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June 20, 2012


MARKETING...


New Beef Products
Hitting Store Shelves This Month

New beef products go through a rigorous, calculated process from concept to launch. However, once they're out on the shelves and into the hands of consumers, these new products help drive beef demand and ensure a market for cattle producers in the United States. New beef products really are the cornerstone of the future.

As consumer attitudes and desires change, the checkoff's Beef Innovations Group (BIG) changes with them and delivers products consumers want. Read more.


Know Your Cattle, Grid Conditions

Commodity cattle are priced by weight class, sex or average carcass grade, but some are worth a lot more or less. Indeed, some producers carve out a reputation, a kind of brand for their consistently high-quality cattle akin to that of Mercedes-Benz®, Apple® or Rolex®.


Pete Anderson

Pete Anderson, Ag Knowledge Services, says owners of those better cattle should earn premiums, but producing them is just the first step on the way to capturing value.

"Grid marketing of fed cattle is one way to get paid a premium for producing something that is superior to the average," he notes in a new white paper. Understanding grid marketing: How quality grades and grid conditions affect carcass value is available with its several tables at www.cabpartners.com/news/research.php.

The subject may seem "a little mysterious and risky to some, especially feeder cattle producers who are new to retained ownership or only market cattle once or twice a year," Anderson says. It helps to know how grids work and how your finished cattle will perform. Read more.


Sell Brand-like Cattle on Grid

Pete Anderson, owner of AgKnowledge Services, explains grid marketing and how to make it work for the commercial rancher with above-average cattle.


Editor's Note: This video news is provided by Certified Angus Beef LLC and American Angus Association. Visit www.CABpartners.com or www.angus.org for more information.


In The Markets

Where to from here for wholesale meat prices?

With the massive grilling event that is Memorial Day weekend in the rear view and with summer heat forcing people into the comfort of their central air, June can be kind of a touchy time for beef prices. It's a bit early yet, but so far prices still look pretty good.

As of June 11, wholesale beef prices are well above where they were at this time last year. However, beef prices the previous week did seem to lose a bit of their recent momentum. The Choice cutout basically held its ground, with the weekly average Choice cutout working out to $197.10, up a few cents from the prior week and closing in on the high of $198.51 posted at the end of February. Read more.


CAB Mythbusters

What they thought they knew that just ain't true.

This industry isn't just David and Goliath. We have farms and ranches of all shapes and sizes, and we celebrate that diversity.

I've said it before: When it comes to feedlots, it's not about the size. I'd echo that statement today. Yet some people still think we're just for the "big guy" or the "corporate farms." But at Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB), we're an equal opportunity market signal. Find out what I mean by that as I bust this one:

Myth: I have to be a big producer to participate in CAB premiums.
Read more.


What a Chef Wants

Start with simply the best.

To Ric Rosser, creating delectable masterpieces is all about letting food "speak for itself."

0612mk_chefwantslogoThe executive chef at Saltgrass Steakhouse, based in Houston, says if not for quality-driven beef producers, the task of serving up a palatable entrée many consider a staple in Texas would be far more difficult.

"We take a great piece of meat; we don't crust it with anything, we don't add sauce to it, we only sprinkle it with our Saltgrass steak spice and grill it the way you want it," he says. "We didn't create that. We're making food simple, and that's just good."

After deciding college wasn't for him, Rosser left Texas A&M to work in a fine-dining kitchen. But young and unattached, he felt the call of agriculture and headed for Lubbock for a few months of farm work. Read more.


Pain Management: What's In It For Me?

Iowa State University researcher explains the economic benefits,
including market access, of providing pain management.

0612hn_isbcwOnly one out of five veterinarians reported routine analgesic (pain management) use at castration, though admittedly, there are no analgesics labeled for cattle in the United States, says Hans Coetzee. The Iowa State University professor explained some of the economic benefits and research methods of providing pain management to cattle during castration to participants of the 2012 International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare, which was June 5-7 in Saskatoon, SK.

While there is no analgesic labeled for use in cattle in the United States, other drugs may be used extra labelly, provided adherance to the guidelines in the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act is maintained. Granted, establishing meat and milk withdrawal periods is especially challenging. Oral meloxycam is the only approved medication and also the only version of meloxycam allowed in the United States.

By using oral meloxycam for pain management, producers can reap economic benefits by gaining access to more markets (like the European Union). Read more.


Angus Calendar

To view the Angus Calendar, a complete list of Angus sales, click here.




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