Association Commentary
RAAA National Office
18335 E. 103rd Ave., Suite 202 Commerce City, CO 80022 (940) 387-3502 • FAX (888) 829-6069 Email: info@redangus.org RedAngus.org
RAAA National Staff Chief Executive Officer
Tom Brink Ext. 4 - tombrink@redangus.org
Director of Breed Improvement Ryan Boldt Ext. 12 - ryan@redangus.org
Director of Office Operations Halla Pfeiff Ext. 10 - halla@redangus.org
REDSPro & Registry Specialist Billie Boyd Ext. 6 - billie@redangus.org
REDSPro & Registry Specialist Nicole Rebitski Ext. 5 - nicole@redangus.org
Tags and Show Program Specialist Jeananne Drouhard Ext. 18 - jeananne@redangus.org
DNA Data Programs Coordinator Alana Skelton Ext. 14 - alana@redangus.org
DNA Customer Service Specialist Kai Miranda Ext. 24 - kai@redangus.org
Database and Registration Consultant Kenda Ponder Ext. 15 - kenda@redangus.org
Director of Commercial Marketing Harold Bertz (816) 661-2289 - harold@redangus.org
Commercial Marketing Coordinator Katie Martin Ext. 16 - katieochsner@redangus.org
Commercial Marketing Specialist Nolan Woodruff Ext. 9 - nolan@redangus.org
Commercial Marketing Specialist
Barrett Simon (316) 452-1792 - barrettsimon@redangus.org
Commercial Marketing Specialist Rachael Oliver (406) 480-1569 - rachael@redangus.org
Tag and Show Programs Coordinator Chessie Mitchell Ext. 20 - chessie@redangus.org
by Tom Brink, RAAA Chief Executive Officer
Red Angus Steers Provide Perspective on Value Creation Approximately 70% of every commercial calf crop is fed out and harvested for beef. All of the steers and around half of the heifers eventually end up in a feedyard and then on to a packing plant. Therefore, every commercial cow-calf producer can benet from a basic understanding of how to produce higher value cattle that yield superior nancial results as they move through the beef supply chain. There are large differences in the value of cattle. Fortunately, we can identify characteristics that build the bottom line.
the surface. The total per-head value difference between the high and low groups was large at $233 per head. Higher value steers notably had an advantage in carcass weight (110 pounds heavier) and in marbling (49 marbling score points higher). The math is easy on those extra pounds. At an example dressed weight price of $185 per cwt., 110 pounds of carcass is worth a little over $200 per head. Even if the heavier cattle ate an extra $50 or $75 of feed while they grew bigger than their contemporaries, the net nancial benet is still favorable.
A friend and long-time Kansas cattle feeder recently shared the carcass results from a pen of 84 Red Angus steers that were harvested in July 2020. He was pleased with how the cattle fed and how they performed on the grid, and since individual data was available, it is easy to make a high-value/low-value comparison using the top and bottom 25 head (see the table below).
Marbling, and the resulting benet in quality grade, are second on the list of dollar-generating traits in which the high-value cattle excelled. They graded 100% Choice and above, versus only 64% for the low-value group. They also had 36% upper 2/3 Choice and Prime, while the least-valuable steers came in at 20%.
When carcass data is sorted and compared in this manner, key drivers in the value-creation process come to
All told, quality grade premiums separated the two groups by over $50 per head.
Director of Education and Junior Programs
Kansas Red Angus Steers Group Results by Category
Dr. Kim Heller (515) 851-2019 - juniors@redangus.org
Publisher & Advertising Director
Highest-Value 25 Head
Lowest-Value 25 Head
Tracey Koester (701) 391-5440 - tracey@redangus.org
Carcass Weight (pounds)
973
863
Editor & Director of Communications
441
Marbling Scores (MS units)
490
Brandi Buzzard Frobose (785) 448-0239 - brandi@redangus.org
Percent Choice and Above
100%
64%
Communications Specialist
Ribeye Area (square inches)
14.42
14.24
Back Fat (inches)
0.69
0.63
Yield Grade (YG units)
3.71
3.21
Percent Yield Grade 4’s and 5’s
24%
16%
Lisa Bryant (405) 766-8942 - lisa@redangus.org
Accounting Director
Janet Russell Ext. 11 - janet@redangus.org
Receptionist
Margaux Midas Ext. 3 - receptionist@redangus.org
10
Percent Heavyweight
4%
0%
Final Value Per Head
$1,809
$1,576
RED ANGUS Magazine n September 2021
