Carcass Quality
Today’s consumers are not satisfied paying higher prices for commodity beef, research shows. Instead, they have opted to trade up to premium beef products.
Feeding a calf is an investment. Consider these breed, weight, health and carcass qualities when selecting the animal to get started on the right foot and economically fill the freezer!
Amidst all the recent concerns about the economy, inflation and consumer sentiment, beef demand and pricing power has remained incredibly resilient.
Late fall holiday demand heats up the cattle market, and that’s when high-quality carcasses get extra bragging rights. Demand alone doesn’t spur prices higher, there must be a degree of supply constraint.
Texas Tech professor is working with groups from Australia and Ireland to identify the genetic qualities of high-grade beef.
Reviewing cattle placement in feedlots this year suggests that fewer fed cattle supplies expected in the fourth quarter along with much higher costs of gain will hold carcass weights below a year ago.
Fundamentals for fed cattle are steadily at odds so far this summer with very “green” fed cattle in the northern tier of the feeding region. Feeders are pushing show lists to take advantage of the summer high.
Carcass weights in the latest USDA report for the week of May 9th show a large seven pound drop for steers and 10 pounds lighter on the heifers. This suggests currentness has picked up in the fed-cattle sector.
Raising cattle to qualify for the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) brand requires a black hided animal and meeting 10 carcass specifications.
Cattle feeders have been more willing to sell finished cattle in recent weeks since corn prices have elevated the ration cost and feed conversion efficiency decreases at the end of the feeding period.
A bi-annual survey of the four largest packers showed a dramatic increase in rewards for the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand. Grid, formula and contract premiums paid on CAB carcasses in 2021 totaled $182 million.
In 2019 Certified Angus Beef reported an aggregate packer CAB premium total of $92 million. By 2021 that total was nearly double, resulting in $182 million in CAB premiums.
Seedstock and commercial cattle producers enrolled a record 756 head of Hereford and Hereford-influenced steers in the American Hereford Association’s (AHA) 2022 feedout programs.
Fed cattle markets have seen challenges in January. The Omicron variant is pressuring packing plant efficiency through increased worker absence, resulting in much smaller slaughter totals so far this month.
During the past six months, beef consumers have reinforced their preference for product at the top end of the market. Both branded and Prime products have been supported by unprecedented demand.
Incorporating Brahman genetics into cattle herds amid changing environmental temperatures in the southwest has one Texas A&M AgriLife team researching the physiological differences to enhance beef quality.
December has started off on a high note in the fed cattle sector and all of us on the cattle side of the supply chain should be made well aware of what’s ahead in 2022.
Both beef demand and Certified Angus Beef® brand acceptance rates are at all-time highs, creating a formula for record-setting improvements. Fiscal year 2021 was the brand’s second highest sales year on record.
Complete reporting by breeders is essential to Wagyu breed improvement, according to Colorado State geneticist.