Commercial Connection, Josh Cribbs

MAINE-ANJOU

Commercial Connection

JOSHUA CRIBBS AMAA Director of Commercial Development

It’s 10:10 p.m. on a Monday night, and the house is finally quiet – three little ones keep it like a race track around here most of the day. I’m just now sitting down to take care of this article, truthfully because Lindsey has been on me to write it and rightfully so as I’m a little late! The silence has me reflecting on the last year and looking ahead as we move further into 2021.

The landscape of the ag industry has truly changed in a year. With commodity prices continuing to creep upward and many facing drought conditions, it seems as if we are being forced into a cycle within the beef industry that we knew was coming but weren’t sure exactly when we would see it. It goes without saying though, everything comes in waves. With higher grain prices, some say it means higher cattle prices. I can’t say that I disagree, but from a cattle feeding standpoint margins are already extremely tight. I truly cannot imagine what it will look like with six-dollar corn. I know, within the small cow/calf operation my wife and I have started to build for our children, we have certainly seen things starting to spike - creep feed alone is up $40/ton and grass is renting for $100 to $110 an acre in our area.

I spent last week on the road visiting herds in the South, as well as attending a bull sale. I also needed to get by a Bright Lights customer’s place and see his operation. It’s so important to foster relationships and further culture the support of those who back – and are therefore a strong part of – the American Maine-Anjou Association. In visiting with him, he stated what he believes the future of the cattle industry is and what he thought would be the next big thing is feed efficiency. And man, do I hope he is right!

Feed efficiency is something in the wheelhouse of Maine-Anjou cattle. The conversion of feed to red meat yield is a business that we can truly make an impact in. It seems that the scanned data, from both bull sales and the cattle we had on feed, shows Rib Eye Areas are far bigger than the average found in our British counterparts. And the Feed-to-Gain seen in the research trial conducted at SDSU in 2020, well it showed nearly 5:1 through certain phases of the feeding period. I can’t say it enough, having black-hided cattle that can fix Yield Grade issues within the beef industry puts Maine-Anjou cattle in the driver’s seat for growth and market share.

Continuing to share our story and promote the focus and change breeders have made to Maine-Anjou cattle is extremely important. I am thankful to be heading into a summer in which we will get to have a true-to-form Junior National. This event allows for Lindsey and the junior board to highlight the value of being a Maine-Anjou junior member and the youth development that happens through the organization. One common thought that always comes up during AMAA board meetings… How do we retain/convert junior members into adult members? I believe it starts with sharing the stories of those who have made that transition, you’ll see this theme in the articles within this issue of The Voice.

More herd visits are coming up over the next few months, Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Annual meetings are just around the corner, and State Fairs are back on the schedule. It’s looking to be a summer further promoting a breed, and group of breeders, that have a tremendous amount going on. I’ve always said that I serve at the pleasure of the board and the association members, so please feel free to give me a call anytime. I look forward to hearing what you have going on at your operation!

It’s advanced. It’s focused. It’s Modern Maine-Anjou!