Breeding success
What's a perfect score? JBS Swift and Simmental breeders say it's 70:70
(MEATPOULTRY.com, October 19, 2007)
by Steve Bjerklie
-------------------------------------------------------------JBS Swift & Co. and the American Simmental Association (ASA) have joined in a new program that, if successful, could significantly change the economics and genetics of beef-cattle production in the United States.
Fundamentally, the program, called "70:70," doesn't do anything that other packer-producer incentive programs don't already do: it rewards cattle producers for raising the kind of cattle Swift wants to buy and process. What's different is that Swift has taken the idea further back in the chain, to the breeders, who in turn will create the seedstock for the cattle Swift wants. Other programs typically stop at the feedlot, with the assumption feed yard managers will encourage cattle producers to give them the cattle the packers demand and pay premiums for.
The 70:70 name comes from the program's incentive goal: if the beef from 70% of a producer's cattle grade USDA Prime or Choice and 70% of the carcasses are Yield Grade 1's or 2's, the producers is rewarded with a premium. To discourage over-feeding, discounts come into effect for animals weighing 1,000 lbs or more. To discourage too much leanness, discounts will also apply to carcasses that quality-grade Select or Standard. Swift will implement the 70:70 program at its Grand Island, Neb., and Greeley, Colo., plants.
Though the program doesn't identify or require Simmental cattle specifically -- unlike the Certified Angus Beef program, 70:70 has no breed or color restrictions – Swift went to the Simmental association because Simmental-Angus crosses tend to produce the kind of well-marbled, low-backfat carcasses Swift wants for its high-quality category customers. The company says 40% of beef quality is determined by cattle genetics – that's why the program was developed with breeders rather than feeders. By starting at the front end of the chain rather than the back end, Swift hopes to influence not just cattle quality but also the producer's thinking. "Producers haven't had reasons to care about carcass traits, just about weight," said one beef executive. Currently, about 50% to 55% of all beef cattle produced quality-grade Choice or higher, and 40% yield-grade 1 or 2, according to USDA. The ASA says the beef industry "is bogged down with historic levels of over-finished cattle" and genetics that create too much waste. In fact, more than 10% of all yield-graded cattle today are Yield Grade 4 or 5.
Jerry Lipsey, executive vice president of ASA, sees potential for 70:70 well beyond some extra dollars for smart cattlemen. "We're hoping this premium payment potential will get tied into a national animal identification program," he tells MEAT&POULTRY. "We're hoping there will be signals sent across the industry and across the country." He says good producers will closely monitor genetics and breeding so the cattle they raise always fit what Lipsey calls "the value grid." Moreover, if other packers and producer associations follow Swift's lead and develop value grids of their own, "the skillful and aware producers of the future will make some strategic matings to fit certain grids. They don't always have to produce just for Swift's grid. There might be another grid that's better for a certain kind of breed and mating."
He admits great progress won't be made quickly. "Organizing beef cattle production in this country is no small task," he says. "The inertia of the beef industry is extremely slow." A big part of the problem is there are essentially two cattle-production industries in the United States: Forty-five percent of the country's 34 million head of beef cattle are raised in herds averaging 18 head, and 55 percent of cattle are raised in herds averaging 300 head. In fact, according to figures from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, there are more than 800,000 cattle producers in the country. While incentive programs like 70:70 are attractive to big ranchers, the small farmers and cattle hobbyists may not see enough return to pay for the investment required to closely manage genetics.
Still, Lipsey is enthusiastic about what his association has created with Swift. "This grid is designed for people who produce good cattle, plain and simple," he says. "We'll have cattle that produce better-tasting beef without a lot of the waste fat. It's a great use of resources."
What's a perfect score? JBS Swift and Simmental breeders say it's 70:70
(MEATPOULTRY.com, October 19, 2007)
by Steve Bjerklie
-------------------------------------------------------------JBS Swift & Co. and the American Simmental Association (ASA) have joined in a new program that, if successful, could significantly change the economics and genetics of beef-cattle production in the United States.
Fundamentally, the program, called "70:70," doesn't do anything that other packer-producer incentive programs don't already do: it rewards cattle producers for raising the kind of cattle Swift wants to buy and process. What's different is that Swift has taken the idea further back in the chain, to the breeders, who in turn will create the seedstock for the cattle Swift wants. Other programs typically stop at the feedlot, with the assumption feed yard managers will encourage cattle producers to give them the cattle the packers demand and pay premiums for.
The 70:70 name comes from the program's incentive goal: if the beef from 70% of a producer's cattle grade USDA Prime or Choice and 70% of the carcasses are Yield Grade 1's or 2's, the producers is rewarded with a premium. To discourage over-feeding, discounts come into effect for animals weighing 1,000 lbs or more. To discourage too much leanness, discounts will also apply to carcasses that quality-grade Select or Standard. Swift will implement the 70:70 program at its Grand Island, Neb., and Greeley, Colo., plants.
Though the program doesn't identify or require Simmental cattle specifically -- unlike the Certified Angus Beef program, 70:70 has no breed or color restrictions – Swift went to the Simmental association because Simmental-Angus crosses tend to produce the kind of well-marbled, low-backfat carcasses Swift wants for its high-quality category customers. The company says 40% of beef quality is determined by cattle genetics – that's why the program was developed with breeders rather than feeders. By starting at the front end of the chain rather than the back end, Swift hopes to influence not just cattle quality but also the producer's thinking. "Producers haven't had reasons to care about carcass traits, just about weight," said one beef executive. Currently, about 50% to 55% of all beef cattle produced quality-grade Choice or higher, and 40% yield-grade 1 or 2, according to USDA. The ASA says the beef industry "is bogged down with historic levels of over-finished cattle" and genetics that create too much waste. In fact, more than 10% of all yield-graded cattle today are Yield Grade 4 or 5.
Jerry Lipsey, executive vice president of ASA, sees potential for 70:70 well beyond some extra dollars for smart cattlemen. "We're hoping this premium payment potential will get tied into a national animal identification program," he tells MEAT&POULTRY. "We're hoping there will be signals sent across the industry and across the country." He says good producers will closely monitor genetics and breeding so the cattle they raise always fit what Lipsey calls "the value grid." Moreover, if other packers and producer associations follow Swift's lead and develop value grids of their own, "the skillful and aware producers of the future will make some strategic matings to fit certain grids. They don't always have to produce just for Swift's grid. There might be another grid that's better for a certain kind of breed and mating."
He admits great progress won't be made quickly. "Organizing beef cattle production in this country is no small task," he says. "The inertia of the beef industry is extremely slow." A big part of the problem is there are essentially two cattle-production industries in the United States: Forty-five percent of the country's 34 million head of beef cattle are raised in herds averaging 18 head, and 55 percent of cattle are raised in herds averaging 300 head. In fact, according to figures from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, there are more than 800,000 cattle producers in the country. While incentive programs like 70:70 are attractive to big ranchers, the small farmers and cattle hobbyists may not see enough return to pay for the investment required to closely manage genetics.
Still, Lipsey is enthusiastic about what his association has created with Swift. "This grid is designed for people who produce good cattle, plain and simple," he says. "We'll have cattle that produce better-tasting beef without a lot of the waste fat. It's a great use of resources."
