Virginia

1,500-lb. Carcasses the New Normal, Not the Exception

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 17:01:26 GMT

Today the entire beef industry — from producers to processors — is economically incentivized to produce heavier animals. Ty Lawrence, West Texas A&M University animal science professor and director of the BCRC, predicts that carcass weights will continue to increase, potentially reaching 1,500 lb. in the near future.

Lawrence was a keynote speaker during the 2025 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Symposium in Amarillo last week. He says the industry has already seen harvests of cattle approaching that weight, with some producers currently feeding cattle up to 2,300 lb.

“We can feed cattle today to much bigger weights and be more profitable than you’ve ever considered,” Lawrence says.

BIF attendee and Kansas beef producer Joe Epperly from Wamego, Kan., summarizes, “The most hard-hitting comment at BIF was Lawrence’s 1,500-lb. carcass prediction by the end of his career. The implications of that to genetic selection, cost of production and cow size are far ranging. It will be a challenge for producers in every segment to meet.”

More than 400 beef producers, breed association leaders and industry professionals participated in two and a half days of educational programming focused on beef industry profitability and sustainability.

Tuesday, June 10, the event kicked off with the Young Producer Symposium. Wednesday’s general session focused on “Beef Industry Profitability: Conflicting market signals and profit drivers in the beef value chain.” Thursday’s general session theme was “Sustainability: Improving our product through selection, applications of technology and data integration.”

Wednesday and Thursday afternoon technical breakout sessions focused on a range of beef-production and genetic-improvement topics.

Bradley Wolter, a symposium attendee from Aviston, Ill., says, “Larger carcasses will be a critical part of bridging the supply gap in the near term. Identifying genetic association with late-term mortality and morbidity requires further research and coordination on the part of breeding entities.”

He says the chasm remains between exponentially larger finished carcasses that optimize fixed packer costs verses a target of smaller cows for biological optimum on the ranch.

“More collaborative, holistic data analysis with integrated research is needed to avoid industry sub-optimization and ensure competitiveness on the world stage,” Wolter summarizes.

Scott Greiner, Virginia Tech professor and Extension animal scientist, agrees with Epperly and Walter saying the message that resonated with many in attendance was the continued emphasis on increasing carcass weights by the feedlot and packing sectors, and the impact it will have at the cow-calf sector as it relates to cow size and production costs.

“This trend is not new, but I think the way things were conveyed by several speakers in terms of the economics and market signals, sure seems like bigger is what will continue to be a primary emphasis,” Greiner says.

Ken Odde, 2025/26 BIF vice president from South Dakota, says: “Two of the real questions about feeding cattle this long [to 1500-lb carcass weight] is what happens to the carcass traits as you do that? What happens to feed efficiency?”

One of the sessions that stood out to Odde during the symposium was a presentation on a project at South Dakota State University in the Advancements in End Product Improvement breakout session — “Extended days on feed: Influences on growth performance, efficiency and carcass characteristics of steers and heifers of different proportions of Angus and Limousin genetics.”

Is the U.S. Behind?

“From conversations in the hallway, I learned that the U.S. beef industry is behind on methane research, and if we are going to compete in the global marketplace, we need to get a move on,” Epperly says. “Australian Angus will release a methane research EPD in 2025, and we have barely enough data in the U.S. to see differences. That Australian data includes a lot of American bulls, so we will have data whether some American breeders like it or not. The optics for some are unfavorable, but whatever we can do to keep the doors open for our product the better off we will be.”

Likewise, symposium speakers referenced the Brazilian beef industry and how it is poised for continued success and rapid growth given its bountiful resources, not the least of which is its people.

“You see it not only in its scaled adoption of AI, but through the numerous young geneticists who make up the audience,” Walter says. “The U.S. industry needs to continue to invest in its genetic improvement through both public and private partnerships to maintain a position of world leadership.”

Young Producer Focus

“The Young Producer Symposium opened with a message about ‘Standing on the shoulders of giants,’” says Elizabeth Dressler, a graduate student who attended the symposium. “This resonated with me as I thought about all the research and progress the beef industry has made over the years. I thought it was a great way to open the conference by paying respect to the work that has been done in the past, as we look into the future the rest of the conference.”

Wolter adds there’s an excitement among young people in the beef industry.

“These young leaders are creatively engaged with our consumers unlike the previous generation,” he says. “I believe that will only create more demand and opportunities for an industry despite some questions and uncertainties with how cattle interact with their environment.”

Hay Donated by Illinois Farmer Makes its Way to North Carolina

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 17:34:16 GMT

Through a generous donation from an Illinois farmer, trucks full of round bale alfalfa hay have been making a 700-mile trip to North Carolina to provide relief for farmers and ranchers affected by Hurricane Helene. Midwest Food Bank (MFB), founded in 2003 on the Kieser family farm in rural McLean County, Ill., is coordinating the transportation efforts.

CEO Eric Hodel says MFB has always been involved in disaster relief and typically provides food, water, supplies and family food boxes when the need arises. A hay donation wasn’t something he was expecting, but MFB got right to work making sure it could be put to good use.

“I was working on our family farm earlier this fall and received a call from a neighbor who had seen the loss people in the Southeast were experiencing and wanted to donate about 600 bales of hay to the people affected by the storm,” Hodel says.

MFB reached out to the North Carolina Farm Bureau and North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association to find out how best to put the donation to use.

“We quickly learned that this donation was going to be a huge blessing to those farmers and ranchers who have lost all of their hay and forage for the year,” Hodel says.

MFB had a donor and a place to take the hay; now, they needed to figure out the logistics.

“That’s a little bit of our operating mode — saying yes, then figuring it out from there,” Hodel says.

MFB currently distributes nearly $500 million worth of food to more than 2,400 non-profit organizations in 12 locations in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, New England, Haiti and East Africa, and has its own fleet of trucks. However, it doesn’t have flatbed trailers to haul hay. Through phone calls to area farmers and businesses, they were able to identify trailers and volunteers who were willing to deliver the hay.

“We’re hauling 17 bales at a time and should be right around halfway done at Thanksgiving,” Hodel says. “I just knew the first load was the key load to get there because we would learn a lot.”

Volunteers have been helping secure hay loads and make the 700-mile trip to North Carolina.

(Midwest Food Bank)

The combined efforts have been making a difference.

“It’s a ripple effect of everybody doing their part to help,” Hodel says. “From the person that donated the hay to some neighbors that are helping with loading of the hay and making sure that it gets strapped down correctly, and our local grain elevator allowing us to use its facility to park our trailers once we get them loaded, it’s been a group effort. We have also had donations for the fuel it takes to make these trips.”

Each truckload of hay costs approximately $1,500 in fuel. Donations for fuel costs can be made at midwestfoodbank.org/relief .

The WNC Livestock Exchange (WNCLE), located in Canton, N.C., has been at the center of receiving hay and other donations for those affected in western North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Stockyard manager Dan Messer has been working with MFB.

“Almost immediately after the hurricane, calls to help and loads of hay and supplies were coming in,” Messer says. “It was all unsolicited. The donations just started coming.”

WNCLE has been at the center for getting hay, feed, fencing and even human supplies out.

“This help has been huge because we lost probably six weeks of the fall grazing in places due to silt, landslides, flooding and downed trees,” Messer says. “A lot of times we can graze clear up to Thanksgiving or after on stockpiled grass, and having lost that the end of September, people are having to start feeding hay or sell out.”

A farmer in North Carolina receives a load of hay delivered by Midwest Food Bank.

(Midwest Food Bank)

Messer says as an auction yard, it’s important to keep people in the cattle business.

“We’re trying to get help to as many as we can,” he says. “Getting them feed, fencing supplies and hay to help them stay in business is our goal.”

Your next read: When Can Producers Start Grazing Wheat Pasture?

Blue Cedar Beef Named Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award Winners

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 20:05:46 GMT

Brendan and Elaine Martin, owners of Martin Angus and Blue Cedar Beef, Mt. Solon, Virginia, were recognized with the 2022 Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award at Farm Journal’s Top Producer Summit in Nashville.

Sponsored by Pioneer, the Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award recognizes a producer under the age of 35 who demonstrates excellence in the business of farming. This includes marketing, farm finance and technology as well as family and employee relations. Applications are received from young farmers across the country and judged by a panel of industry experts.

Growing up in the Shenandoah Valley, Brendan began building equity and his farming dream through heifers, custom hay bailing and hard work. His reputation attracted the attention of a neighbor who was looking to slow down. The neighbor wanted a young, energetic farmer to purchase his cow herd and lease his 280-acre farm. Brendan stepped up to the plate.

Today the Martin’s operation is diversified and multi-faceted. They raise corn, alfalfa, small grains and hay, and their cattle operation includes a registered Angus and commercial Angus herd, 210 fed cattle and 1,030 feeder calves. In the past couple of years, they have invested in their cattle facilities to increase cow comfort and feeding efficiency. In 2019, the Martins added Blue Cedar Beef, a direct-to-consumer beef business. They ship beef all over the nation every week of the year. They also do custom mowing and litter spreading and recently added a trucking business. Their team includes two full-time and two part-time employees.

Brendan also owns a large animal mobile veterinary practice, Valley Herd Health. Elaine specializes in record keeping, payroll and financial management for the farm as well as keeping a close eye on the cattle herd. As the Martins look toward the future, their goal is not to have the most cows or acres. They are motivated by their return on investment and creating generational impact in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

As part of the award and for demonstrating excellence in farming, the Martins receive mentoring sessions from Kristjan Hebert, the 2020 Top Producer of the Year and a DJI Phantom 4 Drone, courtesy of Corteva.

Top Producer Summit was Feb. 14-16 in Nashville, Tennessee. In conjunction, Trust In Food , a Farm Journal initiative, hosted its annual Trust In Food Symposium . In both formats, the event provided nearly 1,000 attendees from the United States and Canada with more than 40 educational sessions to boost their money, marketing and management skills.

Presenting sponsors of Top Producer Summit included BASF, Beck’s Hybrids, Case IH, Pioneer and Rabo AgriFinance. Supporting sponsors included Belchim, Channel, CLA, Corteva, EnviroKure, IOM Grain, LLC, Kcoe Isom, Lincoln Financial Network, National Corn Growers Association, New Holland and Pivot Bio. Learn more about Top Producer Summit at TPSummit.com .

Plastic Found in Ground Beef Forces JBS to Recall 35,000 lb. of Meat

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 02:24:25 GMT

JBS USA has recalled approximately 35,464 lb. of raw ground beef following the finding of hard plastic in contaminated beef. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) made the announcement on May 2 following the discovery.

The ground beef was produced at the JBS USA case ready fresh meat processing facility in Lenoir, NC, on March 22.

JBS was made aware of the problem following the complaint of a consumer who found pieces of hard, blue colored plastic in some ground beef.

Products included in the recall were primarily Kroger branded products along with All Natural Laura’s Lean Beef and some Angus branded products.

The beef in the recall bears the establishment number “EST. 34176” inside the USDA mark of inspection. Beef was shipped from distribution centers in Virginia and Indiana.

No other problems have been reported and there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions from eating the products.

However, FSIS is concerned that possibly contaminated ground beef might have been frozen after purchase. If any products bear the following labels it should be thrown out or returned to the store it was purchased at:

3-lb. tray packages containing “Kroger GROUND BEEF 73% LEAN - 27% FAT” with product code 95051, UPC: 011110975645, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
1-lb. tray packages containing “Kroger GROUND BEEF 80% LEAN - 20% FAT” with product code 95052, UPC: 011110969729, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
3-lb. tray packages containing “Kroger GROUND BEEF 80% LEAN – 20% FAT” with product code 95053, UPC of 011110969705, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
1-lb. tray packages containing “PRIVATE SELECTION ANGUS BEEF 80% LEAN - 20% FAT GROUND CHUCK” with product code 95054, UPC: 011110971395, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
1-lb. tray packages containing “Kroger GROUND BEEF 85% LEAN – 15% FAT” with product code 95055, UPC: 011110969682, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
1-lb. tray packages containing “Kroger GROUND SIRLOIN 90% LEAN – 10% FAT GROUND BEEF” and product code 95056, UPC: 011110975638, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
1-lb. tray packages containing “ALL NATURAL LAURA’S LEAN BEEF 92% LEAN 8% FAT GROUND BEEF” with product code 95057, UPC: 612669316714, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
1-lb. tray packages containing “ALL NATURAL LAURA’S LEAN BEEF 96% LEAN 4% FAT GROUND BEEF” with product code 95058, UPC: 612669317063, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
1-lb. tray packages containing “PRIVATE SELECTION ANGUS BEEF 90% LEAN – 10% FAT GROUND SIRLOIN” with product code 95063, UPC: 011110969637 and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
1-lb. tray packages containing “Kroger GROUND BEEF 93% LEAN – 7% FAT” with product code 95064, UPC: 01111096920, and a Sell By date of 4/9/2018.
15-lb. cases containing “JBS Ground Beef Angus Chuck 80% Lean 20% Fat Service Case” with Case UPC: 0040404800632 and a “Sell By: 9.APRIL.”
15-lb. cases containing “Ground Beef Angus Sirloin 90% Lean 10% Fat Service Case” Case UPC: 0040404800634, and a “Sell By: 9.APRIL.”

The recall is being categorized as a “Class II” recall by FSIS meaning it poses a health hazard with remote probability of adverse health consequences should the product be consumed.