The Link
How to build a feeder-calf marketing plan.
Marketing your Angus-sired feeder calves to their fullest potential isn’t easy. Market changes can be hard to predict. Value-added programs can help ease that volatility. Buyers, feedyards and packers know the Angus name, and the value Angus calves bring to the table is unrivaled. In 2020, the American Angus Association will be streamlining commercial programs for improved efficiency and clarity. The result? AngusLinkSM is the merging of the long-established AngusSource® Process Verified Programs (PVPs) and the AngusLink feeder-cattle program launched last year.
Commercial producers who have used AngusSource have benefited from the documented information that flows to potential buyers. The increase in bidders at the recent AngusSource-AngusLink Oklahoma Feeder Calf Sale was noticed by the calves’ owners.
The American Angus Association has unrivaled customer service, exclusive beef focus and marketing support that provides commercial cattlemen an unmatched market advantage. The commercial program staff looks forward to working with commercial cattlemen each and every day.
Combining the power of the Association’s verification programs with the Angus database will position AngusLink as the flagship commercial program. AngusLink will offer a full suite of PVPs, including Age & Source, Angus-Sired Genetics (ASG), Non-Hormone Treated Cattle (NHTC), Never-Ever 3 (NE3), Cattle Care and Handling, and Calf Management.
In addition, optional Genetic Merit Scoring is available, but is not part of the PVP suite of programs. AngusLink-enrolled cattle will be promoted through the listing service once producers provide information to complete the Marketing Document. Providing value-added marketing programs and cost-effective verification services to commercial partners further supports the power of Angus-influenced feeder cattle in today’s marketplace.
The American Angus Association has unrivaled customer service, exclusive beef focus and marketing support that provides commercial cattlemen an unmatched market advantage. The commercial program staff looks forward to working with commercial cattlemen each and every day.
Cattle producers who invest in top-notch Angus genetics will have an outlet to communicate added value and to receive a return on their investment through AngusLink’s Angus-Sired Genetic component. By utilizing the Genetic Merit Scorecard, their feeding and grading potential can then be marketed to cattle feeders. In turn, feeders can communicate that potential to packers who are looking to source high-quality cattle predisposed to perform on the rail.
“I’ve encouraged our customers to use the Angus Association commercial programs from the very beginning, not only because of source verification, but also genetic verification,” says Art Butler, owner of Spring Cove Ranch in Bliss, Idaho. “Now many feeders want Angus-sired cattle. That makes them bring considerable premiums, anywhere from $5 to $30 and even up to $50 more per hundredweight on sale day.”
Butler also has the perspective of being a Western Video Market sales representative.
“So, more than anything, it gets me out to a bull buyer and talk to them about where they’re headed and what they need,” Butler says. “I was a promoter of Angus as a breeder and doing the Angus Association commercial programs before I became a rep, but now it also keeps me in tune with the industry. It’s full circle for me. Angus cattle have the best end product, and AngusLink will verify that.”
Butler also says that producers can continue to improve end-product merit if they are studious about it.
“At the end of the day, it’s not just selling a bull on sale day,” Butler says. “AngusLink gives producers an outlet to work with their bull-buying customers to improve their cattle, and ultimately, the end product for the consumers down the chain.”
For Spring Cove, one of those customers is Donna Nelson, owner of Ruby Ranch in Jordan Valley, Ore. She’s been enrolling cattle in AngusSource for more than 10 years.
“If I have questions about the bulls we buy from Art Butler or need input, we call him, and he helps us so much,” Nelson says. “Using Angus commercial programs has opened up some markets for us. Buyers are always coming back looking for Angus commercial programs-enrolled cattle.”
The added value also extends to sale time for Ruby Ranch.
“I can tell our calves are some of the higher selling at Superior,” Nelson says. “I would encourage anyone thinking about enrolling their cattle to do it. It’s so easy to work with Angus. They’ve always bent over backward to help, and the program in itself is very helpful. It helps with a market for our calves, and you definitely see a return in the long run.”
Editor’s note: Ginette Gottswiller is the director of commercial programs for the American Angus Association.
