DENVER, Colo. – As the number of beef eaters continues to decline, cowboys realize they can’t blame their problems on chicken producers any more.
Steadily declining beef consumption since 1975 has forced the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association into action to lure back consumers.
An industry committee led by Iowa beef producer Nancy Pellett developed a branded beef program that demands higher production standards and will ultimately put more money in cattle producers’ bank accounts.
“The cattle industry has not changed but the consumers have,” Pellett told the association during its convention in Denver, Feb. 4.
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The United States Department of Agriculture forecasts in 1998 Americans will eat 28 kilograms of beef, 23 kg of chicken, 21 kg of pork and 6.6 kg of turkey.
Max Deets, outgoing cattlemen’s president, reminded the group their income comes from consumers.
“If the demand base is not growing, how can we expect to write cheques on an account that is empty,” he said.
Participation in the program is voluntary. A critical part will be providing individual carcass data for producers once the NCBA develops its national identification program.
There will be consumer test studies, source verification and sharing of results. Every cut that meets the grade will receive a special trademark that looks like a stylized checkmark overlaid with bold-faced letters that read “BEEF.”
To participate, cow-calf producers, backgrounders and feedlot operators must do the following:
- Follow state, regional or national quality assurance good management practices, as well as existing government regulations.
- Castrate all males.
- Dehorn all cattle.
- Provide health and implant rec-ord information.
- Provide source verification data for all cattle marketed in the program.
- Feedlots must verify the number of days animals were on a finishing ration.
