FROM PASTURE TO PLATE, BRANGUS PERFORM

From Pasture to Plate,

BRANGUS PERFORM

by Mike Barnett

From the harsh, unforgiving desert of the American Southwest to the green, lush pastures of the humid Southeast, a growing number of seedstock producers find Brangus a star performer of both pasture and plate.

In seedstock operations ranging across the southern tier of states, breeders like Phillip and Beth DeSalvo of Big D Ranch in Center Ridge, Arkansas say cattleman vie for their gooddoing Brangus/Ultrablack bulls for commercial herds. And consumers clamor for great tasting Brangus beef.

The DeSalvos are one of four Brangus breeders we interviewed who add value to their registered herds by feeding and selling calves (who don’t meet criteria as seedstock) as beef directly to consumers.

All four have a unique approach to marketing calves as beef. The DeSalvos have built a loyal clientele through local farmers markets. Dr. Bart Carter and family sell Brangus beef through their butcher shop and retail store called Carter Custom Cuts in Thatcher, Arizona. Diann Watson of Pennridge Ranch Meats, located east of Austin, sells Texas family ranch raised beef directly through the internet. Wayne Addison of Winfield, Alabama, uses his personal Facebook page to market his Brangus beef to family, friends, and repeat customers.

All four breeders find loyal customers return again and again to buy good Brangus beef for their center of the plate experience. Beth DeSalvo says the flavorful meat finds consumers chiming for more.

“The one thing that people come back to me and say, ‘This is absolutely the best tasting beef I’ve ever had,’” Beth says. “People can’t get over the taste. And it makes a huge difference.”

Flavor, yes. But husband, Phillip, adds tenderness to the equation that satisfies customer palates.

“We have cattle that have been where I did not desire them to be,” Phillip says. “They would grade high Select instead of Choice and Prime where I want them. But it’s still a very tender, enjoyable eating experience. I think that comes through with Brangus beef.”

BRANGUS BEEF GOES HIGH-END

Dr. Bart Carter says Carter Custom Cuts has built its reputation on providing superior cuts of Brangus beef to the high-end beef market.

“We have made it pretty clear that we don’t sell meat that’s designed to be cheap. And that’s been our model from the git-go,” he says. “Our customers are middleclass people who come to our shop when they want a great cut of meat.”

Dr. Carter has a 200 head registered herd (Carter Brangus) he runs on a 60-section desert ranch in Arizona.

He sells 40 to 50 bulls and about 30 females as seedstock friends, family and many repeat customers in Northwest annually. The rest he puts in his feedyard to grow out and Alabama. markets them as custom cuts, quarters, halves, and wholes at Phillip DeSalvo claims high IMF in Brangus cattle leads Carter Custom Meats. to better tasting beef. He said many Brangus breeders,

He says 60% of himself included, are those cattle grade Choice or better. “THEY’RE PACKED FULL OF MEAT, PLUS scanning 9s on IMF, ranking right up there “Surprisingly, about 25% of our cattle are grading Prime,” he says. CARRYING ALL OF THAT INTERNAL MUSCLE FAT. I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU CAN’T SAY WE’RE or exceeding many of today’s Angus sires. He said he’s also scanning “When we get a Prime animal, that’s when RAISING A SUPERIOR BEEF ANIMAL.” 14- to 15-inch ribeyes on his calves. we have a Tomahawk steak special. They go -PHILLIP DESALVO, BIG D RANCH, ARKANSAS “They’re packed full of meat, plus carrying like crazy at a very high all of that internal price.” muscle fat. I don’t know how you can’t say we’re raising

Diann Watson takes a different approach heading the a superior beef animal,” he says. “That’s just how far the Pennridge Ranch Meats team. Like Carter Brangus, Pennridge Brangus breed has pushed the envelope and we’re still pushing Farms heavily culls and feeds out those Brangus calves who it today.” don’t make the cut as purebred sale candidates. Everything BREEDER PROFILES they sell as beef is Choice or Choice-plus. Those that don’t All four breeders find feeding Brangus calves and selling make the grade go to grind. direct to consumers help their bottom lines. They use data

The operation is relatively new at selling beef directly to recovered from those graded in USDA approved processing consumers, just starting in the middle of the COVID crisis facilities, and/or ultrasound data to improve the good beef last October. So far, they have fed and harvested 18 head and characteristics in their herd. And all find customers keep market mainly through the internet. Surprisingly, most of returning for their flavorful Brangus beef. their meat is shipped out of state to Maine, Massachusetts and Addison Brangus Farms is a small registered herd, and New York. They also sell to Illinois, California and Oregon. commercial female operation in Northwest Alabama, and is

“We like it when they stay in Texas,” she says. “We have (continued on page 16) some selling in Texas, but most goes out of state.”

Pennridge Ranch Meats strives to produce a high-quality product and provide consumers cuts they normally wouldn’t find in the grocery store such as the petite sirloin, flat iron steak, Bavette steak (like a flank steak but thicker and more flavorful), Picanha (considered the most delectable cut in any Brazilian Churrascia), and others.

They try to utilize most every part of the animal. In addition to the popular cuts of ribeyes, New York strips, briskets, and roasts, they market specialty meats such as barbacoa, liver, heart steak, oxtail, sweet breads and more.

THE ROLE OF INTRAMUSCULAR FAT

Wayne Addison and the DeSalvos say intramuscular fat (IMF) in Brangus is what tickles consumer tastebuds, keeping them coming back time and again for a great eating experience. Wayne says he really concentrates on IMF to improve his registered herd which carries over to the meat he sells.

Although he gets high marks for his steaks and roasts from customers, time and again he receives great comments about the hamburger from his Brangus beef. “We don’t have any fat added to our hamburger,” he says, relying solely on intramuscular fat. “They really like the taste of it. They say it really tastes totally different from what you get in the store.” His growing reputation is spread mainly by word of mouth and he is processing and selling around 30 calves a year to

(continued from page 15) run by Wayne Addison and his wife Leisa, with help from his dad Gary. The seedstock program has an annual sale under the Addison name that features consignments from many progressive breeders. Calves that don’t qualify for the registered herd are fed and processed as meat for consumers.

He concentrates on IMF to improve his registered herd, which adds the bonus of great tasting beef for his meat customers. He’ll creep feed those going for processing to 1,200 to 1,300 pounds, which he says seems to work best. “We have a lot of feed trying to get those ready for processing,” Wayne says. “But I figure we can get about twice what we can if we take them to the stockyard, even after processing fees and all that stuff.”

Pennridge Ranch and Pennridge Ranch Meats, located east of Austin, Texas, started raising Brangus cattle in 1978. A true family operation headed by Pete DeLeeuw and wife Kay, their son Pete Jr. and daughter Diann DeLeeuw Watson spend 100% of their time improving their Brangus genetics and growing their new meat business.

They warranty the bulls they sell private treaty and ruthlessly cull any calf they think may have issues, feeding those out and taking them straight to the packer. Selling Pennridge Meats mostly through the internet, they target a niche market for “all-natural dry aged beef” and specialize in cuts that are not generally found in the grocery store. Although selling bulls is the bread and butter of their seedstock operation, the meat business is an “add-on” in diversification efforts. “It will grow more profitable in the future,” Diann says. “No doubt about it.”

Carter Brangus has been selling registered Brangus bulls and females raised in the rugged desert in the Southeast corner of Arizona since 1998. Dr. Bart Carter, wife Vicki, and their son Bryce decided to vertically integrate the operation in order to cut out the middleman and to control their marketing. The result is Carter Custom Cuts and Dr. Carter estimates it has improved the bottom line of their cattle operation by 10 to 20 percent.

It wasn’t an easy endeavor. Money had to be raised to establish feeding facilities, construct the building for the processing plant, and store and purchase expensive equipment for the processing plant. But he said the effort’s been worth it after two and a half years as he provides a steady stream of Choice and Choice-plus meat to a loyal, local customer base. “Our customers are very happy with the quality of the animal. The quality of the meat has been outstanding,” he says. “It’s brought positive margins where before we were breakeven or losing money.”

“FROM A CONSUMER’S POINT OF VIEW, [BRANGUS BEEF] IS AS GOOD AS ANGUS.” -DR. BART CARTER, CARTER CUSTOM MEATS, ARIZONA

Big D Ranch, located near Center Ridge in north central Arkansas, is owned and operated by Phillip and Beth DeSalvo. The idea for their Ultrablack breeding program goes back to the early ‘90s when Phillip saw great results as he purchased Brangus bulls to put on his dad’s commercial Angus herd. He started their registered Brangus operation in early 2000 through the genetics of Cow Creek Ranch.

As with the other breeders, calves who don’t fit the standards as seedstock are fed out for their beef program. Beth’s passion is telling the Big D Ranch story when she sells their branded product and she finds ample opportunity visiting with their customers at local farmers markets. “Consumers expect me to be truthful about our product and be knowledgeable about what I say and what I do,” she says. “When they get home and fix that hamburger or grill that steak, they can have faith that they are putting something great on their plate—putting something on their plate that we put on our plate every night.”

A MATTER OF CONFIDENCE

All four breeder/entrepreneurs see a bright future for the breed as cattlemen increasingly see the benefits of using Brangus bulls in their commercial herds. It’s the best of both worlds. The bulls pass on genetics that allow offspring to survive tough environments, droughty or hot and humid conditions, and pesky insects. They produce calves that perform and survive.

Add meat quality and pounds of beef to that formula and Brangus excel.

“They are an excellent eating animal because of the percentage of Angus,” says Dr. Carter. ‘We don’t sacrifice anything on the retail market. It’s very, very few animals that we need to do an all grind. From a consumer’s point of view, they are as good as Angus.”

It was the consensus of this group of registered breeders that Brangus stack up very favorably with the grade and marbling of Bos taurus breeds.

“We have been intentional looking for carcass traits, high IMF EPDs,” says Dr. Carter, criteria the other breeders also say is important in their breeding programs. “Those are carcass traits we try to select for. I think that makes a difference.”

And the sky’s the limit as far as opportunities for the Brangus breed, they say.

“We’ve got a lot of things in our corner and we have a leadership team that is all about driving the Brangus breed to a level never seen before,” Phillip DeSalvo says. “And not just to worry about being the number one bull seller in the world, but giving Angus a run for their money per se.”

“I’m one of those who firmly believe Angus is where they are today because of the dollar bill and marketing strategy. And I believe Brangus has a product today that meets or exceeds what’s going on with our stiffest competition right now.”