AN INSURANCE POLICY WORTH THE PREMIUM Getting what you pay for with Simmental Genetics by Chip Kemp, director of commercial and industry operations, American Simmental Association Soon you’ll be on calving watch and you’ll pass some time searching the Amazon app on your phone for the best throw lever out there for the new high-powered scope you got for Christmas. When doing so, will you concern yourself with the tensile strength of the carbon filaments within the various levers? Likely not, you’ll seek out a product that is guaranteed to work, appears to have solid customer service and engineering behind it, and has a price point you can live with. Or Spring will one day arrive and you’ll recall (only when the grass is six inches tall) that, back in the infamous year of 2020, you ran the old weed eater over with the side-by-side in a fit of rage because it teased the weeds rather than cut them. When you run to town to buy its successor, are you going to be comparing engine outputs, shaft lengths, and shoulder strap comfort of ten different brands? Some will, but many will simply go to the retailer they’ve always trusted to solve problems and select from their assortment. The process will likely be quick, and you’ll be back dressing up the yard in no time. When a beef consumer (OUR CUSTOMER) selects their next grilling target from the beef counter they already assume the grocer purchased a product that
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has 1) documented wholesomeness and safety (USDAinspected), 2) a quantifiable and predictable eating experience (quality grades), and 3) an identifiable selling point. Mind you, that if you asked most consumers about the metrics associated with HACCP or Critical Control Points, or about the balance of marbling, bone ossification, and lean color and their impact on palatability, or even the awareness of current beef cutouts and market trends they would admit they haven’t any idea about these things. What they know is this. Every other Sunday afternoon for the last six months they’ve come to this meat counter. They bought various products including beef on each of those trips. Each time, with appropriate guidance from reading materials or store employees, they went home with a product that met or exceeded their expectations. And because history told them that the experience would be rewarding they came back. The grocer will know when the experience was not rewarding. Because they simply buy something else or somewhere else. In other words – they don’t come back. ...CONTINUED ON PAGE 58
VOLUME 7
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FEBRUARY 2021
