Yesterday’s youth, tomorrow’s leaders

It’s an interesting thing being young. There’s much to see and learn and decipher, and sometimes it can be as challenging as it is exciting. One things for sure, though, it’s a whole lot of fun!

So along with snow and freezing temperatures, the first week of January brought some of the breed’s young leaders to Wooster for our annual Youth Leaders Orientation.

The way we see it at CAB, it’s an opportunity to engage and educate the next generation of influential cattlemen. Our staff in Ohio make sure our young people leave with a better understanding of the brand that supports the cattle they raise.

“We know that a lot of what we do at CAB is out of sight, out of mind for these young Angus breeders,” says fellow Black Ink teammate Kara Lee.

Of course it’s a world that brings value to what they do at home, but it’s pretty different from life on the ranch or at school.

Most groups who come into our Education & Culinary Center (ECC) know a decent amount about the food industry. Along with building on that knowledge, it’s the production story that we get to share.

The inverse is true for this group. That’s their business so we leave cattle alone for a few days. I know. I know that’s unrealistic. They’ll demand our attention at the worst and best of times!

I digress. So instead, we shine the spotlight on foodservice and brand marketing to reveal how a high-quality steak may leave their ranch as a steer and end up on a consumer’s plate.

We learn a lot from them, too.

Alex Rogen, Brandon, S.D., is a junior at South Dakota State University and has Angus production in his genes. Time in the show ring with steers and in the pasture with bulls led him to the pre-vet track. He’s also the National Junior Angus Association’s chairman of the board.

“The biggest takeaway was the affirmation that a quality product needs to be our key focus,” Alex said after joining the Wooster gang for a few days, “because without it, we don’t have a job that’s going to make us money. It was a good reminder, for me and others, that it’s not just the cattle industry, but the beef industry.”

Consumers have to want it and be willing to pay for it, he went on to say. Otherwise, beef may not be the protein of choice.

“To be able to go learn and share with people that there are specifications in place that can guarantee a consistent and reliable eating experience is honestly a privilege,” he said.

For those coming from a stock show background, Alex added, “It’s important to keep that terminal outlook on things. At the end of the day the cows are pretty, but they have to work and do good things for the consumer.”

If you’re interested in attending our 2017 Youth Leaders Orientation January 3-4, be on the lookout for applications this summer.

Making your beef shine

Maybe it’s because I have five kids (7 and under), and supper time at the Reiman house can be a slightly chaotic event. Maybe it’s because I spend so much time wishing that consumers understood how much effort and passion goes into raising beef.

Or maybe it’s just the simple, unedited “like you were there” feel of this video, but I was in awe watching this short clip from our annual conference on our corporate Instagram account (click on it to play):

https://instagram.com/p/8HTXb1P3hY/?tagged=tx15

For three days last week the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand took over the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country, and transformed it into all things high-quality beef.

Nikkie Allen, CAB assistant director of education and events, pours herself into this conference. She hopes the attendees leave knowing that “we sincerely appreciate what these licensees are doing to help make this brand a success. The CAB brand is their brand and each of us has a part in this year’s success, and has the chance to shape the future of it.”

Partners from all different corners of the country and the beef community gathered to learn, to celebrate, to be inspired….and to eat.

Adding staff and media guests, the total came out to 681 attendees. Multiply that by two breakfasts, two dinners and one lunch—that’s 3,400 or so beef meals served. Not to mention the snack breaks which featured things like meatballs and pastrami tacos, adding another 1,360.

We went through 666 pounds of CAB for the Saturday night awards banquet alone.

That night there were eight chefs supervising a kitchen crew of 50 or more. There were 157 serving the guests.

Instagram TX15 Feed — Just a quick snapshot of some of the photos conference attendees shared on Instagram.

Stop and think about that. I’m not talking about an easy-to-mass-produce casserole. This crew prepared a gourmet, plated meal to a banquet room full of beef lovers. The audience included discerning diners, from trained chefs and presidents of meat companies to the cattlemen and women who raise that beef.

“Our audience knows a great meal when they have one. Having a superior product to start with makes our job a lot easier, but it still takes months of planning,” Nikkie says. “We work alongside the culinary experts at the resort and together create a plan to showcase our beef in as many ways as possible during the event.”

From what I could tell watching the social media feed for the conference, the culinary team wowed them.

And as they sent the last plate out the door, I wonder how many of those chefs thought about you? “I wish those ranchers knew how much we care about making their product shine?”

https://instagram.com/p/8HZ2ghP3t2/?tagged=tx15

Maybe none, but that passion for the best is what connects all involved in the CAB brand.

It was a common theme among all award winners, in all categories, including our supply development honorees. To learn more about them, check out these individual stories:

“High calling“–Tiffany Cattle Company
“True grit with a grin“–Tokach Angus Ranch
“The alliance angle“– Ken Conway’s GeneNet alliance
“Quality down the tracks“–Collins Farms
“Open gates“–Trowbridge Angus Farms

And in the meantime, I’ll be grateful that my 6 p.m. chaos is all relative.

May your bottom line be filled with Black Ink,

Miranda

Sharing the good news

You know that other side of the beef business?

I’m talking about foodservice – the steak cutters, distributors and folks who market what you raise to hotels, restaurants, institutions (HRI)?

Well nearly 300 CAB Specialists (the guys and gals at our foodservice partners who share the ins and outs of your brand with the HRI guys and gals) gathered in sunny San Diego last month for our 2015 Specialist Seminar.

It was full of good food, obviously, but also good news. For both sides of the beef biz.

Fresh solutions and bright ideas were the target for the Specialists who shared in the training and learned about merchandising tools, along with our restaurant licensing program, the new “Heritage Campaign,” research data and “local” ideas.

Vice President of Business Development Mark Polzer said he sees signs of the industry starting to bounce back.

And that’s good news for us.

“We’ve always talked with our foodservice partners about how we understand what a difficult industry it’s been since the recession,” Mark said. “You’re forced to somehow try and come up with profitability that’s the same as a year ago, based upon fewer customers. That becomes very difficult.”

What’s most exciting, he said, is that pounds sold through foodservice have grown for five consecutive years. With record high prices throughout the beef supply chain, Mark called the sustained up-trend in sales a testament to the power of dependable quality at each step.

He’s talking about you.

“We don’t need Select cattle,” he said. “We’ve been raising to the higher quality levels in response to economic signals – the degree of genetic change in our cowherd across America is just amazing.”

Moreover, Mark says those he works with think like the ones I work with.

“Here’s a group of cattlemen that have put together the genetics that allow CAB to continue thriving in times of difficulty, and it’s the same with our Specialists. It’s one camaraderie. They come together with a singular focus on the brand.”

Get excited for bright forecasts on the horizon.

Thanks for allowing me to tell your story,

Laura

No bidders

A plan to increase preconditioning in cattle country

Have you ever asked a cattle feeder if he had career aspirations of being a veterinarian?

Mark Hilton, of Purdue University, says he has yet to meet one who dreams of spending his days treating cattle.

“They hate having sick calves. They want to have healthy calves,” says the veterinarian.

At his Cattlemen’s College session last month, I heard Mark present a pretty convincing case for preconditioning (a 11-year analysis of Indiana producers showed a profit of more than $80 per head, on average for 60+ day programs, for example).

But it wasn’t just about the economics of it all. It was about the principle.

“I’m a low-medicine veterinarian,” he says. “I want to use management instead of medicine and money.”

One of the best ways to ensure health during one of the most stressful times in calves’ lives is to precondition. What’s better for the animals is better for the owners. Less sickness=less labor. It’s better for the next person in line, too.

Mark did a quick poll: “How many of you who sell calves want that feedlot guy to make a pile of money on your calves?” Hands shot up all over the room. Everybody wants their cattle to do well for the next person in line.

Of course, cattle feeders have a role in all this, too.

“When you buy preconditioned, high-quality calves you’re telling the beef industry that producers of preconditioned, high-quality calves are your partners. When you’re buying high-risk calves, you’re telling the industry that you’re going to take advantage of somebody,” he says.

Mark introduced a plan to rid the industry of unweaned, co-mingled, high-risk cattle: “Every buyer of feeder calves agrees not to bid on high-risk calves. As the auctioneer goes down and down in price, ‘$2.80, $2, $1.50, 23 cents? Sorry, boys, no takers. Take them back home.’ In 30 days you think that would change the industry?”

That got a lot of chuckles, but the reality is that IS happening in a much slower fashion across the countryside. Take a look at any salebarn study or video auction analysis and it will show the advantages for preconditioned, reputation calves (or the discounts for the opposite).

What side of that equation do you want to be on?

Just something to think about while you’re pondering the year ahead during those late-night calving checks.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

Beef beyond our borders

$352 per head.

Why is that number significant?

That’s what exports added to each beef animal in 2014.

During a Cattlemen’s College session earlier this month in San Antonio, I heard from three experts who had a unified message for producers: global consumers want your beef, they’ll add value to it, and quality counts.

“Our main advantage is premium quality beef,” Jay Theiler, of AgriBeef, told us. “We are recognized as the gold standard around the world. It’s pretty fun to go out and sell our products because of the demand.”

Here are a few quick facts I picked up about beef exports and their potential:

An estimated 80% to 82% of all grain-fed beef is U.S.-produced.
Not only is demand good in the here and now, but the future looks even brighter. Today, 96% of the world’s population lives outside the United States.
80% of global middle-class growth is projected to come from Asia.
Trade is also “good risk diversification,” Jay said. For economic growth last year the U.S. ranked 166^th out of 196 countries.

So what do exports mean to this brand that makes up about 15% of all fed cattle marketings?

Certified Angus Beef ^®is sold into 80 countries worldwide.
Around 13.5% of our total sales were in the international division last year. Of that 120 million pounds, 60% were end meats, or items from the chuck and round, compared to the strong domestic demand for such middle meats as strip loins and tenderloins.
The top CAB international markets are Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, but in the last decade we’ve expanded our presence in popular tourist areas in the Caribbean and in South America.

“The upside potential in the global marketplace for a brand like ours is immense,” our own Larry Corah told session attendees. “The international market is critically important.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

May your bottom line be filled with Black Ink,

Miranda

—

To read more coverage of this session, including information port concerns and drop credits, check out the Angus Productions Inc., article: Why Export Markets for Beef are so Valuable.

Stacks and knowledge grow in tandem

You know when you come back from a conference and you’re all caught up and have plenty of time to make sense of all the good information you took in? Yeah, me neither.

After attending the Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show last week, my stack still looks like this: Clutter

I’ve added new projects, sticky notes and reminders and I perhaps learned more in those few days in San Antonio than I did my entire senior year of high school.

So this post is just a smidgen of what I picked up, overheard or wrote down.

Here are the four takeaways I heard repeated throughout the week:

Exports are important. They could contribute as much as $500/head to the value of a beef animal in this next decade, according to CattleFax. Today it’s $352/head.

Larry Corah2_small2 — Larry Corah, Certified Angus Beef LLC

“The U.S. is the home of grain-fed beef,” said our own Larry Corah. We produce 80%+ of the world’s grain-fed product. That is our niche.

“We are recognized as the gold standard around the world. It’s pretty fun to go out and sell our products because of the demand,” Jay Theiler, AgriBeef, said.

Health costs, health pays. How do many producers get a disease in their herd? “They pay good money for it,” says Mark Hilton.
Mark Hilton, Purdue University

He was talking about buying bulls, females or yearlings and all the possible health threats. That’s why paying attention to all the details is important.

Walking through the economics of weaning calves, giving them proper vaccinations and starting them on feed, the veterinarian said, “2014 was the biggest ‘no brainer’ year in history to precondition calves; 2015 could be even better.”

Ranchers need to share that they care. For much of the country it’s calving season. You don’t need me to tell you about missed sleep and sacrifices and how much you worry about your herd. But you do need to tell others about that.

Texas chef Mike Erickson opened up Cattlemen’s College and told attendees, “People want to know what you do. They want to know more about it. If those of us preparing the beef are educated on how it is raised, we can help spread the positive story of beef.”

Watching the Environmental Stewardship Awards, I heard many sentiments that we should be communicating with consumers. Take this one from Iowa Angus breeder Dave Nichols, “One of the reasons that we are placed on Earth is to save the soil…to grow two blades of grass when others grew one.” So, my plea to you is to go forth and share.

Quality matters now, more than ever. Randy Blach, of CattleFax, said the industry has done a better job of “listening to consumers” in the past 15 years. Congrats! Bravo! A job well done.

Well, maybe not done….

“We are asking consumers to pay more than ever. They’re going to ask us to hit certain and higher specifications,” said PMS director or research Pete Anderson.

When talking that price-value relationship that we preach all the time, Texas A&M meat scientist Jeff Savell said, “We’ve got to wow people now.”

There’s no neatly organized summary from me on this post (hey, I’m still trying to catch up on sleep), but be assured that we’ll be sharing more nuggets in the coming week. In the meantime, feel free to check out last week’s coverage on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where we captured a lot of “in the moment” updates.

May your bottom line be filled with Black Ink,

Miranda

A tough bunch

The only thing better than sitting down with a cowman is gathering together with 8,000.

Three days into the Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show, it’s likely that the streets of San Antonio reflect a bit more grit than glamour. Whether apprehensive to leave behind those first-year heifers or eager to reacquaint with friends from afar, they’re there to offer support of common goals and one another.

Ask John Stika about cattlemen and you’ll get a straightforward answer.

Creative. Resilient. “They’re a tough bunch,” he says.

With every description the confidence in his statements only builds. Like the Kansas ranchers he knew as a child, his thoughts don’t waver.

But what is it that makes you so special? If only it were that simple.

Efficiency: you coupled traditional production practices with brilliant technology.

Urged to increase supply and demand: you do it every day.

Higher quality: they asked for it and you provide.

The list goes on.

“This is a very creative industry. It’s not just through technology,” John says. “It’s about focus, it’s about discipline, it’s about being intentional and the choices and decisions we make in breeding and the management of cattle.”

Events like these serve as a safe spot, a sounding board for ideas from a group willing to run with them.

“There’s nothing I would put past the beef community here in the U.S. and what they’re able to do when given the tools and given the signals of what consumers want,” John says.

This week and every day, we’re proud to work alongside you.

Thanks for allowing us to tell your story,

Laura

Educate, Network, Engage!

For many college students across the country, this week is when the spring semester kicks into full swing. The long winter break back home at the family farm or ranch has come to an end. It can be a bittersweet transition trading chores for studying – for at least part of the day. However, some beef industry scholars took this year’s winter break as an opportunity to fit in some extra and unique classroom time.

Last fall we encouraged young Angus leaders from across the country to apply for five additional seats to our Building Blocks for Success Seminar, and were we ever impressed with the young adults who answered our call!

DSC_0119s — Scholarship recipients (L to R): Tara Leytham, Iowa; Ben Conner, Kentucky; Tyler Thomas, Oregon; Travis Schiefelbein, Minnesota; Cheyann Lovett, Nebraska

Today’s blog post is dedicated to their experience as a part of the class, and some of my observations as a lucky staff member who got to be with them for the event.

Education

Whether you’ve read about one of our staff members in our “Nice to Meat Ya” series or you’ve been intrigued by one of our “Myth Buster Monday” posts, we hope that somewhere along the way you’ve learned that the scope of what Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) does is broader than what you may have initially thought. Our Building Blocks attendees get hands-on experience that allows for an elevated understanding of that scope.

From brand assurance, to value-added products, to high-end restaurant marketing – we want the next generation of cattle producers to understand how leveraging their brand adds value to what they are doing back at the farm and the ranch.

“It’s really neat to see how CAB is able to take that brand and impact all aspects from gate to plate,” said Ben Conner, one of the scholarship recipients from Kentucky. “It’s really neat to see what they’re doing for the Angus industry, but also the beef industry as a whole.”

Networking

The cattle business is as much about people as it is cattle. The Building Blocks seminar brought our scholarship recipients together with several young leaders including the National Junior Angus Association Board and the National Beef Ambassadors. Connecting with peers provides broader industry perspective and gives our staff a chance to stay in touch with what the cattle business looks like from your point of view.

Staying Connected

NJAA Board member Evan Woodbury stayed engaged with the Black Ink team via Facebook after Building Blocks to win a GeneMax jacket last week at the National Western Stock Show!

Two years before I accepted my job with CAB, I got my first impression of the company at a Building Blocks seminar. Some of our attendees will go back to their family cattle business and take on leadership positions. Others may go on to work in ruminant nutrition, large animal pharmaceutical sales, ag journalism, or pursue careers in academia. The point is – no matter where your career takes you, the CAB team wants to keep you engaged.

Our social media outlets are a start, but anytime we have a chance to interact with our breeders face to face, the opportunity is welcomed!

Congratulations to our scholarship winners who joined us this year, and special thanks to the Angus Foundation for their help in funding the effort.

We look forward to another great class next year!

~Kara

Reproduction matters, Part II

From “cowculators” and other tools to specific selection and management advice, yesterday’s post on the Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle (ARSBC) Symposium was full of take-home points for cattlemen.

Today, I’ll continue with helpful advice from day 2 of the conference:

Avoid reproductive failures. Sexed semen and embryo transfer (ET) are more advanced technologies, so how and when should cattlemen use them?

John Hall, University of Idaho, said the biggest value of sorted semen is for smaller producers to shift the calf-crop gender, depending on their replacement heifer needs or desire to market more steers.

Donor and recipient management are crucial to a successful ET program. “The most common mistake in ET is selecting an old, dry, fat cow within the herd as a recipient female,” said veterinarian Brad Stroud. Donors, on the other hand, are in their peak production between 2 to 10 years old and when they have calves nursing.

Stroud also spoke on proper semen handling techniques: “Just because the straw is still frozen doesn’t mean accidental thermal exposure hasn’t happened to decrease fertility.” Eight to 10 seconds of exposure, even in the neck of a Dewar container, can damage a straw of semen. He encouraged a liquid nitrogen (LN2) bath for all inventory, cane breaking and transfer activities to protect viability.

It’s not all about the female. Robert Wetteman, Oklahoma State University, said even short-term heat stress has long-term effects on bull fertility. The average time to recover normal sperm motility after heat stress is six to eight weeks. Do an early and full breeding soundness exam of all sires, too, he said.
Improving repro rates takes focus. “Culling open cows is not a selection for fertility,” said Matt Spangler, University of Nebraska. “Breeders need to actively select traits to improve, not just remove bad ones.”
Build with the best. To avoid propagating genetic defects producers need targeted management of carrier and potential carrier animals when retaining females. Allison Van Eenennaam, University of California-Davis, showed how to use DNA information to help. “Computerized mating programs avoid breeding recessive carriers but keep the genetic merit of those animals,” she said.

DNA parentage tests can also indicate bull all bulls pull their weight,” Van Eenennaam said. “The average progeny by natural-service bulls in the study was 20, but some sired zero, others sired more than 20.”

Replacement heifers must calve early. Rick Funston, University of Nebraska, said it takes the profit of two early-calving cows to cover the loss of one late-calving one. Current cow inventories aren’t sustainable and challenge the infrastructure of the industry, he said, noting the importance of not only herd rebuilding but doing so with emphasis on reproductively sound females.

Marbling (and management to increase it) is generally the first topic we share information on as we look to increase Certified Angus Beef ^® supply. But that starts with more pregnant females and subsequent calves on the ground. Improving that factor is good for you and good for us.

– Katy

For complete coverage of the conference, including PowerPoint presentations and audio, click here.

Reproduction matters, Part I

It’s really hard to raise a high-quality calf if the cow doesn’t get pregnant in the first place.

A few weeks ago I attended the two-day Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle (ARSBC) Symposium, held this year at Oklahoma State University. I’ve been to ARSBC before and always find the combination of research and real-world application on the ranch valuable.

Here are some of the 2014 highlights:

Fertility is a lowly heritable trait, but largely impacted by management. George Perry, South Dakota State University, says synchronization increases the uniformity and profitability of a calf crop due to added age (and thus weight) of artificial insemination (AI) calves. The genetic gain from proven AI sires is another bonus.
AI doesn’t have to be complicated. Sandy Johnson, Kansas State University, shared the Beef Center Estrous Synchronization Planner (ESP). The free, downloadable Excel-based planner provides step-by-step guides to simplify protocols and schedules. It also estimates costs per pregnancy. You can even get it on your smart phone or tablet here.
Match your herd and environment. “Seventy percent of energy to produce 1 pound of beef comes from cow maintenance,” said Dave Lalman, Oklahoma State University. He pointed to tools like the American Angus Association’s Optimum Milk Module.
To heat up reproduction rates, cool it. Peter Hansen, University of Florida, spoke on measuring heat stress in cattle, as the long-term implications carry throughout the reproductive cycles. The normal rectal temperature range for beef cows is 101.3 F to 101.5 F. Conception rates can decline when temperatures reach 102.2 F, with an afternoon reading of 102.5 F. being “critical.” He encouraged the use of an iButton (inserted in a CIDR) for proper temperature monitoring.
Synchronization pays. Cattlemen Roger Wann talked about his use of synchronization and fixed-time AI on his ranch in southeastern Oklahoma. “We can’t improve genetics if we can’t get cows pregnant,” Roger said. “Synchronization is the delivery method for genetic improvement.” It adds up to a $120 return per female exposed to estrous synchronization and timed AI compared to natural service—and that’s not including genetic gain.
To easily calculate the benefits, just Cowculate. Use the AI Cowculator, that is. Cliff Lamb, University of Florida, introduced the smartphone app that helps producers determine costs and value of estrous synchronization.

Lamb re-emphasized what seemed to be a theme all day: using reproductive technology is not as difficult as it sounds – and it pays.

“Calves born earlier in the calving season stay longer in the herd and are more productive in their lifetime,” he said.

Fall intern Katy Kemp is currently pursuing a master’s degree in ag communications from Oklahoma State University. A nice coincidence, given that put her in the perfect place to cover this renowned reproduction conference. Watch for more highlights in tomorrow’s part II post.

For complete coverage of the conference, including PowerPoint presentations and audio, click here.

Yesterday’s youth, tomorrow’s leaders

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Making your beef shine

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Sharing the good news

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No bidders

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Beef beyond our borders

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Stacks and knowledge grow in tandem

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A tough bunch

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Educate, Network, Engage!

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Reproduction matters, Part II

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