Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA

Humane Standards and GAP Certification for Beef Products

Options for the different process-verification programs listed.

Today there are a growing number of premium-based markets for cattle, including natural, grass-fed and organic. Most specify that the animals be raised humanely. Many consumers are interested in where their meat, milk and eggs originate and how the animals were tended. They want certification assuring that the animals had good quality of life.

Understand the implications and consequences of alternatives that are being considered.

COVID-19 has caused unparalleled and catastrophic effects on cattle and beef markets along with every other part of the economy. Cattle and beef markets are experiencing challenges resulting in price changes and market behavior that are unprecedented and confusing to many. The anger and frustration of some cattle producers has turned to accusations and proposals for change that will have long-term implications and unintended consequences for the cattle and beef industry.

Has COVID-19 affected price-weight relationships and value of gain?

In the beginning of COVID-19, much of the attention was focused on managing the redirection of meat product from foodservice to retail stores. This past month has been focused on packing plant closures due to COVID-19 cases among workers and how to manage the supply of fat cattle already ready for slaughter. Fat cattle available for slaughter either cannot get bids or bids are significantly below breakeven prices, leaving feedyards with decisions to be made about marketing and placements.

Considerations offered for those direct-marketing grass-finished beef.

There are many marketing opportunities today in the beef business, including various branded programs that pay premiums for cattle raised or fed a certain way. One of these options is grass-fed or grass-finished beef.

Coronavirus-related cattle industry losses estimated at $13.6 billion.

A recent study estimates cattle industry losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic will reach $13.6 billion. The study was commissioned by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and conducted by a team of industry-leading agricultural economists led by Derrell Peel, Breedlove Professor of Agribusiness and Extension livestock marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University, to assist USDA in determining how best to allocate Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act relief funds to cattle producers.

The Link

Asking for a friend.

Corn planting is off and running in Northwest Missouri. It has been a bit wet, but some warm days and wind have helped dry out fields. Farmers who pulled anhydrous last fall have their planters out. Producers in our area are staying true to their original planting decisions at the current time. Many of those same fall-calving producers are reluctant to sell their feeder calves in the current market. Looking for additional grass in our area is like a scavenger hunt. The local stockyards have not had an abundance of calves to sell either.

Producers across the country are being cautious, as well, when it comes to their feeder-calf marketing plans. However, producers who utilize value-added programs have not been slowing down much.

Consumer insights say beef is doing well at staying at the center of the plate.

Cattlemen respond to consumer demands, even as they evolve from the call for premium quality to transparent production practices. We know that, thanks to ongoing work from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). Rick Husted, NCBA vice president of strategic planning and market research, presented insights and perceptions derived from 2019 Consumer Beef Tracker data at the 2020 Midwest American Society of Animal Science meeting in Omaha, Neb. Overall, beef is doing well.