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When every dollar counts, cow-calf
producers take stock of what they have to offer. They look for
ways to add value to their calves. For more than 21,000 of those
calves, the owners decided the best way to add value was simply
to document it. During
March, 84 Angus producers helped themselves by enrolling their
calves in the AngusSource Process Verified Program.
“That was a monthly record,”
says Sara Snider, director of AngusSource. “These calves from
across the country, verified for source, group age and Angus
genetics, represented a 50.7% increase compared to March 2008
enrollments.”
AngusSource became a USDA
Process Verified Program (PVP) in October 2005. Since then
nearly 320,000 calves have been enrolled by more than 1,300
Angus producers. “The growth of the program and the number of
repeat customers is a testament of their confidence in
AngusSource and the value the program adds to their calves,” she
says.
“Our analysis of the 2008
Superior Livestock video auction data showed that calves
enrolled in AngusSource brought $3.37 per cwt more than
non-verified calves,” Snider says. “Calves that have sold so far
in 2009 show those premiums are still being paid for good cattle
that are verified.”
Premiums persist because the
value persists. “The AngusSource program offers a way to add
value at every step of the production chain,” says Jim Shirley,
vice president of industry relations at the American Angus
Association®. “The ranch program allows producers to capture
additional value by verifying the source, age and genetics of
their calves. Enrollment in AngusSource at the ranch means
calves qualify for many branded beef export markets and meet the
initial requirements for COOL.”
AngusSource also offers a
feedyard program, initially designed to allow farmer feeders to
meet requirements for marketing age-verified calves directly to
a packer for export to Japan. Commercial feeders may also
enroll. “Although still small, our feedyard program has been
operating well,” Snider says. “Feeders enrolled in AngusSource
have been able to garner age-verified packer premiums of up to
$45 per head. For the modest cost to enroll, the potential
returns are huge.”
Increasingly, packers are
setting up their plants to accept AngusSource tagged calves –
regardless of hide color – to supply Angus branded beef programs
for both U.S. and export markets.
The AngusSource online listing
site and weekly e-mails continue to provide strong marketing
support for producers enrolled in the program. More than 600
order buyers and feeders receive the weekly e-mails by request,
and use them to locate and take steps toward buying AngusSource
calves.
“Calves promoted through the
online listing site can be sold on the video, through an auction
market or direct from the ranch,” explains Snider. “Our goal is
to help producers document additional management, health and
marketing information. We then use the web and weekly e-mail to
circulate the listings to potential buyers.” Since the beginning
of the PVP more than 123,000 calves have been promoted through
this service.
In a slow economy and a cattle
market that demands good management and aggressive marketing,
AngusSource is a logical tool for producers to tap into
additional profit potential for a small investment.
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