Thought Leaders Headline Convention
Game changers met at Angus Convention.
“When the time to perform arrives, the time to prepare has passed.”
The 2016 Angus Convention wrapped up a month ago, yet that quote from keynote speaker Howard Putnam, former Southwest Airlines CEO, stays with those who heard it.
They may think back to opening remarks by American Angus Association CEO Allen Moczygemba, who invoked George Grant’s bringing the first three Angus bulls to Kansas in 1873. A century later, he noted, a visionary few started the Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand from an Ohio garage office.
“The consumer dollar gets the demand started,” he said, “and it comes all the way to the price for your bulls today. We owe a lot to our industry leaders making the right decisions at the right time.”
People at the convention also heard from Evolving Ourselves author and futurist Juan Enriquez, on such game changers as Uber, the taxi alternative that grew from concept to a $68 billion company in 10 years and stands at the threshold of putting driverless cars and trucks into service.
They heard from Australian geneticist Ben Hayes on the impact of using DNA genomics in the cattle business, which in the last decade has shortened the time it takes for a proven bull to put a proven son into service from seven years to just two.
Perhaps Howard Putnam’s one-liner sums up the main reason more than 2,000 attendees came to the educational event in Indianapolis: To learn, to prepare. To make sure we’re on the cutting edge.
Looking at the cattle prices in November, it rang all too true.
Putnam shared wisdom that could be applied to any area of life, including your cattle business.
“When the time to perform arrives, the time to prepare has passed.”
Two years ago, much of the advice you heard said, “Take advantage of high prices to set your herd up for success in leaner times.”
High prices diluted the premiums. When all cattle were worth more, the extra you got for quality grade was less of the total paycheck, but now?
That time of differentiation is here. One November week, the 5-area weighted USDA average reported premiums and discounts showed a $10-per-hundredweight (cwt.) high for Certified Angus Beef® (CAB®) brand premium. That’s like a tenth of your total payout when prices are hovering around $100 per cwt., as they were during the Convention. Average USDA-reported grid premiums for the brand have never been higher.
At the same time, all cattle have improved. In 1997, 54% of cattle graded Choice and Prime. Today, that tally is 76% or more. When the average continues to rise, you have to improve or you’ll be left behind.
“When the time to perform arrives, the time to prepare has passed.”
If you haven’t paid attention to carcass traits, it’s not too late, but keep in mind you’re playing catch up. Fortunately, and thanks to on-target decisions by those who are blazing new trails, catching up is certainly possible.
Bridgewater, Iowa, Angus breeder Dave Nichols addressed his cohorts, dismissing the alternative channels that say marbling is not important unless you finish your calves out.
“Everybody feeds them out,” I tell our customers, “and somebody ends up eating them. If any of you think that you can make this work and you aren’t selling bulls that will gain and grade and produce Certified Angus Beef, you’re going to be in for a big disappointment.”
That brings up another of Putnam’s zingers: “Some play the game, others change the way the game is played.” Today’s cattle business isn’t what it was a few decades ago. Have you updated your game plan?
For news from the Angus Convention, visit the Convention Newsroom at www.angus.media/news/Angus-Convention.
Editor’s Note: Miranda Reiman is assistant director for industry information with Certified Angus Beef LLC.