Little Joe
Well-known member
I have a Facebook page for my farm that we use to help sell our beef, we now have over 1600 followers on that page. Below is a post that I made on that page to inform our followers about CAB. I posted this on here in response to all of the debates we have about CAB. Notice I didn't knock Angus or CAB in any way but informed my followers of exactly what it is they're getting because we have had people who think since our cattle aren't all black they won't be quality beef.
We get asked from time to time if our cattle are Angus due to the popular Certified Angus Beef program that everyone has come so familiar with. Consumers have come to believe through this marketing that Angus beef will always be a superior beef. While Angus are a fine breed and we do occasionally purchase some Angus and own some Angus influenced cattle, the quality of the meat has more to do with age at processing, diet while being finished, temperament of the animal and individual performance and genetics of that particular animal. Don't take this post as me knocking Angus or Certified Angus Beef but more of an opportunity to educate our followers as to what exactly Certified Angus Beef really is.
First off to be considered for the program the animal must be at least 51% black hide with no other color behind the shoulders, below the top line and above the flank. After that assessment has been determined the carcass then has to be assessed to make sure it meets all of the other requirements. Only about 35% of the animals with black hides meet the other requirements.
Many other breeders of other types of cattle have now bred their cattle to get black hides on them so that they can be considered for Certified Angus Beef because having a black hide is the first requirement. Quality cattle with a black hide generally bring more dollars at cattle auctions due to the fact that the buyers are betting on getting the higher premium on that carcass if it meets Certified Angus Beef requirements.
With all of this being said, Certified Angus Beef may not be Angus at all or only small % Angus but will be a positive eating experience because it is quality beef because it met the other requirements.
Angus originally promoted this program which is how it got it's name due to the fact that at the time most black hided cattle were either Angus or Angus influenced. It was a great marketing plan for Angus so that their breeders would sell more cattle, especially bulls. Which leads to another thing I would like to share, if a Black bull who is homozygous for black is bred to say a red cow, the calf will be black.
What's the point in this long post you might ask? It is to inform our followers that many other types of cattle produce quality beef and that what you think is Angus beef might not be Angus at all.
We get asked from time to time if our cattle are Angus due to the popular Certified Angus Beef program that everyone has come so familiar with. Consumers have come to believe through this marketing that Angus beef will always be a superior beef. While Angus are a fine breed and we do occasionally purchase some Angus and own some Angus influenced cattle, the quality of the meat has more to do with age at processing, diet while being finished, temperament of the animal and individual performance and genetics of that particular animal. Don't take this post as me knocking Angus or Certified Angus Beef but more of an opportunity to educate our followers as to what exactly Certified Angus Beef really is.
First off to be considered for the program the animal must be at least 51% black hide with no other color behind the shoulders, below the top line and above the flank. After that assessment has been determined the carcass then has to be assessed to make sure it meets all of the other requirements. Only about 35% of the animals with black hides meet the other requirements.
Many other breeders of other types of cattle have now bred their cattle to get black hides on them so that they can be considered for Certified Angus Beef because having a black hide is the first requirement. Quality cattle with a black hide generally bring more dollars at cattle auctions due to the fact that the buyers are betting on getting the higher premium on that carcass if it meets Certified Angus Beef requirements.
With all of this being said, Certified Angus Beef may not be Angus at all or only small % Angus but will be a positive eating experience because it is quality beef because it met the other requirements.
Angus originally promoted this program which is how it got it's name due to the fact that at the time most black hided cattle were either Angus or Angus influenced. It was a great marketing plan for Angus so that their breeders would sell more cattle, especially bulls. Which leads to another thing I would like to share, if a Black bull who is homozygous for black is bred to say a red cow, the calf will be black.
What's the point in this long post you might ask? It is to inform our followers that many other types of cattle produce quality beef and that what you think is Angus beef might not be Angus at all.
