There is no doubt that the beef industry is in a crisis. It is a quiet crisis, but a crisis none-the-less.
Our customers - the final consumer, purveyors, retailers and restaurateurs - all agree that beef has a severe quality problem and that it is getting worse.
The 2005 National Beef Quality Audit reports that purveyors, retailers and restaurateurs found the greatest quality challenges were:- Insufficient Marbling
- Cut Weights too Heavy
- Lack of Uniformity in Cuts
- Inadequate Tenderness
- Excess Fat Cover
- Inadequate Juiciness
- Inadequate Flavor
- Inadequate Overall Palatability
- Low Cutability
- Too Large Ribeyes
That same report also makes it clear that the problems are getting worse, not better. Despite the increasingly "black hided" nature of the national cow-herd, the percentage of both prime and choice carcasses at slaughter shrank dramatically from 2000 to 2005, even allowing for the impact of the creation of the new "Select" grade.
And our problem is not limited to the domestic market according to the 2005 NBQA. Those involved in international sales of American beef rate the lack of marbling among the top reasons for limited export sales.
There are clearly several reasons for this crisis, but the 2005 NBQA makes it clear that the genetics in use today in the beef industry is a major cause of the problem. This reality is clearly recognized by the commercial cattleman. The 2005 NBQA notes the Changes Requested by Cow-Calf Producers:- Improve genetics (using performance)
- Improve genetics (using carcass traits)
- Improve genetics (using physical traits)
- Increase record keeping
- Improve genetics (using ultrasound)
- Maintain health/management data
- Collect carcass data
- Increase individual animal identification
- Use genetic data
- Change injection site location
We must admit that our breeding program was not developed to deal with the issues raised above, in the rest of the 2005 NBQA, or many other reports and articles. Our program obviously predates these reports. None-the-less, we believe that it may well have been.
Whether it is our emphasis on marbling or on tenderness; whether it is on growth-through-slaughter while limiting mature size to both "fit-the-box" and promote efficiency in the pasture and the feedlot; we feel we have the right genetics for the times.
Whether you take advantage of the strength our program can add to your herd through semen, through a bull for your pastures, or through foundation females, the tools are here at RAMER's Herefords to address the problems facing the industry and your operation today.
Give us a call or send an email for more information.