Wrapping up Dr. Corah live – Part I
We encouraged our social media followers to brown bag it and have their lunch with us — virtually, anyway. They asked the questions, Dr. Corah gave the answers, and we all enjoyed a great discussion about quality beef cattle production. But since not everyone could make it, we thought we’d share some highlights here on the blog today and tomorrow. This is Part I.
Question: What participation does Certified Angus Beef have in Canada?
Answer: Canada is the No. 1 international market for Certified Angus Beef ® brand product. We also produce product in Canada at about 90% of the packing facilities. So, Canada is a very important source to our company as far as sales and production. Our greatest penetration of product in Canada is through our foodservice network, which allows us to be in some of the top restaurants in Canada. However, we are also in the process of expanding on the retail side. We see a lot of upside both in sales and in the opportunity to produce more product in Canada.
Question: With the price of corn and other commodities, have you seen a trend for cattle being marketed with shorter days on feed and, therefore, fewer qualifiers for the CAB program?
Answer: We have not. Part of that relates to the fact that even with the price of corn, the cost of gain is still below the market price. So, economically, it benefits the cattle feeder to put as much weight on the cattle as possible. This is particularly important since most cattle are sold on a grid, meaning getting as much carcass weight as possible is advantageous to the feedlot. This article is a year old, but explains that all in a little more depth.
Question: Dr Corah, I’ve been hearing a lot about fetal programming recently due to the drought. Do you know anything about it and how it may impact CAB supplies in 2 years when the calves head to feedyards/slaughter?
Answer: There was some very interesting research recently done at the University of Nebraska on fetal programming and how it could potentially impact the end quality. What this research shows is that marbling deposition starts forming very early in the fetal life and that proper nutrition of the pregnant cow or heifer can have a big impact on the marbling potential of the resulting calf.
Question: How is genomic testing helping the quality of CAB? What results are we seeing?
Answer: One of the really interesting technology advancements in the beef industry is DNA testing. Although we are in our infancy, certain traits already have a number of markers identified that help in the genetic selection process. That is especially true for carcass traits like marbling and tenderness, which we feel can have a very significant impact on our supply of product in the future.
You may have heard of GeneMax, the commercial DNA test we’re currently working with. If you want to learn more about it specifically, here’s the website.
Stay tuned tomorrow when we continue with Part II!
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