What Status Quo?

WHAT STATUS QUO?

BY DEAN FISH, PH.D.

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to Western Ag Life Media, the author’s employer, organization, committee, other group or probably any reasonable thinking individual.

©Tina Thompson

I would like to think that the era of complacency in the beef industryis over. In fact, I would like to attend a funeral for Mr. We Have AlwaysDone It That Way and his brothers, Mr. It Won’t Work and Mr. It Doesn’tPay (Rest in Peace, 2019). Hey, a fella can dream, can’t they?Recently, I had the pleasure of holding a dear friend and one of themost intelligent, thoughtful and successful leaders in the beef industryhostage chute side while breeding cows. Since he couldn’t get awayand no longer charges for his opinion by billable hours, I wanted topick his brain about advances in the beef industry and how he sawthe business unfolding in the future. This conversation led me to theconclusion that if a person is involved in the 2019 beef business andhopes to be relevant in the next few years, we need to focus on a fewthings. Some of these are easy, some are difficult.

Genetics: The United States beef industry has been a global leaderin beef production for several years and the main reason is quality.We produce the most flavorful, tender and best tasting product inthe world. More and more of what we produce is starting to hit thesetargets because of the intense genetic selection pressure we have puton our cow herds. So, what is the next step? We need to continue tolearn and keep abreast of the rapidly changing world of beef genomicsand invest in those genetics that help us reach our targets to maintainthis competitive advantage. My genetics professor would be shocked,based on my collegiate academic performance, that I am advocatingstudying in this arena. There are so many ways to get started, but Isuggest looking at trade publications like Beef and Drover’s Journalfor starters.

Marketing: Today’s consumer is shopping at the meat counter formuch more than price. Study after study reveal factors that influence buying decisions from a consumer standpoint. Are we taking advantageof this information? Probably not, in my opinion. There are manyopportunities to capture extra dollars at the ranch gate by enrollingin a verification program or just getting credit for what you are already doing. Risk management is another domain that is underutilized bymost smaller beef producers and there is a wealth of informationavailable to research how to get started here.

Advocacy: The Internet has leveled the knowledge playing field.Knowledge used to be centralized at universities, but now anyonecan look anything up and become an “expert”. Seriously, there is awealth of good stuff that can be found to improve our beef producingabilities. Along with that, social media has been a double-edged swordfor the beef industry. It can show the worst of practices like overgrazingor animal abuse as well as be a tool for educating the public aboutwhat livestock producers do. I sometimes would chuckle at my friends’posts showing the crew moving cattle. However, the more I study thecomments that people share on these posts, the more I realize that heis doing the beef industry a great service by showing the proper careand handling of his cattle.

We need to give our good beef customers “permission” to feel goodabout choosing beef. We do it more efficiently and with more care thanever in our history. Let’s tell the story of our wholesome and nutritiousproduct and thank people for choosing beef as their protein of choice.These ideas that I shared with you are only the tip of the iceberg. Aperson can get overwhelmed, but we all need to start somewhere. Iknow I have a lot of work to do and I challenge you to do the same.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dean Fish-PhD has dedicated his life work to livestock production in the West. Growing up on ranches in southern Arizona, he participated in 4-H beef, livestock judging and leadership programs. He currently ranches and raises commercial Angus cattle and club calves in Santa Cruz County.