Game changers met at Angus Convention
“When the time to perform arrives, the time to prepare has passed.”
The National Angus Convention wrapped up over a week ago yet that quote from speaker Howard Putnam, former Southwest Airlines CEO, sticks in my head.
Perhaps that one-liner could sum up the reason more than 2,000 attendees came to the educational event. To learn, to prepare. To make sure we’re on the cutting edge.
But looking at the cattle prices as of late, perhaps it rings all too true.
“When the time to perform arrives, the time to prepare has passed.”
Two years ago we were telling you to take advantage of high prices to set your herd up for success in leaner times.
High prices diluted the premiums. When all cattle were worth more, the extra you got for quality grade was less of the total paycheck, but now?
That time of differentiation is here. Just last week the 5-area weighted USDA average reported premiums and discounts showed a $10 high for the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand premium. That’s like a tenth of your total payout when prices are hovering around $100/cwt. Average USDA-reported grid premiums for the brand have never been higher.
At the same time, all cattle have improved. In 1997, 54% of cattle graded Choice and Prime. Today, that tally is 76%. When the average continues to rise, you have to improve or you’ll be left behind.
“When the time to perform arrives, the time to prepare has passed.”
If you haven’t paid any attention to end-product traits, it’s not too late, but you’ll be playing catch up.
Several underscored the importance of keeping an eye on the consumer, but Iowa Angus breeder Dave Nichols might have summed it up best when addressing his cohorts.
He recalled what experts tell his customers, “If you don’t feed out your own calves, then don’t pay any attention to marbling. Don’t pay any attention to carcass, because you’re selling your calves at weaning and you’re not getting paid anything for them.’’
He counters, “That’s not true. I say to our bull buyers, ‘Everybody feeds them out, and somebody ends up eating them. By golly, everything is worth weight times the money, and so we breed our cattle as if we were going to retain ownership on them and end up eating them.’
“If any of you think that you can make this work and you aren’t selling bulls that will gain and grade and produce Certified Angus Beef®, you’re going to be in for a big disappointment.”
That brings me to another one of Putnam’s zingers: “Some play the game, others change the way the game is played.”
Today’s cattle business isn’t what it was a few decades ago. Have you updated your game plan?
May your bottom line be filled with black ink,
Miranda
PS–In the coming weeks, we’ll share more highlights. In the meantime, check out Team Angus coverage at www.angus.media.
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