Featured Post

Dr. Jamie Courter is your Mizzou Beef Genetics Extension Specialist

Image
By Jared E. Decker Many of you have probably noticed that things have been a lot less active on the A Steak in Genomics™   blog, but you probably haven't known why. In January 2021, I was named the Wurdack Chair in Animal Genomics at Mizzou, and I now focus on research, with a little bit of teaching. I no longer have an extension appointment. But, with exciting news, the blog is about to become a lot more active! Jamie Courter began as the new MU Extension state beef genetics specialist in the Division of Animal Sciences on September 1, 2023. I have known Jamie for several years, meeting her at BIF when she was a Masters student. I have been impressed by Jamie in my interactions with her since that time.  Dr. Courter and I have been working closely together the last 6 weeks, and I am excited to work together to serve the beef industry for years to come! Jamie holds a bachelor’s degree in animal science from North Carolina State University and earned a master's degree in animal...
1 comment

BIF 2018: Focus on Quality

Mark McCully
Vice President, Certified Angus Beef LLC

Within Certified Angus Beef they market over 1 billion pounds of beef and certify over 5 million cattle.

Quality can have a broad definition. For this talk, McCully will focus on Quality Grade (marbling).
Consumer satisfaction improves with high marbling. Beef with a Prime Quality Grade has a nearly 100% consumer satisfaction.
We have improved tenderness in the industry through multiple avenues (genetics, management, beef handling, beef cutting and processing). Because of improvement in tenderness, McCully feels marbling becomes even more important.

The percent of cattle that are grading Choice and Prime has increased over the past 10 years. For a long time we were increasing carcass weight with little change in quality grade. In the last ten years, we have seen a significant improvement in quality grades.

We have increased the amount of Prime beef pounds by 92.8%. We have increased Premium Choice by 72%. Select quality grades have decreased by 40%.
Percent of boxed beef sales have increased from 10% of sales to 20%.

The spread between Select and Choice is $10. The spread between Choice and Branded is $5.50. The spread between branded and CAB is $6. The spread between CAB and Prime is nearly $20. Even though there has been a 21% increase in tonnage of Choice and Prime, the spread between grades has stayed consistent. This likely reflects the strong demand for quality beef.

Yield Grade 4 and 5 discounts have decreased over time, allowing feeders to more aggressively chase Quality Grades.

Five Rivers looked at performance differences between low grading and high grading cattle. There is no difference in average daily gain, feed to gain ratio, and cost of gain. We can increase the quality of our product without sacrificing efficiency.

Is marbling a free trait? Are there unfavorable genetic correlations for other traits, including maternal traits? Right now the data says there are not unfavorable correlations and we can improve marbling without harming other traits.

Bigger supplies are allowing customer access. This is allowing retailers to promote quality beef in their advertisements. Further, ground beef is no longer quality grade neutral. Retailers are marking Prime Grade ground beef.

We have added value to the beef carcass. We have identified new ways to fabricate a carcass. More of the carcass is being marketed as a steak item, rather than a roast. This means there is increased value of marbling beyond the middle meats.

As we look at export opportunities, quality grades will be a driver of demand.

What are our industry targets?
What should they be?

NBQA 2016 Targets 2018 Year to Date Should be our goal?
% Prime 5 7.6 15
% Upper 2/3 Choice 35 23.3 45
% Low Choice 35 48.1 30
% Select 25 17.6 10


Comments

kaildada said…
With most slots featuring a Return to Player of 92-96%, any games with a Return to Player above 96% is a good choice. In terms of win-size, progressive slots are the slot machines that pay the most effective 1xbet – but they are also the ones with the bottom successful odds. On average, progressive slots feature the bottom RTPs in playing so do not have|you do not have} great successful odds.
November 9, 2022 at 5:02 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Show-Me-Select Board Approves Genomic Testing Requirement for Natural Service Sires

Image
All bulls purchased after February 1st, 2019 for use as natural service sires in the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program ™  must be DNA tested to have genomic-enhanced EPDs. All bulls used as natural service sires after February 1st, 2020 must have genomic-enhanced EPDs, regardless of when they were purchased. Seedstock producers classifying bulls as Show-Me-Select qualified in sale books must have genomic-enhanced EPDs on those lots. Bulls purchased prior to February 1st, 2019 will be grandfathered into the program, as is the common practice with all natural service sires. However, this grandfather grace period will end February 1st, 2020. At that time for a bull to qualify for use in the program, it must have genomic-enhanced EPDs. Why the change? The Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program has the goal of producing premium heifers that perform predictably as 2 year olds. The program has a history of requiring Show-Me-Select producers to go beyond typical...
Read more

New Show-Me-Select Sire EPD Requirements Announced

Image
At the January 4th Show-Me-Select Board of Directors meeting, new service sire EPD requirements were approved. All sires, artificial insemination and natural service, must meet minimum Calving Ease Direct (CED) EPD requirements. In addition to yearly updates, two changes were made. First, no Birth Weight EPD requirement will be published. All commonly used breeds now have CED EPDs available. Second, all breeds in the International Genetic Solutions (IGS) genetic evaluation are now set to a common requirement. In the summer of 2018, breeds within the International Genetic Solutions switched to a single-step BOLT multi-breed genetic evaluation. The EPDs for animals in the IGS genetic evaluation are directly comparable across breeds. In 2017, the Red Angus requirement for CED was a CED of 8, which represents the 30th percentile. Less than 5% percent of heifers breed to a bull with a CED EPD of 8 or larger had calving difficulty. We feel that this require is meeting the need to re...
Read more

Bob Hough Comments on Changes at Breed Associations

Bob Hough recently posted the following comment on Facebook (posted with his permission): Early in my career at a breed association, the much beloved American Angus breed executive told me that the secret to success running a breed association was to have a top junior program, keep the books straight, and make sure the numbers (EPDs) don't change. This philosophy meant Angus valued stability in their genetic predictions over keeping them up-to-date with the latest science. The Angus Association also marketed extremely effectively the infallibility of their EPDs because of the size of their database. I will start with the later. Yes, a database needs certain critical mass to make sure the animals are tied, but that can be achieved in a modest size database. After that, data quality far and away outweighs data quantity in assuring the most precise and reliable EPDs possible. On the former point, Angus breeders are simply not use to change. This is not the case in most breed associ...
Read more