2020_news-release_fine-tuned_2010_WerhmannAngus_Virg_LN-206

Nice to Meat Ya: Tim Toussaint

A journey from cashier to meat category manager

“Hey, these rounds are really going crazy right now!”

Odd conversation starter? For Price Chopper’s Tim Toussaint, it’s just a typical Wednesday afternoon chat.

As a longtime Meat Merchandising Category Manager for the successful retailer, Tim’s job is, for lack of a better term, to manage meat. And after 40 years with the company he’s bound to have picked up some jargon along the way.

“There’s quite a bit that goes into it,” he says, searching for an explanation for the role he’s held for 20 years now. “It’s challenging, it’s always changing. You have to stay on top of it. It’s never boring.”

Beef, ground beef, pork – that’s Tim’s playing field.

The veteran New Yorker never imagined a part-time job at 16 would pull him away from a life in central New York to a corporate office view in Schenectady. But a good job can do that to a person and Tim’s living proof that working hard can have its benefits.

“I do love the business. I love the meat end of it,” he says. “Being a third generation meat man, grocery man, I think it is in my blood because when I was 16, I wanted to work in a grocery store.”

If you’re wondering why meat, it’s because “that’s where all the money was being made and that’s where all the cool guys worked!”

“I feel very fortunate,” he adds.

Cattlemen should, too.

Analyzing markets, studying trends, trying to decide when to sell and when to hold back – Tim’s job runs a close parallel to the men on horseback.

“There’s just no rhythm,” he says of his responsibility to get all 138 stores what they need when they need it.

“The phone starts ringing, the stores start calling. You’ve got 10 feet of snow in Buffalo, you’ve got three trucks that aren’t going to make it.”

Will he have enough product to cover those stores? Take solace in the fact that he’ll find it and has likely been anticipating such a scenario.

There’s a bit of “Wall Street” essence to it all – no room for too much or too little. Mondays mean reviewing performance records compared to projections. A Tuesday in November could be writing an ad for January.

“Most of the meat I book, I book out front as when I feel the markets are most favorable,” he shares. “It doesn’t always work that way but it’s the game plan and I like to think I’m a little better than 50/50.”

Judging by the expansion of the family-owned chain, with locations in six states and growing, it’s safe to say Tim has become pretty good at making an educated estimate.

Rest assured there’s folks like him all over the country who share your value of quality beef.

Thanks for allowing me to tell your story,

Laura

PS–Catch up on this whole series with these links:

Day 1: Ashley Pado
Day 2: Scott Redden
Day 3: Jesse Stucky
Day 4: Bridget Wasser
Day 5: Amanda Barstow
Day 6: Josh Moore
Day 7: Ruth Ammon
Day 8: Bill Tackett
Day 9: Dan Chase
Day 10: Danielle Foster
Day 11: Eric Mihaly
Day 12: Jennifer Kiko
Day 13: Mark Morgan
Day 14: Meg and Matt Groves
Day 15: Rod Kamph
Day 16: Jonnie Schreffler
Day 17: Brent Eichar
Day 18: Alberto Diaz
Day 19: Larry Kuehn
Day 20: Bob Boliantz
Day 21: David Livingston
Day 22: Danny Harris
Day 23: Tony Biggs
Day 24: George Falb
Day 25: Liz Wunderlich
Day 26: Josh Comninellis
Day 27: Mike Martin
Day 28: Bruce Longo

Maternal function and marbling go together in real life

“You just don’t want to select for too much marbling, so you wreck your cowherd.”

That makes me crazy. When I hear a smart person stand up in front of cattlemen and speak that fallacy like it’s the gospel truth, I want to interrupt. I want to show them the facts and then tell the stories of all the intelligent ranchers I’ve met who tell me you can have both.

One of those cattlemen is Joe Anderjaska of Hayes Center, Neb. I met him and his wife, Brenda, during one of the worst droughts our country has ever seen. Neighbors were encouraging him to sell cows and buy some females back if it rained.

“I’ve got a lot of years of history and genetics that I’m not going to just haul to the salebarn and get rid of,” he told me.

Carcass quality was always in the back of his mind, but he built up an enterprise selling heifers. “We have really worked the hardest on the female,” Joe said. “We always sell our heifer calves for more than our steers.”

But, that’s not to say their steers don’t hold their own. They routinely hit 100% Choice, with well over half qualifying for the Certified Angus Beef^® brand.

“We’ve worked really hard to get cows that can convert grass and roughage to pounds as easy as they can. I think that’s why our calves in the feedyard convert really, really good,” he said.

The cows winter on pasture and corn stalks, without much, if any, supplementation. “If a cow can go out there and do it for herself, I’m not going to do it for her.”

Joe’s parents started the herd, but he and Brenda have added their own stamp since returning to the operation in 1988. They are strong proponents of using proven bulls and AI to increase uniformity. They’re also very loyal to one breed.

He says you can get carcass traits and maternal function in the same herd: “When you have really good Angus cattle like we do, I don’t know why you’d do anything any different.”

We agree, Joe. We agree.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

PS—To get some scientific facts to back up this anecdotal story, check out this research paper: Selection for Marbling and the Impact on Maternal Traits.

Don’t Get Bit

A steak that would be discarded because of the meat lesion.

Have you ever been bitten by an elephant? How about a mosquito? Likely you can answer “yes” to the latter. It always seems to be the little things that get us and it’s the same when producing quality beef. The smallest things can make a big difference.

Routine vaccines and treatments are one of those little tasks that can have a big impact on meat quality. During the recent MBA tour, Dr. Phil Bass, CAB meat scientist, showed participants how proper injection sites can mean the difference between a CAB steak and garbage.

Using oranges instead of cattle, participants gave both a subcutaneous (under the skin) and intramuscular shot of purple dye to the orange. Slicing the oranges open revealed how an injection affects the “meat” of the orange.

The subcutaneous shot given to the orange left no damage, where they dye remains in the peel but the purple dye through the "meat" represents what would become a lesion. — The subcutaneous shot given to the orange left no damage, where the dye remains in the peel but the purple dye through the “meat” represents what would become a lesion.

When an injection is given intramuscularly, scar tissue can build up where the needle entered the muscle. You’ve heard it before: to make the brand, beef must first meet 10 carcass-based specifications. Scar tissue kicks it out of eligibility. Worse yet, most often meat with lesions will be cut out as no value.

“When the injection is given subcutaneously, you won’t have any scar tissue developed,” Phil says.

Never give shots in an area that is going to be used for steaks or roasts, anything over the back or the rump region because of the risk, he says.

“A steak with an injection site lesion will never be sold in a grocery store because it just doesn’t look good,” Phil says. “Most folks if they see it, they will throw it away. It could be used for ground beef but it most likely it will be tossed in the trash.”

Some simple recommendations: follow the labeling on the package to make sure that the withdrawal periods are upheld. Give injections in the neck area, especially if it has to be given intramuscularly (that cut will already be going into ground beef).

Just a few decades ago this used to be a major problem, but with the help of education and focus, the problem of injection site lesions has gone from 21.6% of top butts from fed cattle affected in the first National Beef Quality Audit in 1991 to just 3.2% six years later and virtually ZERO today. That’s quite a success story, but there are still occasional problems and we’d all like to see this one reach “Absolute Zero,” right?

Get yourself and the crew trained in all the proper procedures and everything else to safeguard quality, through the industry’s Beef Quality Assurance program.

Because, when your hard work is thrown away? Well, that just bites.

–Nicole

Behind your beef – Marbling matters, but what is it?

Little white flecks, intramuscular fat, flavor—it doesn’t matter what you call it, plain and simple marbling matters.

Packers have paid more than $450 in grid premiums to producers who have it.

Consumers vote with their dollars, and demand trends prove they want more of it.

Studies say it’s not just marketing; science confirms it’s important to have it.

For a quick review on just what marbling is and how it’s measured, watch as Dr. Phil gives you a little more background, “Behind your beef.”

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

PS-Be sure to check back next week as we learn more about what’s under the hide.

Behind your beef – Decoding the beef primals

Pop quiz: which of the following is a beef cut? Hanging tender, butterfly top, or sierra cut?

Trick question… they all are.

Now, match each cut to its respective primal: chuck, loin or rib. Got that? And which should be braised and which broiled? Should you marinate or dry rub? Has it been aged?

As a cattleman or woman, you spend every day with the animals that produce this meat. Still, there’s no shame in admitting it if you did not score well on the quiz.

We have dozens of employees who spend each day explaining the intricacies of the beef carcass to chefs, meat sales forces and culinary educators. Throughout the year we invite hundreds of people to our Education and Culinary Center to get up close and personal with beef fabrication. We know that education=selling power.

Unfortunately, Wooster, Ohio, is a ways from many of the farmers and ranchers who supply our brand. But if you want a little behind-the-scenes look at some of the meat science topics they cover, then follow along the next several weeks as we’re going to give you a look at what’s going on under that hide in this series: Behind your beef.

First, meet your instructor, Dr. Phil.

(To learn more about why he’s our chosen guide, check out this post on our consumer site: Face of the mad meat scientist.)

Now, for our first lesson:

Any questions for the instructor? We’ll be sure to pass them on to Dr. Phil.

In the black

Even without an extensive business background, it’s pretty well understood that red in a listing of fiscal year numbers is generally not a good thing.

Why then, at full Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) staff meetings last week, were we excited when we saw a slide that started out like this?

Of course, we aren’t thrilled that the nation’s cowherd has seen such a severe decrease in numbers over the past few years or that beef supplies will have to tighten before they increase.

But in spite of that big red -2.5%, we were excited. Because the rest of the chart looked something like this:

Increasing cattle identified, certified and sold as Certified Angus Beef ®.

What do those numbers mean to us?

“We have more Angus genetics than there have ever been, and they’re more predictable and more focused on making CAB than ever before,” John told the 117 or so of my fellow employees who had gathered to hear about the state of the brand, among other topics.

What do those numbers mean to you?

“I’m as confident in the value proposition that our brand offers than I’ve ever been,” he said. “That’s not based on opinion, but just look at what we see in the market.”

Looking back, we see seven “best ever” sales years in a row. We recently reported that packers have paid nearly $50 million per year in grid premiums for the CAB brand alone. We see people all along the beef chain who are not just willing to pay more, but who ARE paying more to either offer or enjoy a predictable, tender, packed-with-flavor beef.

“That kind of economic signal is real,” John said.

That ought to get you excited, too, if you’re with us on this quality beef production team.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

Beating them at their own game

We hear it in beef cattle meetings all the time: What are we going to do about the chicken nugget?

But it’s not just the nugget. You could easily substitute rotisserie chicken, sausage biscuits and a lot of other non-beef ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat items for the searching question.

Erin Mohler, CAB marketing specialist who works with our value-added products team in the Wooster office, wants you to know the answer to that question is, “plenty.”

The department, which is charged with keeping up with current trends and developing CAB products that will fit those trends, is busy these days.

There are the new lines of marinated value-added cuts, fully cooked heat-and-serve entrees — even specialty items for the freezer case. Erin says some of the current favorites include jalapeno lime and beer skirt steak, a bacon and cheddar burger, and a beef wellington.

“We are trying to keep up with today’s trends of supplying consumers and customers with high-quality products that are easy to prepare and still have that great beef-eating experience,” she says.

It’s a never-ending cycle. Right now, the value-added products team is working with the Beef Innovations Group (a research arm of the Beef Checkoff) to make sure beef stays in the center of the plate, despite consumers’ ever-changing needs and wants.

So what’s ahead? One day soon you just might see microwaveable ground beef (it cooks, browns and drains in the bag!), a microwaveable tri-tip, meal starter kits, beef and marinade kits, and crispy breakfast strips in your grocer’s offering.

But what does all this mean to you, especially if you get your beef out of the freezer instead of the supermarket meat case? It’s all about increasing demand for the high-quality beef you strive to produce. It’s about reaching the chicken nugget crowd with a (far) superior product. And that’s something we can all get behind.

Beyond looks: Choosing replacements, part two

Yesterday, we talked about going beyond phenotype when making replacement female selections. Today, we share the second part of Mark’s advice, focusing on the genetics and performance side of things.

Go beyond the sire and dam

These days, it’s not difficult to find commercial heifers that are the multi-generational product of artificial insemination (AI), Mark says. In other words, they may be representative of the best Angus genetics out there.

“If I can select those kinds of heifers to bring back into my herd, where someone has stacked generations of selection pressure for carcass genetics and marbling, boy, that sure puts me several steps ahead in this whole pursuit of quality,” he explains.

Consider the scores

When a seller has implemented GeneMax™ testing in his herd, genetic information is taken to another new level. You can really sort through the top prospects and identify those with the highest merit. Depending on opportunities available, you can add a GMX score of 50 or 75 or even 90 or higher as selection criteria, eliminating even more guesswork. (Looking for GeneMax cattle? Visit GenomeXchange.)

Get the history

When possible, Mark recommends asking for feeding history of potential replacements’ steer mates. Actual feeding data — and some carcass data — will give you another layer of knowledge for informed decision making, he explains.

There’s a lot that goes into building a high-quality herd and increasing CAB and Prime qualifying rates. But knowledge really is power, and buying good females today means raising good females tomorrow.

Beyond looks: Choosing replacements, part one

A good replacement heifer is one of the most important investments any cattleman will make. And while there’s no doubt phenotype should be a top factor, it shouldn’t be the only one.

For the producer with high-quality herd goals who strives to raise better replacements than he can buy, it’s vital to really know those prospects beyond appearance. We asked Mark exactly what that should entail. Here’s what he had to say:

Biosecurity and animal health

Enlist your veterinarian to visit with that of a potential seller to find out exactly how big of a priority animal health is to them. Bottom line: Don’t buy into any health problems that could potentially harm your entire herd.

Reputation is everything

Are you comfortable doing business with this seller? Have they been in business long enough to be considered reputable? These are two important questions to ask yourself. If the answer to both is yes, it’s time to ask questions of others — their customers. As with any other business deal, Mark says he recommends getting references,
preferably producers with similar operations and in similar environments as yours for the most accurate assessment.

Basic stats

Age, weight and calving date (for bred females) should all be considered before writing the check. Will these females fit into your herd as seamlessly as possible? If you’re looking at first-calf heifers, ideally they’d be due to calve slightly ahead of the rest of your cow herd, giving you a little more time and energy to focus on those animals in case they need additional assistance. It’ll also help at re-breeding time, to make sure they stay on pace with their peers.

Likewise, if you’re buying open heifers that you’re going to breed, their weight and age need to coincide with when you want to get them bred and ultimately when you want them calving.

Join us tomorrow for part two of Mark’s heifer-buying advice, focusing on the genetic side of selection.

Making a case for creative marketing

A couple years ago we invited you to “Market at weaning like a feeder at finishing.”

And as we’ve been updating some of our Black Ink Basics Tech Sheets with current numbers, we’re still convinced that’s a good idea.

2013_06_03_mr_Pelton Ranch-77 — How should these critters be marketed?

(Side note: If you love data, you’ll have a ball checking out the whole tech sheet library on the right-hand side of our Educator’s Corner. There is research on everything from health to genetics to disposition.)

We’re still tweaking two that have to do with the Angus premiums on calves and profit differences on finished animals in the feedyard.

Here are the basics:

At auction we recorded a $5.30 per-hundredweight (cwt.) premium in Angus over non-Angus. That is significant.
At the same time, profit differences between pens of cattle in a given feedlot consistently run at about $200/head.
Using the Professional Cattle Consultants‘ 734-lb. average placement weight, that translates to a $27/cwt. difference on a feeder-calf basis.

“In other words, this difference in profitability should translate into much bigger differences in value, or premiums, on the feeder calf,” Mark says. “If only we knew which calves to give those premiums and discounts.”

It’s no secret we’re short on calves and the pure demand for ANY calf to fill the pen may have compressed those values in recent years. Yet the Angus advantage has increased over the years as supply of all calves declined.

So what are you to make of this data?

Cow-calf producers: it’s just a good reminder that we need to keep being creative and evolve our feeder calf marketing system.

Cattle feeders: as you well know, there is incredible value in knowing genetic potential at the time the feeder calf is priced.

May your bottom line be filled with black ink,

Miranda

Nice to Meat Ya: Tim Toussaint

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