The 30-year-old Certified Angus Beef program has proved consumers will pay more when they think the quality is worth it.
The program has sold nearly two million pounds of certified Angus beef every day and sold 660 million pounds last year. It is poised to sell more this year into 47 countries, including Canada.
The only problem is finding enough cattle to meet demand, says packing director Clint Walenciak.
“I think it is safe to assume the demand for CAB is moving up,” he said at the Canadian Beef Quality Symposium in Calgary this summer.
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About 3.5 million head across North America should earn the CAB stamp of approval this year, including 125,000 Canadian cattle.
“If it doesn’t cost any more to produce a pound of gold than a pound of lead, why not produce a pound of gold,” Walenciak said.
The Angus program has 10 specifications, which include a black hide, marbling levels, meat texture, fat thickness and meat colour.
For every five eligible animals that enter the plant, only one is accepted.
In the United States, about 55 percent or six million head entered a modest or higher marbling branded program certified by the U. S Department of Agriculture.
Producers receive premiums to improve their beef herd genetics, health and nutrition management.
“You give them a target to shoot for, they will go for it,” Walenciak said.
He expects quality to improve throughout the North American herd since a large number of cows have been culled due to drought and poor prices in the last three to four years.
Meat scientist Brad Morgan said breeds are an important factor in beef quality.
“The days of being so politically correct are over. You have to talk about Angus, you have to talk about Limousin. They bring a lot of numbers to the table with what they have done with tenderness,” he said.
People need to understand what tenderness is and how to achieve it through feeding programs, genetics and beef preparation, said the Kansas State University researcher.
The United States is starting a national tenderness study involving retailers to see what improvements have been made.
The U.S. quality grades are Prime, Choice, Select and Standard. Standard carries the least amount of marbling while Choice is a well-marbled product.
“We realize in the United States we have to feed for Prime and Choice,” he said. “We do not want to feed for Select.”
Scientists are continuing to find ways to determine whether a carcass is tough or tender before it is eaten. Morgan cited a 1925 report naming beef tenderness as a primary goal.
“I’ll be honest with you. We haven’t made much progress,” he said.
