Agricultural News
11 Straight Years of Record Certified Angus Beef Sales, Still Room to Grow
Thu, 21 Jan 2016 15:48:25 CST
The Certified Angus Beef (CAB) program is one of the great success stories of the U.S. beef cattle industry. Many refer to the program as the "gold standard" of branded beef programs. CAB President John Stika said their most recent market year 2015 continued to show the growth that's been a trademark of the brand.
"This will be the eleventh year in a row that we've experienced growth year over year," Stika said.
CAB sales show increases at every level. Stika said it reflects that consumer messaging works over time. In 2015, CAB partners will sale in excess of 896 million pounds of Certified Angus Beef. Retail sales made up 41 percent, one third went to food service and the remainder was sold through international markets and other special categories. Stika said they experienced growth in every sector, led by food service and international markets. Retail sales were relatively flat with record high beef prices.
In looking at the growth, CAB has seen phenomenal response to consumer signals being internalized at the production level. Stika saw large improvements in acceptance rates. While Angus cattle numbers were down, CAB still had an acceptance rate of 27 and half percent of cattle hitting their ten point specifications. That was an all-time record for the program. Stika said price is not the only factor influencing consumer demand.
"It's not price alone that consumers buy on, it's price in relation to value at every level in the merchandising chain and if you put a quality product out there and you ask a quality high price or a higher price for it, consumers are willing to pay for it, if they feel the price is respected of the value," Stika said.
Getting enough cattle to meet demand for high quality beef has been one of the challenges for CAB. Stika said when he joined CAB 17 years ago, his focus was on supply development. That was an effort to get more cattle to meet the CAB specifications, as the branded beef program was supply limited. In looking at the past several years, Stika said the data has shown there's more market potential out there.
Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays featured Stika on the Beef Buzz feature. Click or tap on the LISTEN BAR below to listen to today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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