Agricultural News
Differentiating Quality Beef Goes Beyond the Black Hide
Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:22:02 CDT
Black hide is the initial requirement for almost 80 beef brands certified by the USDA. It is also the first limiting factor in supplying the Certified Angus Beef brand. The USDA now reports that 63 percent of carcasses in the mix are black-hided breeds.
Clint Walenciak, packing director for Certified Angus Beef, says bull turnout is about ten percent higher than that figure, meaning that over 70 percent of bulls are derived from the Angus breed.
Cattle imported into the United States are less likely to be derived from the Angus breed, and that lowers the percentages somewhat, says Lance Zimmerman, an analyst with CattleFax. As imports increase, the percentage of black-hided cattle decreases, he says.
While ratios may vary year to year due to the ebb and flow of imports, the long-term trend is toward greater Angus influence.
As that percentage increases, Zimmerman says cattlemen need to look for ways to differentiate their cattle in the growing pool of black-hided animals. He says buyers seeking a premium product will want to know more about specific genetics, nutrition programs, and health programs that will identify quality.
Going forward, just having black-hided cattle will not be enough.
Click in the video box below to watch the full video story on black-hided cattle trends.
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