Association Commentary - by Tom Brink

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 benefit from a basic understanding of how to produce higher value cattle that yield superior financial 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.

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).

When carcass data is sorted and compared in this manner, key drivers in the value-creation process come to 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 financial benefit is still favorable.

Marbling, and the resulting benefit 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%. All told, quality grade premiums separated the two groups by over $50 per head.

The comparison also shows a couple of areas in which the higher value steers did not best their low-end counterparts. Steers ranking high in total value actually had a bit more back fat, less favorable yield grades (despite a small advantage in ribeye area) and more Yield Grade 4’s and 5’s. Such an outcome is very common, given the construct of today’s grid-pricing systems. Pounds and quality tend to pay handsomely, while disadvantages in yield grade are not discounted proportionately.

Of course, this does not mean cow-calf producers should ignore selection for ribeye area and overall muscle. Nor does it mean that cattle feeders can carelessly overfeed cattle and expect no consequences. The point is to understand that current grids reward pounds and marbling first and foremost, while yield grades tend to take a back seat (at least for now). We could analyze hundreds of groups sold on grids, like these Red Angus steers, and the conclusion would be the same.

Red Angus cattle, in general, do tend to perform well on grids. We receive quite a few compliments from cattle feeders on their marbling ability and even on their yield grades. Additionally, with the tremendous selection tools RAAA offers, including both EPDs and indexes, the ability to create valuable cattle via genetic selection has never been easier.