MARKETING...
Beef Must Win, Place and Show
Boston chef meets customer demand using the
same strategy as cattlemen.
For chefs and quality-focused ranchers alike, keeping customers satisfied helps win the daily race for business profits. Chef Brad Cornwall bets the same trifecta with those ranchers: demand, profitability, consistency.
For the past eight years, this Texas native has managed the kitchen of the 400-member Black Rock Country Club, a Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB)-licensed leisure spot 15 miles south of Boston. Read more.
In the Cattle Markets
Dec. 15 report: Global corn stocks expected to increase.
USDA released its monthly projections for U.S. and global agricultural supply and use in mid-December. U.S. corn supply and demand was mostly unchanged. Projected food, seed and industrial corn demand was lowered by 5 million bushels (bu.) as a result of lower corn sugar processing.This being the only change, ending stocks projections were raised by the same amount. Ending stocks are now forecast to be 848 million bu., three million higher than expectations prior to the report's release. Nonetheless, the stocks-to-use ratio is still a meager 6.7% compared to last year's 9.3%. Read more.
More Choices,
Less Choice Beef
Trying to please every beef customer takes more of the best.
A wider price gap between Select-grade boxed beef and Choice-grade or better — the Choice-Select spread — always comes back to supply and demand. Consumers vote with their dollars, and recent shifts in merchandising put much more high-quality beef on the ballot, just as those supplies began to fall off.
Asked to comment on implications, JBS USA officers noted supplies of Choice beef had been on the rise, at prices not much above Select. That helped entice marketers to offer better beef to millions more shoppers by this fall, and now the wider price spread signals producers to boost supply. Read more.
CAB® Mythbusters
What they thought they knew that just ain't true.
Did you know Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) is a nonprofit company?
It's not run by volunteers, nor do we make desperate fundraising calls like some others that might come to mind in that category. (I can assure you I make a salary. As much as I love my job, I do have to make a living, too.)
So that leads us to several myths that all go back to one big ol' fact: Read more.
The Source
Begin with an end in mind.
As I write this, it's the time of year hunters dream about — deer season. My 14-year-old son caught the deer fever early this year. He was determined to find a large set of antlers to hang on the wall. He began developing his hunting strategy last summer by attending seminars, learning from conservation agents and visiting with neighbors to plan for the "big weekend."
He had a vision, but, more importantly, he had a plan. And it paid off well for him when he brought home an 11-point buck. He began with an end in mind.
The same principles hold true for managing your herd. We all have a vision for a profitable operation that will sustain itself over the years. But just like on the deer hunt, a vision is worthless without a plan.
Your herd begins with bull selections, cow purchases and the breeding season. But even before you buy that first bull or cow, do your homework and have a plan in mind. Read more.
CAB Launches 'The Flavors of Flay Sweepstakes'
Win a trip to Food Network's South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
As a sunshine break from late-winter calving, you could win a trip to the Florida beach and experience "foodie" culture at the 2012 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food & Wine.
To celebrate its presenting sponsorship of the Flavors of Flay event, along with its ongoing partnership with Bobby Flay and Bobby's Burger Palace restaurants, the Certified Angus
Beef® (CAB®) brand is introducing The Flavors of Flay Sweepstakes. Learn how to enter.
Capturing Added Value for Calves
Creating value in a calf crop seems simple enough. You breed good cattle and manage them well. Then, you market the increase. Well, it might not be quite as simple as it seems. According to Burlington, Colo., cow-calf producer and beef industry writer Troy Marshall, that third step can be downright difficult. Speaking to fellow cow-calf producers gathered for the 2011 Range Beef Cow Symposium in Mitchell, Neb., Marshall shared his thoughts on creating and capturing added value. Read more.
Angus Calendar
To view the Angus Calendar, a complete list of
Angus sales, click here.