided I should come to Washington with them the next week.”

May stands by his old friend at the K-State event these many years later and joins in the story.

“You have to remember this was shortly after the grading changes, and a big reason behind CAB coming in then,” May says. “Jerry called me and asked—”

“I asked how or if USDA certified any meat at the time,” Lipsey’s flashback chimes in, “and didn’t that call for cooperation between the Standardization and Grading branches?”

“I said we certified meat as acceptable for the military,” May continues. “We wrote the specifications and Grading carried out the program. You see, Mick [Colvin] had worked with Bob VanStavern at Ohio State and they had some good ideas. They asked us if their program would work and I said yes, it will be a great product.”

USDA is big, and not everybody got the memo on CAB. Those who did had mixed opinions.

“You had to identify live animals and carry that through to the carcass, and Inspection raised that concern,” May says. “But I said they have a workable plan. I said, look, USDA has been beat up over flattening the Choice grade and this will be good for the industry.”

He admitted to a little “salesmanship with our superiors at USDA.”

One of those was Carol Tucker-Foreman, Assistant Secretary for Food and Consumer Services, widely credited with pulling the plug on CAB at the time, though not a matter of record.

“Going to Washington,” Lipsey says, “I thought we would be well-received.” Waiting in Tucker-Foreman’s office however, he began to wonder. Then she walked in.

“I think you’re deceiving consumers and I’m not going to stand for it,” Lipsey recalls her saying. “She didn’t ask for any input or ask us any questions. It was an extremely brief meeting.”

But there were other meetings with May as an ally, to go with the many letters Allen, Colvin and Johnson wrote. Congress weighed in after hearing from constituents.

“I can’t tell you how we finally convinced the assistant secretary, as she thought Inspection should have no role in marketing,” May says. “I told her their role is, they are the only branch that could take on that role. Somebody well above me got through to her.”

Stika summarized: “The argument that USDA had a legal obligation to help producers monitor the brand’s implementation was accepted.”

Six months to the day after the first pound of CAB sold, the brand was open for business again. That week in April, 1979, new doors opened in Columbia, Mo., too, where Lipsey was interviewing for a staff position at MU. He was at Diggs Packing there when it signed on as the second licensed processor, and at Eastlake IGA in town when it became the first retailer west of the Mississippi to sell CAB.

In remarks while accepting the Impact award, Stika noted CAB has no cattle or beef, just a logo licensed for use by its 18,000 partners on behalf of Angus producers.

“If an organization that only owns this can be recognized for having an impact, then obviously it’s because of the sum of its parts, the collection of people working together,” he said. “This is a celebration of an opportunity to bring an industry together focused on one thing, and that’s on delivering quality to consumers worldwide.”

Apply now for beef scholarships

CAB’s Colvin Fund offers $26,000 to six qualifying students

by Katie Alexander

Each year the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) Colvin Fund gives away thousands in scholarship dollars to students looking to make a difference in the beef community.

The annual Colvin Scholarship awards recognize Louis M. “Mick” Colvin, co-founder and executive director of the CAB brand for 21 years. After he retired in 1999, CAB established the fund to carry on his legacy of making dreams a reality and inspiring others to be their best.

Undergraduates can win $6,000, $5,000, $4,000, $3,000 and $2,000, and $6,000 for a graduate student in 2017.

College juniors and seniors who have shown commitment to the beef industry, either through coursework or activities, are encouraged to apply by the Dec. 12 deadline. These will be evaluated on activities, academic achievements, communication skills and reference letters.

“We enjoy hearing from the students and getting to see the beef business from their perspective,” says Christy Johnson, CAB director of advertising and chair of the selection committee. “It’s evidence that we’ve got some very enthusiastic young professionals who will be joining our field.”

The graduate level scholarship will be awarded to a full-time masters or doctoral student conducting research related to high-quality beef. Applications for that award are due Jan. 16, 2017.

The top undergraduate and graduate scholarship recipients will win an all-expense-paid trip to the 2017 CAB Annual Conference, Sept. 27-29 in Nashville, Tenn., to interact with leaders across the production, packing, retail and foodservice sectors.

“I am so incredibly honored,” says Shelby Schiefelbein, Kimball, Minn., winner of last year’s top undergraduate award, “to receive a scholarship honoring the man who has created the most successful branding program in the world.

“Mick Colvin has made it clear that the future of the beef industry is bright with hard work and determination,” she adds. “I am excited to be a part of it.”

Schiefelbein, who developed her industry passion growing up on the family’s Angus farm, is a senior in animal science with a minor in business and certificate in meat science at Texas A&M University.

The scholarship winners will be announced in February 2017 for applicants who demonstrate a commitment to the beef industry through the pursuit of a meat science, food science, animal science, marketing, business, communications, journalism or other related degree.

The Certified Angus Beef^® brand is the world’s leading brand of fresh beef, whose 18,000 partners worldwide sell more than 1 billion pounds annually. For more details, interested students should visit www.certifiedangusbeef.com/press/colvin.

Dreamers with endurance

I’m a dreamer. Always have been, hopefully always will be.

I’ll say this, though. It’s one thing to dream when there’s a lot to gain and you’re holding a good hand, another when the person across the table is the one with the winning streak.

That’s why these past few years have been particularly inspiring to witness. We could fill pages with data from the seesaw of sorts that is the beef market, but the close of the brand’s 38^th fiscal year (FY), Sept. 30, highlighted the bigger picture.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 Angus-type cattle identified. Yet, certified carcass numbers only dropped by 1%.

That means that as the pendulum swayed in favor of producers, and resulted in higher cattle prices (driven by what was then a decreased supply and increased demand), you used your added resources for good and enhanced management and improved genetics for the years ahead.But then supply strengthened and live cattle prices dropped. The market shifted in favor of retailers who, after six years of selling beef in spite of declining sales, found reprieve and, with it, explosive growth. Still you enhanced management and improved genetics for the years ahead.

When the circumstances changed around you, you stayed on course, eyes on the long view.Remember that milestone I mentioned last week? It was a quiet dream, to reach 1 billion pounds of CAB sales in a fiscal year, but a dream nonetheless, and FY 2016 saw it not only accomplished but also surpassed.

“Cattlemen didn’t just add more numbers,” our own John Stika says of the actual 1.015 billion lb. sold, up 119 million lb. and 13.3% more than last year. “They assembled the highest-quality, most Angus-influenced cow herd North America has ever seen.”

After years of a declining supply, identified cattle – 13.6 million to be exact – were up 6.9% from last year. Acceptance rates rose to 28.9% and set a record with more than 75,000 carcasses certified per week.

The long-term outlook reveals a high-quality cow herd that puts producers in a position to meet the demands of an increasingly global beef market.So all that’s to say there’s something to keeping the course, dreaming for what’s ahead no matter the present – fitting of the brand’s model to create pull-through demand for a product that allows everyone to benefit over the long haul.

I’ve watched you dream with endurance and look forward to continuing for years to come.

Thanks for allowing me to tell your story,

Laura

PS – For a more detailed recap of fiscal year 2016, click here or visit www.CABpartners.com.

Nice little marketing program you’ve got there

“We’re supposed to dress like we’re going to a farm.”

My son was convinced that a regular t-shirt and jeans wouldn’t do for his 2^nd grade field trip last spring. They were headed to a local farm to do everything from a pasture walk to a tractor ride to learning to rope. Sporting a shirt with our Certified Angus Beef ^® (CAB^®) brand logo would be much more appropriate, he decided.

I’m not sure if my firstborn figured someone would ask or if it was just his critical thinking skills talking, but when he looked in the mirror that morning he was thinking about that logo.

“Is Certified Angus Beef really better?” he asked skeptically. “Or is it just something your company says because it sounds good on commercials?”

There are a lot of people, of all ages, who think this from time to time. I hear a bit of a dismissive tone in people’s voice as they say, “That’s a good marketing program you guys have.”

I won’t deny that. It IS a good marketing program.

But it’s more than that. Earlier this year our own meat scientist Dr. Phil Bass took a deep dive into the research. He wrote a 25-page report that combines findings from 127 different studies and details all the science behind the ideal carcass. In short, it explains why CAB’s 10 carcass specifications work.

“It’s amazing the amount of data that’s out there that just shows Angus cattle in general will tend to have better carcass quality,” Phil says, referencing work as old as 1982 and as current as 2014.

But that’s not the only criteria. After all, we’re “Angus beef at its best.” ^®

“They continue to research it and we continue to see the same results, that more marbling is better,” Phil says. It’s the No. 1 reason cattle don’t qualify for the brand.

The paper focused on all of the logic behind the packing plant certification, everything from “10- to 16-square-inch ribeye” to “no dark cutters.”

If you’re a skeptic, I say: read the research. If you’re a fan, do the same.

Just maybe the former will become the latter.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

Montana Angus ranch: data-driven quality from the start

2016 CAB Commercial Commitment to Excellence Award

by Miranda Reiman

It’s hard to pinpoint when the transformation began, but on the Christensen family’s western ranch, it’s evident that it happened: a commitment to excellence.

The views of the Rocky Mountains look much the same as they did when Grandpa Karl homesteaded near Hot Springs, Mont., a century ago, but third-generation rancher Shawn Christensen and wife Jen now raise their two daughters there.

Ranch talk might center around the same challenges then and now, from lack of moisture to grasshoppers, but a quick glance at stacks of artificial insemination (AI) records and carcass data provides a clear distinction. The diversified crop and livestock farm that once housed milk cows and chickens is not the same as the commercial Angus ranch the family operates today.

Shawn’s dad brought in Angus bulls and then switched to the breed completely in the 1970s, a decade later Shawn participated in the 4-H carcass contest and later learned to AI.

There might not be one central event, but there’s evidence of the fruits of that commitment.

“They’ve just been good gaining and good converting cattle,” says Ryan Loseke, of Columbus, Neb. He’s bought the family’s cattle for most of the last 20 years. “It’s been neat to see how he has done a good job of maximizing carcass quality but not getting poorer performing cattle.”

Loseke specifically remembers the pen that went 100% Choice and Prime. It also made 65% Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand, and gained more than 4 pounds (lb.) per day.

That kind of cattle and the lifelong dedication to produce them earned Shawn and Jen Christensen’s Springvale Ranch the 2016 CAB Commercial Commitment to Excellence Award, which they accepted Sept. 24 at the brand’s annual conference in Tucson, Ariz.

“He’s always thinking and always evaluating and looking for ways to improve his genetics and his management, too,” says Ben Eggers, manager of Sydenstricker Genetics, Mexico, Mo. “Kind of a student of the Angus breed, really.”

For Christensen, the award is gratifying, a validation of the vocation that he’s made his life’s work.

“When I was 3 years old, I wanted to be an airplane pilot,” he says. “It was pretty obvious I was ready to want to be a rancher when I was probably 4 years old. I think ever since I haven’t really changed my mind.”

Christensen got an early start, helping his dad do everything from watch gates to rake hay. As a teenager he started making business decisions, as his dad focused on growing an irrigation business.

“He kind of says, ‘Okay, you’re going to build this program,’” the son recalls.

At first Christensen studied sale books and sent his dad to the sale with a wish list. Then he was making decisions himself, but his dad’s influence remained.

“That’s how we were raised. Whatever you are doing, you want a product that the consumer wants,” Christensen says. “We are raisers of beef, but you still have to raise cattle that can calve out on the range, get bred back during a drought, and go on to the feedlot and have a feedlot want to come back and purchase your cattle.”

When he became an AI tech in 1983, it was a two-fold purpose: tightening calving season while individually assigning specific sires to certain cows.

“We’ve always raised our own replacements….” Christensen starts, as Jen continues, “…he knows the cowherd many generations back. To look at an AI bull, he knows what that cows’ milk or marbling has done for many generations. It’s not that he just sees the cow’s numbers on paper.”

Jen says she doesn’t catch her husband reading the latest best seller. Instead, free time is devoted to researching genetics.

“He spends a lot of time perfecting that,” Jen says. She then hand-enters all records so he can study the Excel spreadsheets.

“If you don’t know who the good one is or the poor one is, how do you make changes?” Christensen asks. “It seems like you can make it happen in a few years, but it takes time.”

Getting connected with the Loseke family gave them the ability to get individual tag-transfer data.

“That’s when I was able to really see what sires are doing and what the cowherd’s doing and trying to make small adjustments,” Christensen says, while trying to ensure he’s being “budget-minded and dollar-driven for everybody in the industry.”

Loseke tries to buy the straight Angus cattle every year. They gain and grade and, “disposition-wise, there’s hardly any better. Because of that, they wean well,” the feeder says.

Fifteen years ago the cattle reached 71% Choice, with 25% CAB acceptance. Today very few miss the Choice mark and 65% of them meet the brand’s 10 specifications. Carcass weights have improved 73 lb., with a younger calf crop, while mature cow weight has gone unchanged.

“He’s a commercial guy that’s pretty rare, really, that believes in turning in the data to improve the accuracy on the bulls he buys,” Eggers says. “Shawn’s one of those guys who believes in doing things right.”

Maybe the best way to describe the herd’s change through the years is more of a natural progression. The cattle are simply an expression of who Shawn Christensen is at the core.

A different breed of stars

California Angus family 2016 CAB Ambassador honoree

by Laura Conaway

“Five Star Land & Livestock” the barn reads. The curious eyes that travel 30 miles south of Sacramento to the Wilton, Calif., ranch meet the name that started it all.

“Do you think it’s too bright?” Abbie Nelson asks of the chosen shade of new red paint that surrounds the white block letters of text. It’s just right, but even so it will surely fade under the California sun.

To Nelson these things matter. If not for her, then for those who venture down the bumpy gravel driveway and make a right at the red barn. The consumers.

For this diligence and a continued commitment to open their gates and host, the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand honored Five Star Land & Livestock with the 2016 CAB Ambassador Award Sept. 24 in Tucson, Arizona. At the conference, Mark and Abbie Nelson accepted the award with their daughter, Andra, and their son, Ryan, with his wife, Hailey.

It’s almost too picturesque, to drive around the circle, past the barn and “Welcome” sign to the United States and California flags twirling in the breeze. It can be difficult to imagine actual work taking place before and after visitors leave.

But it’s a lone gate beginning to drag, a calf bawling in the distance that demands attention. It’s a few loose straws of hay that escaped this morning’s feeding and now lay strewn across the manicured lawn that give it away. It’s real, the rolling hills and golden grasses, the grape vineyards of zinfandel and petite sirah. The way California should look.

“We’re a small operation, typical of small breeders; we have about 100 registered cows,” Nelson says, downplaying the 300 acres she convinced husband Mark to keep and where she raised their family. The 1,700 acres they lease down the road is a necessary blessing.

Transparent, the Nelsons don’t shy away from the existing constraints of raising cattle in an environment where rule makers know more about Rodeo Drive than they do the American cowboy’s traditional Friday and Saturday night pastime. Issues of dust or truck length, water rights or taxes – it seems it would be a relief to move to a more secluded spot, build fences high and lock the gates. Instead, the Nelsons stay in the middle of it all.

“You just have to work with them and stay above it,” Nelson says of California’s growing list of rules and regulations. “We have a big job to do and that’s to gain the trust of the end consumer, to make sure they know we have a safe product.”

That’s the great responsibility, one that parallels nicely with the CAB brand and leads the Nelsons to match every request with a “yes, absolutely, we’d be happy to host.”

“Some of the very first events we ever did were at Five Star Land & Livestock,” says CAB Vice President of Production Mark McCully, recounting the now-familiar days of taking distributor groups or media out to ranches to show the real faces of the brand in action.

“We’ve literally had our chefs in their kitchen cooking dinner,” McCully says recalling a 2014 group of bloggers who spent a day on the ranch touring and asking questions. As the sun went down, hospitality continued on the Nelsons’ back deck.

Mary McMillen, CAB strategic partnerships, remembers another time when the family welcomed an entire TV crew for scouting and a 13-hour production shoot of the CBS award-winning cooking show, “Recipe Rehab.” Television may look glamorous, McMillen says, but it’s tedious and very hard work: “To be fully engaged and do on-camera interviews for over 12 hours, Abbie is just the epitome of gracious western hospitality.”

“I wasn’t nominated for some kind of Emmy,” Nelson jokes of her TV debut, “but it was an honor to represent CAB. We enjoy people and the opportunity to directly relate our industry to our consumer,” whoever they may be.

State legislators and lobbyists, journalists or Rotary members, eighth graders, politicians and friends leave Five Star Land & Livestock with an understanding of the industry and a family that embodies it.

That shouldering of responsibility, the someone-has-to-do-it-so-we’ll-step-up attitude keeps the requests pretty constant. Or maybe it’s the fact that Nelson’s had TV producers rifle through her closet, only to call the experience “fun” that makes the family an easy target.

Whatever the reason, on top of the typical requirements that come with ranch life – growing the herd, maintaining a business and keeping together a family that includes nine grandchildren and growing – the Nelsons are never too busy to stop and answer a question. Or two.

“We’ve had Polish and Chinese. There was just a Japanese group in September,” she rattles off. Not to mention the couple’s time spent off the land with past and present leadership roles in California Cattlemen’s Association, California Angus, California Beef Cattle Improvement Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Angus Association and the Angus Board, to name a few.

“I love cattle. They are in my heart,” Nelson says. “I have a passion for taking care of them, for breeding them, the decision making and the genetics.”

There’s more to life though, of course.

“The legacy of my children and how they’ve grown. I think it’s a good strong legacy,” she says of her greatest contribution.

A five star one.

New post at CAB seeks ever-better brand

by Hannah Johlman

A branded beef program that owns no cattle or beef still takes an active interest in both.

That can be hard to explain, but it’s a key to understanding and improving the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand, says Clint Walenciak, director of packing for the Ohio-based subsidiary of the American Angus Association.

His team monitors every aspect of the final product that earns that brand, from its 10 standards for marbling, consistency and appearance to the details of cuts and trim specifications and packaging.

That’s why CAB recently hired Dan Crownover for the newly created position of production and quality specialist. He’s becoming familiar with partner harvest and processing plants, spending time in those dozens of locations to evaluate performance on everything from yield and workmanship to packaging, always looking for opportunities to get better.

Crownover comes from a family Angus operation south of Dallas near Italy, Texas, and recently earned a master’s degree in animal science at Texas Tech University. Encouraged to look beyond ranching, he soon realized his background paired with a passion for meat science could provide real credibility with producers and packers alike.

College internships in Australia and New Zealand showed how different countries manage cattle and process their beef, all beneficial insight as CAB moves forward to international markets. Crownover spent a year coaching the Texas Tech meats judging team, where he taught as he learned more about beef carcasses, quality and yield grading.

The CAB production and quality specialist focuses on not only maintaining but exceeding consumer expectations, Walenciak says.

It’s not about preventing problems in a system already delivering excellence, he notes.

“It’s more like identifying areas for improvement, driving the brand forward from a product quality and performance standpoint.”

Once he settles into the new role, Crownover’s primary goal is far reaching.

“I want to bring dollars back to those who produce the brand, and expand our customer base,” he says. “I just want to have a positive impact, to make a difference for CAB and for the Angus industry.”

Walenciak says that should help lead the broader beef industry toward consumer satisfaction as well. Meanwhile, CAB distributors, retailers and restaurateurs are gaining a point person.

“Dan will be that one-stop shop for knowing exactly what products we have available from our multiple suppliers and knowing the specifications for each of those,” the director says.

Crownover says he enjoys bringing his education and curiosity to bear on “solving problems and finding opportunities that will benefit the beef community.”

“As our brand continues to grow, these efforts become even more important,” Walenciak says.

Future leaders earn $20,000 in Colvin scholarships

by Jenny Keyes

Five college students with ag careers in mind recently won $20,000 in scholarship from the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand.

Each year, CAB’s Colvin Scholarship Fund recognizes outstanding students out to make a difference in the beef community. The award series honors the legacy of Louis M. “Mick” Colvin, whose dedication to those ideals helped create the brand he led for 21 years.

2016 Colvin Scholarship Awards:

$6,000 – Shelby Schiefelbein, Kimball, Minn. – Texas A&M University
$5,000 – Sierra Jepsen, Amanda, Ohio – The Ohio State University
$4,000 – Rebecca Church, Hastings, Minn. – University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
$3,000 – Evan Woodbury, Quenemo, Kan. – Kansas State University
$2,000 – Leah Scholz, Lancaster, Kan. – Kansas State University

Applicants were asked to write an essay on the meaning of sustainability for both producers and consumers.

Shelby Schiefelbein, top award winner, said Millennials are especially concerned because they are technologically oriented, “and have grown up hearing about how their choices affect the environment.”

The junior in animal science with a minor in business and certificate in meat science said the key for beef producers is to communicate their sustainability to consumers. “Using both science and emotion…puts a face on the beef industry.” After graduation, Schiefelbein plans to earn a master’s in business administration and work in agribusiness.

Sierra Jepsen, senior in ag business and $5,000 scholarship winner said consumers need to know today’s beef is raised responsibly, using as few natural resources as possible: “Between 2005 and 2011 alone, water usage was cut by 3%, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 2% and soil emissions were lessened by 7%, improving land, air and water quality.”

She noted the need to share with consumers the need to use technology, “that efficiency is not an enemy of sustainability,” and to stress the multi-generational families who produce beef. Jepson plans to pursue a master’s in meat science and beef management.

Hastings, Minn., junior and $4,000 winner Rebecca Church decried myths about farmers “being irresponsible stewards of the land,” when in fact they “have to be smart stewards,” because their livelihood depends on it. Facts are complex, she wrote, but consumers can understand sustainability comes down to “respect for the land, for the live cattle and for the end product.”

Evan Woodbury foresees challenges beef producers will face if they don’t use the most sustainable practices “The population has grown slightly over the past years,” he wrote. “I believe that despite what it may seem now, it will be hard to continue to grow the herd and supply.”

Leah Scholz wrote about the importance of reaching out. “The industry as a whole needs to promote education for all consumers through effective communication,” she wrote. “We must work together with consumers to keep each other informed in order to solve the frequent disputes and maintain future sustainability.”

As the top scholarship winners, Schiefelbein and Jepsen also received all-expense-paid trips to the 2016 CAB Annual Conference, Sept. 22-24 in Tucson, Ariz. There they will interact with leaders in the production, packaging, retail and foodservice areas of the beef community.

Launched in 1978 and owned by nearly 25,000 American Angus Association members, CAB is the largest brand of fresh beef in the world. Learn more about the brand at www.certifiedangusbeef.com, or access producer resources at www.cabcattle.com.

Starting with the best in Russia

by Steve Suther

Amid the forest-rimmed meadows and newly cross-fenced pastures of western Russia, a quarter-million young beef cows earn their keep by producing high-quality beef while building rural communities and a sustainable future for families on two continents.

The Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand began production and sales in Russia this spring, through licensed partner Miratorg Agribusiness Holding, said CAB President John Stika.

Most of those cows are commercial purebred Angus, sourced mainly from the United States over the last eight years, and spurred by Russian loan subsidies aimed at building a modern food supply chain. A large share of them belongs to Miratorg.

Founded in 1995 in Moscow and already a leader in pork and poultry, company executives researched beef production systems. They were familiar with CAB from the imported product in Russia since 1998 until recent years, and on later visits to the U.S. that included shopping for Angus genetics and initial training in American ranch management.

The world’s leading brand of fresh beef became a logical end target for the North American-style plan Miratorg announced in 2009 as it began to build up dozens of cattle ranches south of Moscow in the Bryansk region. Its leadership team reached out to CAB in 2011 to explore mutual opportunities, which have been discussed in CAB board meetings since 2013, according to minutes.

“The decision to expand beyond North America for the first time was not taken lightly,” Stika said, “but we found much in common. It’s rare to have the opportunity to engage with people starting from scratch,” he added. “And while this partnership has great potential for Russian agriculture and consumers, it stands to strengthen the global reach and reputation of the Certified Angus Beef brand.”

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CAB board chair John Pfeiffer, Mulhall, Okla., said the decision is “a natural fit,” good for the brand and for breeders: “This whole initiative started when Miratorg began building a herd based on superior Angus genetics from the U.S., and now they are an active member of the American Angus Association.”

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) estimates more than $300 million in U.S. beef cattle sales to Russia in the last five years, most of that in 2012. Another 80,000 beef cows are expected to enter the country this year.

Two 50,000-head feedyards and Miratorg’s 400,000-head annual capacity processing plant were completed in the last two years. These channel production from 140,000 Angus cows, primarily offspring of registered cattle and genetics imported from members of the American Angus Association. Such growth in the beef sector is in contrast to a continuing decades-long liquidation of the Russian cattle herd, mainly dairy or dual-purpose types not known for quality.

After several trips to Russia, Stika said the scale and quality of build in just five years is “impressive.” No less, the commitment to integrity and the means to assure it at every level.

Carcasses certified in Russia must meet the same 10 quality standards established in the U.S. and also applied in Canada since 2000, Stika noted. “We have worked to implement systems and best practices that allow checks and balances and assure the integrity we all want.”

As in North America, all cattle are inspected for wholesomeness and safety in Russia, but the country has no quality grading system. That’s why the new processing plant utilizes the same state-of-the-art carcass imaging technology proven and used in North America to decide which beef earns the brand.

“The carcass grading images as well as video from strategically identified areas in the plant are live-streamed to our offices in Wooster, Ohio, where staff are committed to daily audits that verify integrity,” Stika said. “Miratorg has graciously met all of our requests to have both real and virtual access to data and information to protect the brand’s integrity, partly out of practical necessity but equally a voluntary Miratorg commitment to transparency.”

Pfeiffer noted. “They share our vested interest in making sure the brand is the same high quality coming out of their plant as it is out of our existing licensed packing partners in the U.S. or Canada.”

CAB did not set out to expand production into Russia or any other region, Stika added. But the huge, existing Russian investment in U.S. Angus genetics “provided the opportunity to ensure quality from the start.” While U.S. quality grades have lately risen above 5% USDA Prime, the Miratorg herd starts at 20% to 25% hitting Prime-equivalent marbling scores.

“Fundamentally, this was a decision about aligning with people committed to the same values and using best practices that ensure integrity, quality, safety and care at every step,” Stika said.

As a global brand, CAB does business with partners in 53 countries around the world.

Production of the brand in Russia, initially modest and focused on middle meats for foodservice customers, can grow with CAB’s active role in market development in Russia (closed to U.S. beef since 2013) and in other countries like Saudi Arabia that now have limited access to the brand.

“That kind of involvement positions us to protect the use and equity of our trademark in international markets,” Stika said. “Because Miratorg is the right partner – committed to quality in every aspect of this endeavor – we are able to provide more consumers access to our brand, and work together to reduce confusion about Angus brands among customers and consumers.”

Premiums paid to U.S. producers depend on the growing strength of worldwide demand for the brand they own, he said.

Pfeiffer said he appreciates the common values of “capitalism with integrity” that Miratorg represents.

“Working with them as they build a Russian beef community and infrastructure complements and supports our mission, and that of everyone who uses registered American Angus genetics to produce premium beef,” Pfeiffer said.

“Miratorg registers cattle and helps build our database while paying commissions to the brand, supporting global growth and trademark security,” he added. “As an Angus breeder and consumer, those are all great things.”

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