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Let the CAB Cattle Crew keep you up to date on what’s happening in the beef community. We’ll share industry insights to help you maximize your profit potential.
Latest headlines
Pandemic underscores beef demand trends
Retail beef sales during the pandemic displaced much of the trade usually enjoyed by foodservice. Grocery stores and restaurants around the world had their business plans radically changed in just a few days, but the demand for beef remained.
Where premiums are earned
As quality continues to trend up and more cattle qualify for the brand, the CAB/Choice spread may gain ground on the old Choice/Select metric as an industry standard. Along the way, the brand will keep working with all partners from pasture to plate, adding value to every cut and premiums for Angus cattlemen.
Buy better
The subject of herd improvement is more nuanced than, “Buy better bulls.” Yet, that’s a pretty foundational place start. This Black Ink column explores the idea of buying better.
Adding up pennies
You get paid by the pound for your cattle, but the total figures in much more than weight. Join the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand on March 11 to find out why a premium carcass is worth more, and how those signals get back to you.
Playing to win: Grid marketing opens door to premiums
Producers can target cow herd genetics toward the factors driving value in the supply chain. Backfat and marbling have differing value implications at the packing plant and can be selected in different directions in the herd. Understanding grid marketing opens more opportunity for big wins.
CAB launches #RestaurantChallenge
Data from the National Restaurant Association shows 1 in 6 restaurants have already closed and the next few months are critical for those continuing to operate. To inspire and build support for this key pillar of the high-quality beef market, the brand launched #RestaurantChallenge.
Black Ink
Buy better
The subject of herd improvement is more nuanced than, “Buy better bulls.” Yet, that’s a pretty foundational place start. This Black Ink column explores the idea of buying better.
Old lessons, new challenges
I’ve been reading accounts from the Dirty Thirties lately and I don’t know if I’m drawn in to the unimaginable awfulness of it all, or the amazing hope. Our Greatest Generation that lived through things I can hardly comprehend. In it, there are things we can apply today.
Videos: Industry Updates
A focus on the cow and the carcass can coexist
April 6, 2021
Matt Perrier, Dalebanks Angus Ranch, talks about his focus on maternal traits that fits marbling into the equation.
Room for growth
CAB brand basics
Convey genetic potential, reap rewards
Cattle Crew Views
Not perfect, but working to get better
The CAB Cattleman Connection team heard its name called more than once in the virtual ceremonies, and each time came a sense of personal accomplishment, but even better: confirmation that we’re getting better at our craft. I hope that means we’re doing a better job for you.
Beefed up findings
Frank Mitloehner presents his findings on the animal ag sector’s impact on global warming. He explains how cattle counterbalance other fossil fuel sectors, proving that cattle are a solution and not a threat.
This too shall pass
There are no words that will take away the devastating slap of a market drop, the pain of a postponed bull sale or the exhausting frustration that things feel out of control. The page will eventually turn and the world will still need great beef and those who raise it.
Speaking of meat
CAB chefs and meat scientists are so good at sharing their know-how that a whole range of listeners will sign on from city streets to ranch sand hills and beyond. Now find their expertise in their new podcast “Meat Speak”.
CAB Insider
Looking ahead to marketing spring calves
The shift away from larger availability of yearlings to the new crop of spring 2020 calf-fed cattle is beginning. This is the early stage of this seasonal trend, with more to come as April progresses.
Largest Q1 Prime carcass production rewarded
Demand for quality is good, based on elevated quality premiums in the past year. The advantage will potentially be back in the hands of feeders with genetically higher-marbling cattle, rather than cattle that must be highly managed through the feeding regimen to reach the premium grades and CAB.
CAB carcass supplies set weekly records
The Choice/Select spread and CAB/Choice spreads narrowed in last week’s trade as ribeye and strip loin prices fell. Higher than normal first-quarter middle meat prices were responsible for some of the wider quality price spreads since the first of the year.
Quality carcass spreads turn up early
So far in 2021, Choice carcasses are at a higher premium to Select than in any of the previous five years. This is important, not because Choice carcasses are the production target, but because the producer’s share of the Choice premium is the foundation on which CAB and Prime premiums are added.
Read More Stories for Success
We do the information gathering so you don’t miss a beat at home. Stories of those who aim for quality and have hit their target, but keep aiming to get even better.
