Who is your customer?

“Every dollar that is generated in the beef cattle business, whether you are a seedstock producer, a commercial cow-calf man, a stocker operator, or a feedlot, comes from the pocket of a consumer.” – David Nichols, Nichols Beef Genetics, Bridgewater, Iowa.

This is one of my favorite quotes. I love it. I love it so much that I continue to use Mr. Nichols’ words of wisdom wherever I go. It is so true!  If cattlemen and cattlewomen come to the realization that while they enjoy the ranching/farming/feeding/grazing/cowboy/farmer lifestyle (and live it every day), somewhere, somebody, some day, a consumer is going to judge what they want to eat with their wallet. And it needs to be good!

There was a time when we could safely say that American consumers were beef eaters deluxe; chicken and poultry were on the low end. Not so true today. Per capita beef disappearance has dropped to somewhere in the ballpark of 52 lbs per person; far off it’s peak of nearly 80 pounds in the middle 1970s; it enjoyed a brief movement upward, then moved slowly but surely in decline.

Recently, I was on a ranch near Lockhart, Texas, helping Certified Angus Beef host a group of restauranteurs. The ranch was the Langford Cattle Co., owned by R.G. “Bodey” and his wife, Kathy Langford. Upon his opening comments, Mr. Langford shared that since he began his career in the early 1980s, he tried every breed of cattle imaginable. He finally settled on Angus, as he felt that consumer demand for high quality beef was always going to be paramount to success or failure. He hasn’t looked back since; selling seedstock to other commercial ranchers to propagate cattle that would fit the brand’s 10 strict specifications…the most important of course, which is marbling, or what we like to call “taste fat!”

R.G. “Bodey” Langford, standing, with hat, and his wife Kathy, explain the history of their family’s ranching operation at an event for employees of Saltgrass Steakhouse, a licensed Certified Angus Beef chain restaurant.

You see, despite the drop in per capita disappearance of beef, the Certified Angus Beef brand has had record years for the past six years in a row. To cap that off, we are on target for eclipsing last year’s mark of 811 million pounds by perhaps another 30 to 35 million! The month of April, followed by the month of May 2013, resulted in two all-time records, back to back!

As Mr. Nichols was quoted earlier, in summary, the consumer puts all the dollars into the hands of producers.  We better listen to what they are saying!

Until next time,

Gary

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