Jake
Well-known member
May 18--In the battle of cattle, the Black Angus is more than just the flavor of the month.
After all, it's not the Hereford or Charolais burger that's now the latest trend in fast food, but the Angus burger -- more specifically, Black Angus.
This spring, Burger King began rolling out its Angus Steakburger at restaurants, the first national chain to do so. Burger King follows several regional chains across the country in the past two years, including Hardee's, which reshaped its entire menu around Angus charbroiled burgers.
"So far, they are a hit," said Natalie Simmonds, marketing director for Simmonds Restaurant Management, which owns the Burger King franchises in Omaha. "We're not advertising it yet, but they are on the marquee. It's still kind of rolling out nationwide."
For Black Angus producers, the growing popularity of Angus is seen as the natural progression for a strong breed line, genetic development and marketing to create an industry name synonymous with quality beef.
"It's taken 30 years of hard work to become an overnight success," said Jim Shirley, vice president of industry relations for the St. Joseph, Mo.-based American Angus Association.
Competing breed associations credit the Angus guys for being the first association to step out with a certified quality program that now is the industry standard.
"The Angus folks have done a tremendous job marketing and getting their product accepted," said Joe Rickabaugh, director of communications for the American Hereford Association in Kansas City, Mo. "They were pioneers, and they are reaping the rewards for stepping out and doing it."
No statistics are available on the dominant breed in Nebraska, although the Nebraska Angus Association has about 180 member producers. Nationally, Angus-type breeds account for about 50 percent of all beef cattle. Herefords account for about 10 percent. Another 75 breeds and cross-breeds account for the other 40 percent of cattle, according to the Certified Angus Beef program.
Celebrating its 25th year, the Certified Angus Beef program was the first targeted, branded program in the country, and it remains the largest. Certified Angus Beef established specific guidelines for cattle, and the program now is serving its second generation of consumers.
"It's kind of ingrained in the public that the black animal is good," Dom Castaldo, editor for meatnews.com. "They just associate when it's a Black Angus it's got to be good to eat."
A lot of people have spun off the Certified Angus label. There are about 50 certified beef programs around of the country, about 30 of which promote using predominately Black Angus cattle.
That's caused the term Black Angus to resonate with people. The wording "Black Angus" burger outpolls "ground beef" in popularity 11-to-1, according to fast-food industry polls.
Shirley argues that the popularity of Angus beef isn't just because of clever marketing. The Black Angus provides a higher grade of meat more consistently than other breeds, he said.
"It's a matter of quality. Angus beef has always been known as a high-quality beef."
Chris Calkins, a professor of animal science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who studies meat quality, said Angus typically grade at a higher quality more consistently than some other beef breeds, which is why so many certified programs focus on the Angus.
"One of the reasons for the high number of Angus programs you see is it does have a reputation as a higher-quality product," Calkins said.
Other breeds, meanwhile, have developed their own promotions. The Hereford Association didn't start the Certified Hereford Beef program until 1995, but it has shown steady growth since then. The difference in certified Angus and Hereford programs is the magnitude:
The Certified Hereford Beef program produced 34.7 million pounds of beef in 2003 and processed 173,000 animals at two packing houses.
Greater Omaha Meatpacking Co. processed just under 103,000 cattle last year for the Certified Hereford Beef program. Another plant in Liberal, Kan., also processes for the program.
The Certified Angus Beef program produced more than 1 billion pounds of beef from 2.2 million cattle. Most of the largest meatpackers in the country participate in the program to some degree.
Rob Ames, program director for Certified Hereford Beef, said fewer people understand the basics of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's meat grading system, so they latch onto a term they associate with quality.
"In replacement of the grading, I think you are seeing terms like Angus," Ames said.
Officials at the Certified Angus Beef office emphasize that those fast-food promotions are not tied to their program. The restaurants may very well be using Black Angus animals, officials said, but those cattle are not certified through the industry group.
"There's definitely an element of what we call Angus confusion," said Eileen Keller, a spokeswoman for the Certified Angus Beef program. "There are some folks who, when they see the word 'Angus,' automatically identify it with our program. They also make the assumption that it's all the same quality, and it's not."
Castaldo is concerned when terms like Black Angus are thrown around. "They could end up giving the entire Black Angus segment a black eye."
Fast-food restaurants aren't the only ones pegging their success to Angus or Herefords. More and more of the branded programs nationally are linked to smaller, niche meatpackers developing their own premium products exclusively around a particular animal.
In Kansas, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef promotes itself as the nation's only exclusive Angus beef slaughterhouse. The company, which is fighting the USDA over the right to test all of its cattle for mad-cow disease, processes no red cattle.
Fighting back, the Hereford producers soon will have the South Dakota-based Ridgefield Farms Premium Hereford Beef, which started in 2001. The company announced plans last March to build a $27 million meatpacking plant in Huron, S.D., that would employ up to 300 people. Ridgefield Farms promotes exclusively Hereford meat products.
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To see more of the Omaha World-Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.omaha.com
(c) 2004, Omaha World-Herald, Neb. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. CKR,
After all, it's not the Hereford or Charolais burger that's now the latest trend in fast food, but the Angus burger -- more specifically, Black Angus.
This spring, Burger King began rolling out its Angus Steakburger at restaurants, the first national chain to do so. Burger King follows several regional chains across the country in the past two years, including Hardee's, which reshaped its entire menu around Angus charbroiled burgers.
"So far, they are a hit," said Natalie Simmonds, marketing director for Simmonds Restaurant Management, which owns the Burger King franchises in Omaha. "We're not advertising it yet, but they are on the marquee. It's still kind of rolling out nationwide."
For Black Angus producers, the growing popularity of Angus is seen as the natural progression for a strong breed line, genetic development and marketing to create an industry name synonymous with quality beef.
"It's taken 30 years of hard work to become an overnight success," said Jim Shirley, vice president of industry relations for the St. Joseph, Mo.-based American Angus Association.
Competing breed associations credit the Angus guys for being the first association to step out with a certified quality program that now is the industry standard.
"The Angus folks have done a tremendous job marketing and getting their product accepted," said Joe Rickabaugh, director of communications for the American Hereford Association in Kansas City, Mo. "They were pioneers, and they are reaping the rewards for stepping out and doing it."
No statistics are available on the dominant breed in Nebraska, although the Nebraska Angus Association has about 180 member producers. Nationally, Angus-type breeds account for about 50 percent of all beef cattle. Herefords account for about 10 percent. Another 75 breeds and cross-breeds account for the other 40 percent of cattle, according to the Certified Angus Beef program.
Celebrating its 25th year, the Certified Angus Beef program was the first targeted, branded program in the country, and it remains the largest. Certified Angus Beef established specific guidelines for cattle, and the program now is serving its second generation of consumers.
"It's kind of ingrained in the public that the black animal is good," Dom Castaldo, editor for meatnews.com. "They just associate when it's a Black Angus it's got to be good to eat."
A lot of people have spun off the Certified Angus label. There are about 50 certified beef programs around of the country, about 30 of which promote using predominately Black Angus cattle.
That's caused the term Black Angus to resonate with people. The wording "Black Angus" burger outpolls "ground beef" in popularity 11-to-1, according to fast-food industry polls.
Shirley argues that the popularity of Angus beef isn't just because of clever marketing. The Black Angus provides a higher grade of meat more consistently than other breeds, he said.
"It's a matter of quality. Angus beef has always been known as a high-quality beef."
Chris Calkins, a professor of animal science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who studies meat quality, said Angus typically grade at a higher quality more consistently than some other beef breeds, which is why so many certified programs focus on the Angus.
"One of the reasons for the high number of Angus programs you see is it does have a reputation as a higher-quality product," Calkins said.
Other breeds, meanwhile, have developed their own promotions. The Hereford Association didn't start the Certified Hereford Beef program until 1995, but it has shown steady growth since then. The difference in certified Angus and Hereford programs is the magnitude:
The Certified Hereford Beef program produced 34.7 million pounds of beef in 2003 and processed 173,000 animals at two packing houses.
Greater Omaha Meatpacking Co. processed just under 103,000 cattle last year for the Certified Hereford Beef program. Another plant in Liberal, Kan., also processes for the program.
The Certified Angus Beef program produced more than 1 billion pounds of beef from 2.2 million cattle. Most of the largest meatpackers in the country participate in the program to some degree.
Rob Ames, program director for Certified Hereford Beef, said fewer people understand the basics of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's meat grading system, so they latch onto a term they associate with quality.
"In replacement of the grading, I think you are seeing terms like Angus," Ames said.
Officials at the Certified Angus Beef office emphasize that those fast-food promotions are not tied to their program. The restaurants may very well be using Black Angus animals, officials said, but those cattle are not certified through the industry group.
"There's definitely an element of what we call Angus confusion," said Eileen Keller, a spokeswoman for the Certified Angus Beef program. "There are some folks who, when they see the word 'Angus,' automatically identify it with our program. They also make the assumption that it's all the same quality, and it's not."
Castaldo is concerned when terms like Black Angus are thrown around. "They could end up giving the entire Black Angus segment a black eye."
Fast-food restaurants aren't the only ones pegging their success to Angus or Herefords. More and more of the branded programs nationally are linked to smaller, niche meatpackers developing their own premium products exclusively around a particular animal.
In Kansas, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef promotes itself as the nation's only exclusive Angus beef slaughterhouse. The company, which is fighting the USDA over the right to test all of its cattle for mad-cow disease, processes no red cattle.
Fighting back, the Hereford producers soon will have the South Dakota-based Ridgefield Farms Premium Hereford Beef, which started in 2001. The company announced plans last March to build a $27 million meatpacking plant in Huron, S.D., that would employ up to 300 people. Ridgefield Farms promotes exclusively Hereford meat products.
-----
To see more of the Omaha World-Herald, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.omaha.com
(c) 2004, Omaha World-Herald, Neb. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. CKR,
