“If they’ve got great genetics, then what we can do is we can leave them there or we can mess it up, and that last part gets really expensive,” Fanning said.

Marshall said the scorecard allows for that data flow without having to study pedigrees, making it more readily available to make decisions on.

“I think having the information to incorporate genetics into our management and marketing protocols is really the key to profitability,” he said.

Making use of data, technology

Yet, the key components of the profitability equation are different than they were decades ago.

Consulting nutritionist Pete Anderson of Midwest PMS told the audience to rethink the way they calculate when to sell cattle. Regardless of whether the cattle are sold live or on a carcass basis, that carcass cost of gain (COG) is an important number.

“Very simply, profitability increases until the incremental cost of gain exceeds the sale price,” he said. “Yield grade premiums are nice, but they don’t drive your grid results. It’s all about quality.”

Justin Gleghorn of Cactus Feeders and A.J. Tarpoff of Kansas State University talked technology — everything from growth to management types.

“We look for opportunities to utilize new technologies and put them into production as quick as we can,” Gleghorn said. The Texas-based cattle-feeding company does extensive research with its own internal team on anything it’s about to implement.

“We can go out there and find opportunities to increase margin or capitalize on efficiencies. That gives us what we believe is buying power out there in the feeder market,” he said.

Packer perspective

Being competitive within the marketplace is top of mind for Chad Barker, National Beef, as the packer looks to buy as many CAB and Prime-producing cattle as possible.

To solidify its commitment to quality, National recently announced a $5-per-head premium for all cattle that come into its plants with an AngusLink Genetic Merit Scorecard Beef Score of 100 or greater.

“We spend just as much time forecasting grade with our production scheduler as I do about anything, because he’s putting availability out to all of our sales guys and they’re trying to sell that product,” Barker says. Having more predictability in how those cattle will grade empowers those marketing it down the line.

Packers are also using more data in the evaluation side of the business, too.

A trio of experts — Abram Babcock, Adams Land & Cattle; Glen Dolezal, Cargill Protein; and Derek Vote, consultant — spoke on the evolutions in objective grading systems. They noted that all major packing plants in the United States are now using camera-based grading, with oversight by the USDA.

“It’s extremely important that we get accurate, consistent data back from that because we use that information to purchase external cattle,” Babcock said. The camera provides a “very consistent outcome” and “removes some of the subjectivity.”

Dale Woerner, Cargill Endowed Professor at Texas Tech University, explained the current yield grade (YG) equation and its limitations. Because it’s based on old data, today’s standard for predicting red meat yield misses the mark, he said.

“Ribeye area alone only explains 3% of the total variation in true red meat yield coming from these carcasses,” Woerner said. “We have to begin to transition our mindset.”

He shared options currently in development to get 3-D imaging on carcasses. New technology that does a better job accurately assessing red meat yield is important as breeders think about making genetic change, he said.

The beef industry has a history of letting research help steer its course.

Bob Smith, Veterinary Research Consulting Services LLC, closed the program with improvements that the National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) and the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) programs have stewarded through the decades.

“I view the Beef Quality Assurance program as not something that’s a single event,” Smith said, noting each audit has taken on issues that represented lost opportunities for the industry to address. Injection-site lesions are now almost a thing of the past and quality grade has skyrocketed to meet consumer demand. “It is an evolution, not necessarily a revolution, and it is a continual improvement through the years.”

Watch for continuing in-depth coverage on many of these presentations in the Angus Beef Bulletin or the Angus at Work podcast. To view presentations or for more information, visit www.FeedingQualityForum.com.

Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 16, No. 9-A