Agricultural News
National Beef Quality Audit Data Indicates Quality Cattle Here to Stay Says Texas A&M Researcher
Tue, 08 Aug 2017 15:33:50 CDT
Like people, cattle can change, and hopefully for the better. A look at 25 years of National Beef Quality Audit data reveals positive trends.
"One of the best things that's happened is the improvement of quality over time," said Texas A&M University animal scientist Jeff Savell. "Quality is measured by marbling. Quality is measured by percent Choice and Prime and that's been one of the biggest changes we've seen over time."
To watch a video clip featuring Texas A&M University animal scientist Jeff Savell using data trends from the National Beef Quality Audit to explain why quality cattle are here to stay, click or tap the PLAYBOX in the window below.
Savell, who's worked on the audit since its 1991 inception, says there's more opportunity than ever to be rewarded for carcass merit.
"Obviously there's greater attention paid today about carcass traits from cattle selection than probably any time in the past," he said. "And obviously Angus has been one of the breeds that's led the way in that particular area."
Research shows consumers not only want safe and wholesome beef; they want it to taste good every time.
"One of the challenges for cattle producers is really understanding what it is they are producing for the end product," Savell explained. "And so, we find that a lot of times if the end of your production is as a weaned calf and you have no other way to gather the information after that animal is finished and gone through a processing plant, you are missing some of the information that will help you make better decisions."
Following calves through the feedyard can answer some of the questions.
"So, any time you can gather carcass information for the type of cattle that you are producing," he said, "you now have real live information you can use to make adjustments, to be able to make improvements in your breeding program so that you know that you're meeting what the target is for the beef industry."
That leaves cattlemen with options to decide how and when to sell.
"When you think about marketing, think about grid based marketing incentives and such that you're seeing at least more of a market signal that rewards producers for producing higher quality products, measured in Prime and Choice," Savell concluded, "or in top tiered programs like Certified Angus Beef or like other top choice programs than what we've seen in the past and I think the marketplace is starting to respond to that."
Source - Certified Angus Beef
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...
