CHANGES IN THE BEEF INDUSTRY FOCUS AT B.I.G. BEEF SESSION

WACO – A rapidly changing beef industry is predicted to undergo even more change in the next 10 years, which is good news for consumers who are now getting a more safe, consistent, high-quality product delivered to the retail meat case, according to speakers at the 40th Blackland Income Growth (B.I.G.) Conference in Waco.

Change was a word frequently used by the experts addressing participants at the beef session Tuesday at the Waco Convention Center. Dr. Larry Boleman, beef cattle specialist with Texas Cooperative Extension, said the biggest change for the beef industry in the last 10 years has been becoming aware of consumer needs, recognizing them as customers instead of thinking of them as numbers.

“Instead, the beef industry has been paying attention to why or why not they were consuming, and began evaluating and changing when needed,” Boleman said.

“The next 10 years, which has already started, will be spent trying to accommodate any and every segment of the beef industry, whether it be changes that can be applied to breeding, marketing programs, etc. The more they can do, the greater their profit potential will be.”

Partnerships, or forming beef alliances, is another new aspect of the beef industry – all highlighted during Tuesday’s session. Representatives from Laura’s Lean Beef, Nolan Ryan’s All Natural Premium Beef program, Future Beef Organization and others were on hand, spreading the message about their programs and looking to recruit potential beef producers and their cattle.

Some of the biggest challenges to date, according to beef experts, has been getting individual producers to implement beef quality standards. Cattle should be produced with minimal defects, such as injection blemishes, bruises or brand location.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average cow herd in the United States is 43 head. However, Boleman said, small beef producers aren’t excluded from the new beef alliances and partnerships.

“As difficult as it may be seem to the small producer, he or she can fit in with these alliances. We call this vertical coordination. That’s why a lot of these people came here today, to talk about partnering,” he said.

Though many experts at the B.I.G. conference predict the beef industry will not do what the large poultry companies have done – own the product from birth to plate – they will incorporate various forms of ownership and marketing programs.

“What we are trying to show here at this conference is a cafeteria of programs that’s being offered,” Boleman said. “These are the choices that are out there that weren’t (available several years ago).”

The B.I.G. Conference, which continues through Wednesday, has attracted both national and state experts in all fields of agriculture. It coincides with the Waco Farm and Ranch Expo. Seminars on soil and crop sciences, equine health, horticulture and other topics featured as part of the two-day conference.

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