BEEF IN THE FUTURE

[ValueChainFX]

How many of you in the industry are looking for new ways to build your beef business. I mean your personal business, not the industry. What are you doing and what are the road blocks you are running into?

What does the future hold for you?

[rookie]

Interesting questions. Personally I am trying to predict the future ( grin) . As a younger business person, I stand at the proverbial cross roads. Should I stay and see how things will unfold in an ever chaning ag sector, or should I cash in the chips and walk awy with many good years left and start a new career. I continue to increase efficiency and inject big doses of " keeping it fun " , but that is increasingly harder to do. I am somtimes not so sure about this business. If money were no object... that would be a different story of course. For now, its proactive approachs, and keep a good attitude. Well, thats my two cents. you all have a good day.

[TJM]

Actually I would like to reply to the bigger picture, the industry as a whole. We, as producers, need to concentrate on producing the most consistant product available. By this, I don't mean sides of beef that all weigh the same and grade identical. That, however remotelly impossible, would be ideal from the consumers end of the spectrum. But that isn't what I am after. We as an industry, need to ensure that every lb. of beef sold, whether it is ground, round or a fillet, is a pleasurable eating experience for the consumer. If it isn't, then we have potentially lost that consumer. Not really, but it takes a while for "wounds to heal".
How do we go about this monumental task? I'm not sure, but if you look at the hog and chicken industry's, they have gone from many different breeds some 30 years ago, down to ( don't quote me ) maybe 5 to 6 that cross well with each other. They use nucleus herds (the purebred guys) who supply stock to multipliers ( the cow calf guys) who supply F1 females that can be crossed with a terminal sire breed and all offspring are fed out to slaughter.
We need more cow herds that are consistently F1 cows. You pick the cow breed make up, it doesn't matter as long as they are only made up of a simple A x B cross. Now this herd has some consistency in genetic make up, should likely be one basic color pattern and will be easier to manage as far as feed goes because they are similar frame and " doing ability ". Breed this whole herd to terminal cross breed, just one breed. The steer calves will be like peas in a pod. They will command a premium price and sell in large drafts. The rancher is pleased as is the auction barn and the feedlot. I know it will be tempting to breed those heifers, but don't. Sell them the same as the steers. Everything produced from this herd should be fattened.
Now the next question is, where do you get the replacement females to keep this herd going. Some where, ( in the perfect world ) there will be herd that has all Purebred cows being bred to a Purebred bull of another breed, that is producing females for sale that are designed for the F1 cow herd in the previous example.
It all sounds nice, I know. But we are doing it. It takes some net working and some co-operation, but the rewards are outstanding. I'm not saying that all the beef produced from this is system is guaranteed to be a great taste experience, but the possibility of it not just got less because there have been so many variables eliminated.
Just my thoughts and were I think the beef industry should head.

[ValueChainFX]

rookie & TJM proactive is the way to go, TJM you are right for one of the choices out there and that choice is closer then you think (some would say that is happening now) The best point you made is that it takes networking (working together) thumbs up guys I like your thoughts!

[grassfarmer]

TJM, I agree very much that the beef industry would be a lot more efficient and profitable if there was less random breeding and a more consistant feedlot steer became the norm.However I wouldn't agree that the hog and chicken industries move to fewer breeds has resulted in meats that are consistently pleasurable eating experiences for the consumer. You can still buy plenty tough pork and neither of these meats has much flavour in any case.

[TJM]

Grassfarmer, you are right. There will always be experiences like that, no matter what the cut. I just hope we can reduce the number of incidents.

I think that the most "bang for the dollar" that the beef industry has ever received was when the retailers started labeling meat cuts as to their use and how to cook them properly. An unbeleivable amount of people would buy the cheapest piece of "dog meat" and try to cook it into "veal cordon-blue"; they didn't achieve their goal because they started out wrong and then would over cook the product. Now that they have an "operating manual" to follow, they look for premium cuts to bar-b-q and round steak to stew etc.

Now if we could just get over this one way "free trade" issue with the States.

[ValueChainFX]

TJM Individual issues like the freetrade are the things that make us look at the industry with new eyes and see a new vision. At the moment we have country of origin labeling and we still look at the primary market for beef as commodity cuts!

There are markets that would fit branded programs or take a product that was "Designed" for them. As a producer wouldn't it be nice to have more control of our own product from start to finish and piggy back on the equities already built in the industry?

As they say there is more then one way to skin a cat! We are just looking for the one way that puts the most coin back into our pockets.