Agricultural News
When They Meet the Criteria of the Certified Angus Beef Program, Those Calves Are Worth More
Mon, 13 Jan 2020 05:38:10 CST
Paul Dykstra, Beef Cattle Specialist, with Certified Angus Beef, says there continues to be a premium for cattle that meet the standard of Certified Angus Beef, "So they pay a premium to the feed yard, or the retained owner of cattle through the finishing phase for each of those carcasses that makes it into our brand. As a result, there's a profit-driven motive for producers to participate, even as recently as last few weeks. Certified Angus beef brand carcasses have been worth around $100, Believe it or not, per head over the market average in the given week. So you know it's a real market signal, and in times when margins in the beef sector may not be what we'd all like to be. It's a pretty significant boost to the bottom line for folks trying to stay in business."
Dykstra says his advice for anyone looking to increase their cow/calf herd is to look closely at the selection of bulls and genetic selection, but also to put some emphasis on marbling, "We know that genetic selection needs to be a balanced-trait scenario, but at the same time we also have many very good examples of commercial producers that are putting some emphasis specifically on that marbling EPD to increase the share of their calf crop that is going to potentially end up into our brand, and I will go so far as to say those very progressive breeders that are creating more certified Angus beef brand prime carcasses now upwards of 20% maybe even 40% of their cattle making that grade, well the profitability associated with that is pretty phenomenal today."
Dykstra says producers who are looking for that prime result must do a great job managing those cattle. He suggests you strive to keep your cattle healthy, provide the nutritional background they need, and to keep an eye on marbling that those cattle may have, "You know, the days that they are exposed to a high starch diet, we're talking about high-quality, U.S., corn fed beef. You know days on feed is going to become a factor, as is finished weight. So the cattle have an advantage from a days on feed are going to have a higher propensity to make it in. We don't want to over implant cattle, we want to kind of be in a moderate strategy from an implant standpoint to best protect the innate marbling that each of those individuals may have."
If you are interested in learning more information about Certified Angus Beef from a cattle producer's point of view, you can visit the website designed for cattle producers that want to learn how to be a part of the CAB program by clicking or tapping here.
Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear the complete interview with Paul Dykstra as he talks With Ron Hays.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is 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.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...
