Committed students earn CAB Colvin Scholarships

by Kylee Kohls

May 6, 2020

Goal-getters and difference makers, innovators and change curators – today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders. Supporting these creative and intelligent young people, the 2020 Colvin Scholarship Fund awarded $42,000 to 10 who are pursuing degrees in animal and meat sciences across the country.

Honoring the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand co-founder and executive director of 22 years, Louis “Mick” Colvin, the Fund supported 86 recipients to date. Since 1999, the scholarship has carried on Colvin’s legacy of making dreams a reality and inspiring others to do their best.

Recognizing community involvement, commitment to success and progress in the beef industry, the program recently announced 2020 recipients.

Undergraduate awards:

$7,500 – Conner McKinzie Stephenville, Texas – Texas Tech University
$5,000 – Natalie Hawkins, Atwood, Kan. – Oklahoma State University
$5,000 – Kaylee Greiner, Christiansburg, Va. – Texas A&M University
$5,000 – Sarah Bludau, Hallettsville, Texas – Texas A&M University
$3,000 – Emily Glenn, Scott City, Kan. – Kansas State University
$3,000 – Hattie Duncan, Wingate, Ill. –University of Illinois

Graduate awards:

$7,500 – Luke Fuerniss, Loveland, Colo. – Texas Tech University
$3,000 – Samantha Werth, Rancho Buena Vista, Calif. – University of California, Davis
$2,000 – Lindsay Upperman, Chambersburg, Penn. – University of Nebraska-Lincoln
$1,000 – Keayla Harr, Jeromesville, Ohio – Kansas State University

colvin scholarship winner, conner mckinzie, texas tech university

sarah bludau, colvin scholarship winner, Texas A&M University

natalie hawkins, colvin scholarship winner, oklahoma state university

emily glenn, colvin scholarship winner, Kansas State University

kaylee greiner, colvin scholarship winners, Texas A&M University

hattie duncan, colvin scholarship winner, university of illinois

Their essays on ambitious goals and plans to impact the beef business were part of the highly competitive selection process. Applicants were asked to outline a proposal to distinguish CAB from the 90 other USDA-certified programs that use “Angus” labels in marketing.

Texas Tech University animal science junior Conner McKinzie proposed a “relatable” approach to differentiate CAB from others: deploy unique packaging to help tell the story of who the brand’s producers are and how their cattle live.

“Never before has there been a generation more in touch with their emotions and socially ‘awakened’ than there is today,” said McKinzie. “People want to know what they’re buying, where they’re buying it from, who raised it and what was it given in its lifetime.”

He explained how “augmented reality” can be a part of product packaging that could engage a wide variety of customers. “This would be the cornerstone for building authentic relationships with customers new and old.”

McKinzie hopes to earn master’s and doctorate degrees in food science to explore solutions to food waste and the insecurity epidemic. Embodying a service mindset, his goal is “to make our world a more efficient and food-secure place to live.”

Another idea? Kaylee Greiner suggested capitalizing on the relationship with the American Angus Association and the CAB brand to better connect producer to consumer. As the only branded beef program directly affiliated, Greiner said, “Consumers will benefit from an increase in credibility that comes with the association.”

luke fuerniss, colvin scholarship winner, texas tech university

samantha werth, colvin scholarship winner, university of california davis

lindsay upperman, colvin scholarship winner, university of nebraska-lincoln

keayla harr, colvin scholarship winner, kansas state university

The Texas A&M University animal science major said connecting the Angus community and its families to the final product will build consumer trust and bring transparency to the meat case and CAB brand.

Luke Fuerniss’s research agenda says he wants to discover new options for breeding and feeding for more high-quality beef. The Texas Tech doctorate student and graduate-award winner wrote about his project to “clarify targets for genetic selection, inform feedlot management decisions and assess the potential to replace dairy steers in the U.S. beef industry.”

Fuerniss aims to shine a light on using quality beef genetics that support feeding efficiency, sustainability and carcass consistency so that more qualify for premium branded programs.

The Certified Angus Beef Colvin Golf Classic and auction funds the scholarship program, with CAB partners raising more than $91,000 just last year, confident in the future of agriculture and students pursuing lifelong careers.

“This year’s recipients demonstrated a level of engagement, understanding and leadership in the industry rare among many young people who have already entered the industry, let alone those who are still students,” said John Stika, CAB president. “Their list of activities and plans for the future instilled a great deal of confidence that they will make a positive impact on the beef business moving forward.”

$92 million reasons to aim high

CAB grid premium progress and producer responsibility

by Steve Suther

March 2, 2020

Nobody can say exactly when the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand reached the tipping point. It could have been in the mid-1990s when packers started paying premiums, or in 1999 when feedyards first partnered with the brand, or the next year when annual grid premiums tripled to exceed $26 million.

It could have been the bullet-proof sales performance in the 2008-09 Great Recession, while Angus marbling genetics first lifted brand acceptance through its 30-year ceiling of 18%, on a trajectory to 36%.

“Each milestone is a critical step,” says CAB President John Stika. “But each one only led us to something even better for our thousands of partners and millions of fans around the world.”

Take those grid, formula and contract marketing premiums licensed packers have been paying cattlemen (see Chart 1). This is the first time those rewards have grown for six years in a row, still accumulating at nearly $8 million per month (Chart 2), on the way to a cumulative $1 billion.

“That $92 million last year and the near-billion dollars over time was generated entirely from the world market and paid to farmers and ranchers because they earned it with planning and focus,” Stika says.

Paul Dykstra, beef cattle specialist for the brand since early on that premium path, says it took time to reach the current levels of supply and reward. Now those CAB dollars for Choice and Prime have a lot more ranchers factoring premium quality into their business plans.

“Some have started partnering with feedyards on steers and developing more heifer mates to sell, backed by sibling genomic and carcass data,” he says. “New enterprises provide marketing flexibility since the cattle are worth more.”

CAB Board Chairman John Grimes, Hillsboro, Ohio, graduated high school in 1979, near to the brand in time and place. Ohio State University classmates included future CAB staff, and one professor was the meat scientist who wrote the specifications.

“I’ve been around it all my life, so I know how much work it took to get the brand launched,” Grimes says. “But then it was like the rocket ship of branded beef that sells more than a billion pounds a year with plans for 2 billion. Foreign markets will need to play a larger role in that, but it can happen.”

As brand sales increased 45% in the last six years, CAB grid premiums increased at more than twice that rate. In response, Grimes points to the rise in cattle qualifying for CAB and its Prime brand extension.

“The commercial sector got the message, about the time people were rebuilding herds with Angus after the drought,” he says. “There are rewards for producing premium quality beef.”

Regardless of anti-marbling stories, no matter how often disproven by research, Grimes knows from experience that aiming for premium quality doesn’t hurt a thing.

But many commercial producers don’t add marbling because their bull-supplier friend doesn’t offer bulls near breed average. Customers can either believe the folk tales and stay, or believe the science and shop around.

That didn’t matter so much 20 years ago, Dykstra says, but it can mean a difference of $100 per head or more with the growing value and volume today.

“It would be difficult to lose money on a grid with today’s Angus genetics,” he says. “Just find a feedyard that will sort them at least a little and get the cattle sold on time.”

But feeding or partnering with a feedyard represents the unknown as much as shopping for a bull supplier who includes marbling. Many have taken steps in the right direction, but many have not.

Grimes says it’s a matter of producers at every level taking responsibility, starting with Angus seedstock producers making sure to advance marbling beyond average.

“With the great and growing demand for high-quality beef,” he says, “it’s just our job to raise the bulls for our commercial customers so they can supply the feedyards with the cattle they need for the market.”

The impact of CAB grid premiums at historic levels more than doubles moving through the supply chain, Stika says.

“These rewards flow from the vision the brand was founded on 41 years ago: the consumer holds the only sustainable source of revenue all cattlemen depend on,” he says.

That’s a great opportunity and no less a responsibility for every producer.

“To access consumer dollars, we must provide the quality they value as much or more than the price—beef that tastes great aligned with what consumers want. And we have to do that consistently to keep earning their trust,” Stika says.

The decades of growing demand for the brand say a growing number of Angus producers are living up to the terms of that proposition.

“We’re winning with consumers more than ever, and last year’s $92 million in premiums paid is one tangible reward,” he says. “As a brand and as an industry, I don’t see any reason we should expect those rewards to diminish, as long as we continue to meet the expanding demands of consumers.”

Cobb to lead CAB production team

By Miranda Reiman

February 13, 2020

Describing beef supply and demand as a bit of a chess match, Bruce Cobb says he’s learned the game through various roles in the past three decades.

Starting March 1, the Texas native will take on a new vantage point as executive vice president of production for Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB).

“I’ve been able to participate on both sides of the industry, demand development and then supply and I enjoy figuring out: how can we satisfy the consumer and the end user by what we’re doing on the production side?” he says. “Blending those two pieces is where the good stuff is.”

Since 2005, Cobb has been at the helm of Consolidated Beef Producers, the country’s largest cattle marketing cooperative. He and his team traded 700,000 head of cattle annually across the West and Midwest.

“It’s clear we’re on the right track as it relates to quality. You can look at how consumers have responded just in the last four to five years and how the brand has grown,” Cobb says. “The challenge will be how do we get at those intangibles? These producers care for the animals. They care for the environment and the land. They want to do what’s right.”

But the “opportunity is still there” to communicate and capture the value in those facts, he says.

That’s just one of the challenges Cobb looks forward to in his new role. As executive vice president, he will oversee the brand’s supply development, producer communications and packing divisions, while serving as the voice of the producer to the greater company.

Premiums for the brand are built at the packing level, so cattlemen will also benefit from Cobb’s ability to help packers further identify sales opportunities.

“It was important to us that we found somebody so grounded in the production side that they had credibility with the cattlemen we serve, but also that they were able to see beyond the ranch gate to the way the whole beef community is interconnected,” CAB President John Stika says. “That is what’s really exciting about Bruce and the experience he brings.

“In addition, I really think he’s going to fit really well into the culture at CAB, which has been a hallmark of our success,” he says.

Cobb brings diverse perspectives, with experience ranging from the San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo to Daymon Worldwide to the U.S. Meat Export Federation and Texas Beef Council.

“He’s spent time thinking like a retailer, international trader, cattle producer and consumer,” Stika says.

The son of West Texas cotton farmers, agriculture and FFA shaped Cobb early on. He spent just one semester as a landscape architecture major, before trading that for agriculture communications, earning his undergrad at Texas Tech University. His masters in international agriculture marketing at Texas A&M followed.

“It really comes down to the desire to continue to make a difference in the world of producers, whether that’s cow-calf, feeders or stockers,” Cobb says. “This is an opportunity to take that to the next level and really impact the wellbeing of producers from the production but also the demand side.”

Cobb and wife Margie have three children, and have spent their fair share of time driving to events and cheering them on from the bleachers. They’ve been very active in their local Canyon, Texas, community and the greater ag community.

“The heritage and legacy and the value of being a good steward, integrity and honesty—those are things I want to continue to celebrate and enhance along the way, because there’s just no other industry like agriculture,” he says.

Cobb began his new role March 1, and can be reached at BCobb@certifiedangusbeef.com.

Prime seasonality

MARKET UPDATE

The fed cattle market over the past two weeks has declined $3/cwt. from the January high of $124/cwt. The late January trend for the past two years saw cash fed cattle prices advancing moderately, yet four factors have recently pressured the market.

First, commodity and equity markets have suffered from concerns over the Coronavirus. The February Live Cattle contract has declined roughly $6/cwt. since January 23rd. The degree to which this has been causative is arguable, but the funds have pulled their money out of Live Cattle futures.

Second, the pace of the U.S. cattle harvest last month was up significantly over January 2019. On a weekly count, fed cattle were up 7K head and cows/bulls were up 10K head.

Third, January steer carcass weights were 19 lb. heavier and heifer carcasses were 8 lb. heavier than a year ago. Granted, finished weights last January were lower than anticipated, below 2018, due to difficult winter feeding conditions. So far this year, the duo of greater head counts and carcass weights combine to push production to record volume.

Finally, lower boxed beef prices haven’t provided any psychological encouragement for cattle feeders to take an especially bullish stance. This, of course, has coupled with the lower trending futures and a positive basis, encouraging selling cattle in a timely fashion.

With all of this said, the fed cattle price has been resilient with what might now be considered a relatively small price decline at the transition into February. Beef demand is good and forward sales of boxed beef for delivery 21 days and longer have been excellent to start the year.

The healthy pace of those out-front sales is largely due to wholesalers and other volume buyers of product seeing their opportunity to book their needs ahead of the spring price advance. The comprehensive cutout is lower than a year ago at this time, a condition that was certainly not the case from July through most of December 2019. One could make a case that beef is priced where it needs to be in order to encourage product movement and remain competitive.

Prime seasonality

The first quarter of 2020 has begun with 9.6% of fed steer/heifer carcasses grading Prime. The five-week span sets a new record for the period, almost half of a percentage point above last year. Charting a new high draws questions about how much Prime beef the market will demand, and at what premium.

As recently as 2013 the Prime grade contributed only 3% of annual production, the last in a multitude of years where Prime production remained rangebound around 2.5% to 3.5% of U.S. supply. Scarcity of supply drove the 2013 Prime cutout to $32/cwt. over Choice.

In the ensuing years the share of fed cattle carcasses has annually improved with Prime head counts in 2019 150% larger than seven years ago. That increase finally pushed the Prime premium lower in 2018 as the marketplace had not adjusted to fully utilize the product. However, some end users (retailers in particular) brought Prime to their meat case given larger supplies. Multi-unit retailers require a critical mass of product to offer across all their stores.

The Certified Angus Beef ® brand Prime has enjoyed similar growth as USDA Prime, to the point that sales volumes have increased on average 30% each of the past four years. The weekly head count chart, above, shows the seasonality of the Prime carcass supply with lows in May through July. The red shaded area depicts the weekly supply level between roughly 10K head and 12K head that would keep CAB-licensed end users supplied at a relative equilibrium. Departures below 10K carcasses create a shortage.

Although the production segment has done an amazing job of improving carcass quality, the most recent supply and pricing data suggests that there is definitely a call for more CAB Prime in the marketplace. The 2018 price data momentarily pointed toward market saturation, but the 2019 data speaks to the opposite. Despite record tonnage in 2019 the market still proved sensitive to a decline in the number of Prime carcasses available. Further CAB Prime supply is required to supply additional end users choosing to upgrade to the most premium CAB branded product with 10 carcass standards.

Year end carcass quality steady

A glance at 2019 data shows overall fed cattle carcass quality moderately improved. Combining the Choice and Prime grades in summary doesn’t reveal the detail, given the quarter of a percentage point increase for the year. On a percentage basis the Choice grade came in smaller on the year at 70.98%, down almost a half a percentage point (ppt).

However, this was not a reversal in the longstanding higher quality trend. In fact, what was lost in Choice was gained in the Prime grade. As discussed in the prior segment, volume of Prime carcasses was much larger, partially due to increased head counts, but the Prime percentage was up from 7.95% to 8.6%, a very respectable move. On the other hand, the Select grade was lower by 0.48 ppt. to average 16.9% on the year.

Of the three largest beef packing states by volume only Nebraska saw a better year in combined Choice and Prime quality grades, improving fractions of a percentage to average 82.3%. The move lower in Kansas was equally small, slipping just one quarter of a percent to 80.2 %. Finally, Texas did see a bit more substantial decline of 1.5 ppt. in Choice and Prime grading to end the year with a 67.5% average.

While other regions of the country feature smaller head counts, their quality grades are often richer than those in the central packing corridor. For instance, regions 1-5, encompassing a huge portion of the eastern U.S., posted an 18% Prime grade rate in the latest weekly data with just over 5% Select carcasses.

All in all, U.S. producers tallied another year at the pinnacle of beef quality, setting the bar ever higher.

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In the waning days ahead of Labor Day spot market beef prices are posting positive numbers, boosting a bit of optimism into the total beef complex. Historically, the uptrend will subside following the holiday, and wholesale prices will seek an early fall low mid-October.

Christmas Plans in August

by Paul Dykstra | Aug 9, 2023

Early August in the beef market generally sees lackluster fed cattle prices and the final throes of the summer slump in boxed beef values. However, in the modern retail grocery business, it’s high time that end users make their plans for fourth-quarter holiday beef features.

CAB Supplies Hold Up Despite Smaller Slaughter

by Paul Dykstra | Jul 27, 2023

With fed cattle carcass weights now set to steadily increase into at least October, carcass quality grades typically decline beginning in early August. Lighter placements and continued smaller slaughter totals will keep product supplies in check. Labor Day demand is just weeks away and with that uptick, the quality-based price spreads are likely to perform quite well.

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Consumers get rewarded for eating beef

by Nicole Lane Erceg

February 4, 2020

“Hi, are you a rewards member? If not, would you like to join to save 15% today?”

It’s a common interaction between customer and checker. As more companies work to deepen the understanding of their shoppers and keep them coming back, reward programs have popped up in grocery stores and coffee shops, from online companies to bricks-and-mortar retail.

Americans love them: 80% of adults in the U.S. belong to a loyalty program according to a Synchrony Financial poll. U.S. consumers hold 3.8 billion loyalty memberships, averaging 8 per household.

So could this model work to help drive beef demand?

The Certified Angus Beef ^® brand thinks so. The brand just launched Steakholder Rewards™ loyalty program, offering members exclusive VIP experiences like a chef to help plan a holiday dinner, or a trip to visit a ranch and access to exclusive merchandise.

“Research shows that consumers are willing to pay more for our brand and drive farther to businesses offering it,” says Tracey Erickson, vice president of marketing. “This is a fun way to engage our loyal fans and make them feel an even bigger part of our brand, from family farmers and ranchers to their tables.”

It’s easy and free to register at rewards.CertifiedAngusBeef.com. Participants earn and track points for activities like referring a friend, sharing recipes, watching videos, answering surveys or just following the brand on social media. Those points are like currency, to be redeemed for rewards.

Members can also earn 10 points for every $1 spent on qualifying purchases of brand products from participating grocery stores across the U.S. and Canada. Program members simply upload receipts to their loyalty account.

“Each person’s experience and rewards will be based on their individual tastes and preferences,” Erickson explains. “Members can choose to make the experience more personal by sharing information about their beef and shopping preferences, as well as dates for celebrations, such as birthdays and anniversaries.”

The program creates a more intimate brand relationship with the consumers who are already brand fans, driving them to purchase the brand more often.

“Consumer expectations are expanding,” says John Stika, president of the brand. “As we work to drive demand for registered Angus cattle, this is just another step in adding value to the premium beef cattlemen work to produce. It’s an added incentive for our consumers to purchase the brand more often, but also to learn more about who we are, to become loyal and vocal advocates for our brand.”

Loyalty programs such as Steakholder Rewards make consumers more likely to do business and feel more satisfaction with a brand, according to MaCorr Research. About 86% of shoppers using the programs say they shop more with those brands and 71% are more likely to say good things about brands with good loyalty programs.

The rewards are open to all, and Stika invites cattlemen to become Steakholders, too.

“It’s exciting to be able to offer this extended digital experience to our consumers,” he says. “We look forward to the value it will add for the brand and the cattlemen who supply it.”

Opportunity cost of occupancy

MARKET UPDATE

A relatively quiet week in the fed cattle market last week with a sideways direction for the cash fed cattle price, now in its 4th week at the $124/cwt. level. Live Cattle futures, in the meantime, have been dramatically lower in recent days.

The big harvested head count at 647K was a whopping 39K larger than the same week a year ago. This caps an 8-week run in which the total federally inspected (FI) cattle harvest averaged 15K head per week larger than that period last year.

Harvest levels should decline moving into February, as is the seasonal expectation due to fewer market-ready fed cattle.

Cull cow harvest increases have been a significant piece of the larger FI cattle harvest in recent months. September through December saw non-dairy cull cows harvested at a rate 13% higher than in 2018. The first two weeks in January featured a 10% annual increase, roughly 10,500 head more per week.

To add perspective, beef cow numbers have increased back to 2008 levels, up about 9% over the cycle-low in 2014, which followed the drought reduction years immediately preceding. Observed increases in the fed heifer and cull cow harvest in recent months suggest a January inventory report that will indicate an end to the beef cow expansion phase.

Turning our attention to the fed cattle carcass results, quality grades have improved with the U.S. Choice percentage in the latest report at 73%, which is even with a year ago. The Prime grade continues to outperform at 9.8% of the fed cattle carcass mix, up about ½ of a percentage point over a year ago. Certified Angus Beef® brand carcass acceptance rates are strong as well, with the first full week in January coming in at 36%. About 13% of the CAB-accepted carcasses that week were in the Certified Angus Beef® brand Prime category.

Cutout values inched higher last week with the CAB cutout posting a weekly increase of $2.76/cwt; that’s $9.43/cwt. higher than a year ago. The beef carcass quality price spreads widened a little on the week with the CAB premium over Choice especially wide in comparison with what we’d expect in January.

Opportunity cost of occupancy

Cattlemen typically try to drive costs lower while improving their returns to some measurable unit of production. While the topics under these themes are countless, let’s tackle the cow’s role in this scenario.

Since depreciation is the largest cow cost with the possible exception of feed, it’s clear that longer-lived cows reduce their cost as they contribute more calves through their lifetime. Simply put, the older the cow the longer she’s paid her own way, to an extent.

On the other hand, a reproductively sound cow raising below-average calves poses some risk. Such a cow may be thrifty, long-lived and otherwise unnoticeable in the herd—the definition of ideal in the eyes of many. But if the average of her calves are a drag on weight gain and/or quality, then she’s taking up an animal unit more aptly assigned to a better cow.

Simplifying the discussion, let’s acknowledge that variation in environment and marketing horizons create lots of noise around ideal cow size. We’ll forego that debate here.

When the gap between annual cow cost and gross calf return narrows (sound familiar?) some may begin to analyze a cow’s earning potential. For instance, if a ranch’s steer calves average 600 lb., then a steer 5% below average is 30 lb. light.

Assuming the steer sells alongside the average of the pen (not a separate sort), then his disadvantage is $45/head in a $1.50/lb. market. His mother may become suspect as not pulling her weight, everything else being equal.

Shifting to the feedlot sector, other variables could widen the gap between two steers from the same contemporary group. The daily gain and weight differences apply to a greater extent, given more time to express themselves; uniformity decreases in a pen while on feed.

Finally, carcass outcome differences are equally as compelling. USDA data recorded an average CAB premium of $66/head above the market over the past 5 years, assuming an 860-lb. hot carcass weight and a 70% Choice threshold for the grid’s plant average. Furthermore, Prime carcass premiums averaged $155/head across the same period. Indeed, the price is seasonally variable and not equal year to year. Yet, where can a cow/calf operation find $66 to $155 per head in cost savings? I’d submit that if we knew how, we’ve already done it.

The decision to ignore marbling in the cow herd is a decision to accept the opportunity cost associated with it. Stockmen with at least a degree of focus on targeted carcass merit (marbling) see significantly larger quality premiums when their finished calves are merchandised on a grid when compared to the average.

The exciting piece of this philosophy is that marbling comes at no cost to other production traits. As we recently highlighted in the CAB Insider, Iowa State University researchers concluded they did not compromise cow reproduction in their multi-generational breeding project specifically geared toward a superior marbling cow herd.

It may be financially ruinous for most of us to suddenly replace half of any cow herd for below-average production. But forward decisions of selection and culling might well consider a cow’s potential to produce higher returns through superior carcass merit.

Director of the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management shares the tools every cattleman and woman needs to have to ensure they’re making profitable decisions for their operation and how to apply them.

Learn More About Leveraging Grid Premiums

Stronger Signal in 2019

Assuming an 860 lb. hot carcass weight, Certified Angus Beef® brand carcasses were worth roughly $75/head more in 2019 than the year prior. Packer leverage and large fed cattle supplies kept a lid on feedyard gross returns as fed cattle prices averaged $116/cwt. across both 2018 and 2019.

While the demand signal can get murky in the commodity market, carcass cutout prices sent the message back through the chain of custody a bit stronger in 2019. Each carcass primal saw a wider CAB premium over Choice in last year with the chuck, brisket and plate primals each achieving over 40% increases in CAB premiums compared to 2018.

These changes are relative, however, as the CAB markup on those particular items are much smaller, in total, than the price spreads for ribs and loins. As such, any increase on a small number looks large as a percentage change. It may be news to some that the loin primal far exceeds the rib for CAB premium contribution. The loin outweighs the rib almost 2 to 1 and carries a larger CAB premium to Choice than the rib.

It’s worthwhile to revisit here the fact that while the end cuts aren’t as flashy as the middles, the CAB premium adds over $26 per head in premiums through the chuck and round. CAB briskets have also become a premium-grabbing product with a $2.50/cwt. increased price spread since 2015.

This further proves that demand for high quality beef isn’t just a middle-meat signal, rather a “whole carcass” demand.

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Speaking of meat…

After a long day of work, there’s nothing ranchers love more than coming home to a big ol’ tender and juicy steak. How can it be so darn satisfying every time? Just thinking about the aroma makes my mouth water.

Our Nebraska Sandhills cow-calf ranch has been in the family for nearly 120 years. I grew up eating home-raised beef and I’m proud to say we enjoy it for almost every meal, 365 days a year. We love beef from the oven, pan or grill, but our passion is on the cattle production side.

Like many thousands of others, we’re suppliers for the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand. We save back some of our best for the family, and what we raise is so naturally delicious—no matter how we prepare it—that we haven’t given cookery as much thought as some. Chefs and foodies, for example.

Maybe we were so focused on cattle, and they on preparing beef that we didn’t see all we have in common.

Raising cattle, like creating innovative beef dishes, takes precision, grit and science. It also takes a little spice and fire. The results are better the more both ends of the supply chain “get” what the other is doing and why. I’ve come to realize that through my internship with the brand this fall.

It turns out there’s quite a bit more that goes on after we ship our calves to feedyards each January.

I’ve always admired my dad’s spirit of dedication as steward of the land and natural resources while producing the best beef ever. Now I’ve seen the same spirit all along the chain, in the innovative drive to add value to that beef.

Communicators share in it, too, as in the brand’s new podcast (like a short online radio show), called Meat Speak.

The podcast shares insights that a busy chef or rancher like my dad will fine fascinating, from “Why Meat Matters,” to “The Science Behind Dry-aging,” to new ideas on burgers, short ribs and local-style barbecue. You can even hear how the brand tells your story to consumers in episodes like “Thank You, Farmers and Ranchers.”

I like to imagine my traditional-cowboy dad riding along a cattle drive with air pods in, listening to what might spur a menu change at home to something fancy, like they whip up at the CAB Culinary Center. It could happen—he’s more techie than you’d imagine!

On the beef-demand drive, Meat Speak aims mostly to reach those on the prep and sales side who are as many generations removed from the ranch as my family has been out here. It gives them a chance to better understand how beef gets safely from pasture to plate, and what to do with the premium product when they get that chance.

But the CAB chefs and meat scientists are so good at sharing their know-how that a whole range of listeners will sign on from city streets to ranch sand hills and beyond.

Find Meat Speak on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Play or wherever you find podcasts, or visit https://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/podcast/

About the author: Natalie Jones

Natalie is the brand’s fall intern on the producer communications team. A Beef State native, she proudly grew up on a century ranch near Stapleton, Neb. It’s there she gained an immense understanding and passion for beef production and sharing stories from America’s heartland.

The stories that barn could tell

“Have you always wanted to write a book?”

That’s been a popular question ever since Nicole and I started writing Sheltering Generations—The American Barn, or the “barn book” as we often called it, sometimes with a tone of admiration and other times with a hint of exhaustion.

“No. Not really.”

My answer surprises people. A book was never on my bucket list, but as I started to hear these stories, I knew they had to be told.

Every barn has these slices of time that mean something to the people who spend so much of their lives in them, but it’s sharing those moments with the rest of the world that gives them a voice.

So I hid away from a lively houseful of kids one Saturday morning and chatted with Tommy Maples of Elkmont, Alabama.

“It’s been a blessing to have [my kids] on the farm because they had to work,” he said. “Ben would get up early in the morning and go feed Clarence every morning before school. In the winter, I’d mix his bottle, I’d hand it to him and he’d go down to the barn.”

As Tommy retold the story, I could almost smell the milk replacer. It brought me back to my early mornings when I was 10. My sister and I pulled on our coveralls and trudged through the snow to our big red barn to feed our own eager bucket calves.

But that wasn’t the only conversation to make me smile as I made new friends across the country.

One April afternoon, I got Rayford Pullen by phone on my first try and he said I could interview him on the spot. I didn’t have any formal questions lined out yet, but soon found out there was no need. He made me laugh for most of the hour we talked. I figure he must have that effect on a lot of people.

I asked about the barn and he answered, “You probably don’t want to put this in print, but…it’s a party barn.”

You’d better believe that’s near the front of the story.

I laughed as I saw bits of my family reflected in their stories from Montana to Pennsylvania, from Minnesota to California. I often hung up and thought. “Those are just some of the very best people.”

Some simple observations were profound enough to catch my breath.

“It’s my favorite place. I always know it’s home. I’m safe there,” said Jennifer Carrico, of Redfield, Iowa. When tough stuff gets thrown your way—impossible situations you can’t change—the reprieve of the barn can be life giving.

During the writing process, all the regular work of my division continued and my busy personal life marched on in unexpected ways (major flooding x 2, a remodel to complete, etc.), so many of these stories were filed after midnight. A worried colleague suggested, “Maybe we should hire a freelancer to help?”

But Nicole and I both agreed that we had to finish what we’d started. Just one or two stories in, and it was a passion project.

Just like these people featured in its pages and this thing they’re doing—raising livestock and kids and supplying our brand—it’s something they were called to do.

It’s a story that has to be told.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

PS—The book’s mission helped add energy to the project, as 100% of book sales will got to the Certified Angus Beef Rural Relief Fund, allowing us to offer support to communities when Mother Nature throws a curveball.

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About the author: Miranda Reiman

I love this life. Things that top my list? God, my family, rural life, agriculture and working for the brand. I’m officially the director of producer communications, which basically means I get to learn from lots of smart people and pass that information along to other smart people: YOU. I’m fortunate to work with producers and others in the beef community from my Nebraska-based home office here in the heart of cattle country. (One other delicious job perk? Any time we meet, there’s sure to be good beef involved.)

CAB Colvin Scholarship applications close Jan. 17

by Natalie Jones

December 11, 2019

Six aspiring students can win $33,500 through the Colvin Scholarship Fund, developed in 1999 to honor the cofounder of the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand. As Louis M. “Mick” Colvin retired after 21 years as executive director, these annual scholarships began as a way to carry on his legacy of making dreams a reality and inspiring others to be their best.

They recognize tomorrow’s leaders who are involved in their communities and committed to continued success and progress within the beef community. A $7,500 award goes to the top graduate student, along with five undergraduate scholarships totaling $26,000, the top award there also at $7,500. Undergraduates ranking second through fifth will receive scholarships of $6,500, $5,000, $4,000 and $3,000, respectively.

Applications are due by Jan. 17, 2020, and can be submitted at www.certifiedangusbeef.com. Requirements include two letters of recommendation and two essays. The first essay is up to 500 words on career path choices while a second, up to 1,000 words, will explore how CAB can best differentiate itself from 90 other Angus brands. Applicants must also demonstrate commitment to the beef community through coursework relating to the industry, activities, involvement, scholastic achievement, communication skills and references.

CAB began its graduate student awards in 2012, opening doors to anyone in a recognized, full-time masters or doctorate program related to high-quality beef production. The 2019 graduate scholarship recipient was Chandler Steele, a meat science master’s student at Texas A&M University, and Kylie Phillips, an animal science student at the University of Florida, earned the top undergraduate award.

The Certified Angus Beef Colvin Golf Classic and auction held during the brand’s annual conference funds the program. This year, partners helped raise more than $91,000—the top-selling item was title sponsorship, by Sysco Corp., for the 2020 golf classic. That continued support speaks volumes on the confidence they have in the future of agriculture and students pursuing lifelong careers within it.

Winners will be chosen by March 2020. Top graduate and undergraduate awardees receive all-expense-paid trips to the 2020 CAB Annual Conference set for Sept. 22-24, 2020, at the Red Rock Casino & Resort in Las Vegas, Nev. There, they will have the opportunity to interact with leaders in beef production, packaging, retail and foodservice.

Launched in 1978 and owned by 25,000 American Angus Association members, CAB is the largest brand of fresh beef in the world. Working with nearly 20,000 licensed partners in 50 countries, the brand markets more than 1.25 billion pounds annually. Learn more about the brand at www.certifiedangusbeef.com, or access producer resources at www.cabcattle.com.

New book release benefits ranchers

Signature coffee table book spotlights ranchers, launches Rural Relief Fund

by Nicole Erceg

November 26, 2019

“Every time I see an ambulance go by, I stop and say a prayer because odds are, I know the person riding inside,” says Adam Jones, rancher near St. Francis, Kansas.

It’s a sentiment many in Rural America share, where neighbors may not be just around the corner, but the bond of community is thick. His family ranch, Crooked Creek Angus, is one of 40 stories included in the new coffee table book Sheltering Generations—The American Barn.

The book features stories of beef producers in more than 20 different states, cataloging ranch life, rural community and the role of barns in our landscape.

Produced by Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), each family featured in the book has one thing in common: they all have the brand logo painted on their barns. In 2018, in a throwback to “old school” marketing, the brand painted 40 barns to celebrate its 40^th anniversary.

At each painting throughout the campaign, something special occurred. The small-town community grew. Ranchers, packers, food bloggers, government dignitaries, meat salespeople and local community members gathered to “watch paint dry” and eat great beef. Sitting around a plate of beef, these diverse people shared stories of how the barns were built, the life lived under their roofs and the cattle cared for in their shelter.

Each held their own special tale — worthy of sharing, worthy of preserving.

There’s the rancher-turned-restauranteur in North Dakota who used to drive three hours one way to source consistent quality beef for his small-town steakhouse. The couple who started with a dream, but no heat or water the first winter in their farmhouse in Minnesota and now support nine families from their herd. An old dairy barn in Pennsylvania became a classroom. A chance meeting at a gas station in South Carolina led to the barn where their children married and their cattle are sold each year.

Each story unique, all inspiring in their own right.

Captivating images and short, entertaining stories fill the pages of the book, but in the spirit of community that inspired it, the funds from sales support farmers and ranchers. The entire purchase price of each book will benefit the newly launched Certified Angus Beef Rural Relief Fund, helping cattlemen recover from natural disasters.

“We’ve all heard some weather event referenced as the drought/flood/blizzard/fire of our generation too many times already,” says John Stika, president of the brand. “As a member of the beef community, when our farmers and ranchers are hurting, our brand is committed to providing help.”

The book is dual purpose: a way to share the stories of everyday ranch life and to help provide relief when those who produce it need aid.

“The next extreme weather event may not be tomorrow,” says Stika. “But this spring when the headlines told of cattle being washed away in Nebraska, our phones began to ring. It’s not the first time we’ve seen the pain caused by these events and each time those in cattle country, our partners and consumers look for ways to help. This fund allows us to channel that community spirit the next time someone calls.”

In the sunny days ahead, the book will connect beef consumers to the story of where each bite begins.

Sheltering Generations—The American Barn is on sale now at shop.certifiedangusbeef.com for $19.95. Books will be available for purchase at the brand’s Culinary Center in Wooster, Ohio, and should arrive at homes in time for Christmas.

ORDER NOW

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