May 4, 2021 | Vol. 14 : No. 4
Consumer concerns about a sustainable food system have not waned during the pandemic. In fact, sustainability is even more important now than a year ago, according to a new consumer poll by C.O.nxt. What’s more, the definition of sustainability continues to broaden to include social concerns, as well as environmental effects.
I’m not a cynic. In fact, I pride myself in being a full-blown optimist. My mom used to tell us that the pessimists were usually right, but it is the optimists that end up changing the world. So, it is against my nature to share the following statement: It is increasingly difficult to succeed in the cattle business.
The Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner. brand managed by National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, launched a new beef campaign highlighting real beef farmers and ranchers. Consumers will be invited to learn more about how cattle farmers and ranchers around the country are employing sustainable practices to care for the land and produce high-quality beef.
Consumers overwhelmingly chose ground beef over plant-based beef alternatives in a multifaceted study, report Kansas State University (K-State) researchers. Ground beef — offered with 10%, 20% and 30% fat — was strongly preferred for taste and flavor over plant-based alternatives, and less than one-third of the respondents say they would buy the plant-based alternatives in the store or retail settings, according to K-State meat scientist Travis O’Quinn.
After languishing for weeks at about $114 per hundredweight (cwt.), the fed-cattle market has sprung to life. Fed-cattle prices hit $123-124 per cwt. in more Northern regions and closed the week at $121 per cwt. in the Southern Plains. From 2015-2019 the seasonal price increase has been about $6 per cwt., or 4.3%. Prices dipped as low as $109 per cwt. in late January, making this seasonal run larger than normal, so far.
Some producers think there should be a guaranteed premium for the time it takes to enroll in a program like AngusLinkSM. However, as was the case at the 2021 Road to the Horse competition, not every competitor gets a trophy or a premium. The secret to winning, says 2021 Champion Wade Black: “Just don’t quit. Everything is hard before it’s easy.”
Americans are buying more beef, pork, poultry and lamb than ever as increased time at home during the pandemic sent meat grocery sales soaring by 20%, according to IRI, from 2019 to 2020.
