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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
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.
Select beef: Who wants it?
“No man’s land.” Select seems to find itself there more these days. This article shares some examples of declining demand for the lower quality grade, and what that communicates to cattlemen.
Your cattle, data and the grid
Many cattlemen have an idea of how grid marketing works, but might still have some questions as they’re digging through carcass data. Paul Dykstra will present a free webinar, “Understanding grid marketing and carcass data,” on January 21, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. CST.
“A Rare Breed: Legacies of Excellence” launches this week
Follow along as these short video features detail registered breeders, commercial cattlemen and cattle feeders from Oregon to Texas. Get a glimpse of their family life and their cattle philosophy, and get ideas for your own operation.
Black Ink
Valued partners
There are partnerships all across the beef business, but they’re not always as clean as who will bale the hay and who is going to feed it. Some are less direct, but equally as important.
The power of the pursuit
Now that you’ve made your cow herd more uniform, better matched to your resources or producing calves that you’re sure fit the bill for the next in line, what’s next? I want you to be able to look at your cattle lined up at the feed bunk and get that feeling. They are great.
Videos: Industry Updates
CAB brand basics
February 2, 2021
Kara Lee gets back to the basic functions of the brand.
Convey genetic potential, reap rewards
Demand drivers bring opportunity
Better focus, better future
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
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.
Cold weather, grade expectations
Extreme winter conditions and temperatures well below zero have been widespread across the country impacting most of the major central cattle feeding region. History in our CAB data shows us that grade generally improves, rather than declines, during periods of extreme cold.
With more global optimism, CAB exports rise in December
When cattle prices and producer sentiment are lackluster, sometimes it’s nice to look to a bright spot in the market. At CAB, a recent snapshot of December export data provides some interesting fodder, and something to get excited about.
Carcass value shifts, a sign of the times
The large shift to retail business, accompanied with stifled restaurant and export trade, subtly show in the shifts in dollar contributions of each primal. Where customers purchased beef influenced which beef cuts outperformed or underperformed last year.
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.
