The Source

New Facebook group helps expand marketing reach.

by Ginette Gottswiller, American Angus Association

Farmers and ranchers in the United States raise some of the best beef in the world. The number of pounds of the Certified Angus Beef^® (CAB^®) brand sold each year continues to grow. Meeting those specifications has definitely taken focus and hard work, but how do feedyard buyers know where those premium cattle are selling?

AngusSource^® is not only a USDA Process Verified Program (PVP), it is a marketing program. Each week an email listing the calves selling goes out to more than 800 potential buyers who have signed up to receive that communication, but we all know social media is becoming more and more popular. A new Facebook group has been created called AngusSource Marketing.

If you are a producer who has calves enrolled in AngusSource, we’d love you to post pictures of your calves along with sale information. Tag your seedstock producer and your sale barn or video company in the post, as well, so it will be shared. The sale posts will be approved and uploaded to the AngusSource Marketing page for increased exposure for calves.

Marketing is a big part of the AngusSource program. Don’t forget the AngusSource PVP now has six verifications. The base program is source and group age. A program-compliant radio frequency ID (RFID) tag is issued for each enrolled calf. Choose from any or all of the five additional verifications.

Non-Hormone Treated Cattle (NHTC) means your calves can not have been fed or administered growth hormones, such as implants.

AngusSource Never Ever 3 (AS-NE3) program calves have not been administered growth hormones, just like the NHTC verification, but also have never been fed animal fat or given antibiotics. Now, we all know a calf or two may get sick and need to be doctored. That calf should be taken care of properly, but if that specific calf receives antibiotics it must be removed from the program. The producer will be required to identify that calf differently and report it to AngusSource.

The Angus-Sired Genetic component was a requirement of our original AngusSource program, but has been moved to an option for producers to use. Angus-Sired Genetics is just what it says. All calves must be sired by a registered and properly transferred Angus bull.

Next is Calf Management (AS-CM); this program verifies the calves have been given preventative health vaccines.

Finally, Cattle Care and Handling requires producers to be Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)-certified. Producers will have an on-site review to go over their handling facilities and learn more about their management practices.

To learn more on pricing and more specifics about each of the AngusSource PVP claims, visit the FAQ section at www.angussource.com.

The AngusSource PVP is a great way to add value and make your cattle stand out in a pack. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff is excited to help you enroll your feeder calves. Give us a call at 816-383-5100 today.

Editor’s note: Ginette Gottswiller is the director of commercial programs at the American Angus Association.