Calgary Stampede Steer Champion

Congratulations to Miller Wilson Angus and the Michael Daines family on winning the 2008 Steer Classic at the Calgary Stampede.

The reserve champion banner went to Justin Morrison and Nate Marin.

There were 107 steers shown this year, and the quality deep. Kudos to the exhibitors on a great show!

Kudos to the Beef Beyond Borders organizers for putting on an educational, fun event! Also a huge thank you to the sponsors who made it possible. With close to 400 participants from around the world having the opportunity to network and learn from each other, the BIF 2008 conference was an extremely successful event!

Economically Relevant Traits

World food production will have to increase 50% by 2030. Yet the North American cowherd continues to decline.

Certainly, beef production has become more challenging with the cost of raising a calf going up 56% in just the past three years.

Dr. Mark Enns, Colorado State University, posed the question, how can we become more profitable? Through changes in management practices, changes in marketing and genetic improvement.

From a genetic standpoint, the easy stuff is done. The industry has EPDs to select for all the traits that are easy to measure. Now the focus needs to shift to Economically Relevant Traits.

ERTs are traits directly related to income and/or cost of production. One example of an ERT that is already being measured is calving ease. Calving ease has a direct impact on income as it relates to the number of live calves, as well as labor costs. Birth weight on the other hand is an indicator trait – it has the ability to influence calving ease, but is not the entire equation.

ERT traits for immediate focus are:
• Feed intake
• Health and survival traits
• Consumer acceptance traits, such as eating quality and nutritional content
• Regionalized adaptability, and
• Male fertility traits

Remember that genetic improvement is long term and the decisions you make today will be most apparent 20 years from now.

Collaboration

Rather than providing summaries on the individual presentations this morning, the following is a synopsis of the common theme that was apparent from all the speakers.

The North American beef industry is once again in the midst of significant change. Factors such as fuel prices, labor shortages, technology advances and consolidation are having a huge impact on everything from daily management to end product marketing.

So, how can we take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the challenges?

COLLABORATION.

Collaboration among industry segments. Collaboration across borders. Collaboration between producers.

Industry Segments
Sharing of information among the various levels of the industry will allow everyone to improve the quality and consistency of the final beef product at a much faster pace than has previously been possible. Increasing the availability of genetic, performance and management information for all those involved will allow each player to make adjustments to their niche that can enhance the entire chain.

Across Borders
Collaboration on projects such as genetic evaluation and research between Canada and the United States has become more common during the past 20 years. This ensures more efficient collection and interpretation of information, increased data accuracy and better use of financial and human resources. There is certainly opportunity to expand these partnerships as breed associations are forced to re-evaluate expenditures and look at ways to become more efficient.

Between Producers
Gone are the days when commercial customers were happy with their seedstock providers selling them a pedigreed bull and showing an interest in their farm and family. Commercial producers have become value-driven business people with sharp pencils, and a need for more information and customer service. They are utilizing the most current technology and looking for innovative ways to market their calves. Collaboration between seedstock and calf suppliers is a natural partnership that has the potential to greatly influence the quality of the cattle and beef produced that should lead to improvement in their bottom line.

North America should be the genetic source for the world. The industry cannot afford inefficiencies or duplicate efforts. In the words of John Pollak, let’s begin to take small steps toward… someday.

WOW! Great morning!

The presentations this morning from Dr. Kent Andersen, Sean McGrath, Dr. Bob Kemp and Dr. Mark Enns on this final morning of Beef Beyond Borders were EXCELLENT! Full summaries will be posted this afternoon at the latest.

Dave Nichols' Integrated Producer Perspective

Dave Nichols of Nichols Superior Beef Genetics, Iowa, believes the beef industry is changing from a supply-driven market to a demand-driven market.

This transition is going to require seedstock producers to focus their genetic selection and production on several key factors:

• Exploiting heterosis
• Improving rapid early growth
• Taking advantage of current technology to improve the beef end product
• Use of DNA profiles in selection and systematic culling
• Aggressively pursuing marketing partners
  

The Value of Information / Canadian Beef Advantage Program

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

An old adage, but one that continues to ring true for the beef industry according to Brad Wildeman of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. This industry faces unique challenges that contribute to it lagging behind many other agricultural sectors in terms of advancement. Some of the reasons for this include: the segmented nature of the beef industry, selection/culling being more of an “art” than “science,” the impact of environmental factors on management practices, a lack of measurement criteria and poor information flow among segments.

Wildeman made note of new opportunities available that have the potential to improve the current situation, such as DNA genotyping for identification and rapid reproduction of genetically superior stock, and electronic/Internet transfer of data increasing the availability of information to more stakeholders.

Several Canadian industry organizations have joined forces to create the Canadian Beef Advantage program to better market the strengths of Canadian beef in the international marketplace. Canadian product has advantages in animal health and beef safety, genetics, identification, age verification, quality and consistency.

The program will create a central database for information on cow/calf management, performance and health, DNA genotypes, grading and customer intelligence.

For Canadian beef industry partners, the program will provide a means for improved information/feedback sharing and process verification, as well as tools for value-added trade opportunities. Canadian Beef Advantage is going to be built on the principles of:
• Industry control
• Market driven
• Development at the speed of technology
• Producer control of mandatory regulations

The results of this program will be information movement among industry segments; more defined breeding, feeding and marketing strategies; improved overall herd quality.

Global Market Perspective and Opportunities from Dr. Kee Jim

Canada has a very vibrant, energy-driven economy. But the math is simple, it’s in trouble.

If Canada doesn’t increase its markets outside North America, the country will become a domestic producer. This will equate to a significant downsizing of the beef industry.

“The blend of politics and science creates strange offspring,” said Dr. Kee Jim. Rather than the past all-or-nothing approach Canada has had to re-establishing trade, Jim thinks the country should pursue incremental access.

Even though Canada and the United States have the same BSE classification with the OIE, Canada lacks the trade leverage with other countries to force open market access. Canada has struggled to regain meaningful, economically effective access to the markets that closed as a result of finding BSE in 2003.

Whether Canada regains overseas market access in the next three to five years will determine whether its current beef industry survives.

Gary Smith on Value-Added Marketing, Branded Beef and Animal Welfare

“All of the money we have in the beef industry is the sum of the amounts that domestic and international customers and consumers are willing to pay for out products,” Dr. Gary Smith, Colorado State University, pointed out. To increase the amount of money we get for our product, we have to add value that consumers are willing to pay more money for.

Value-Based Marketing refers to naturally occurring genetic variability in the product.

Value-Added Marketing focuses on management practices that can be verified to assure compliance.

Up to $30/cwt price spread on feeder calves occurs every week across the United States, based on health, performance history, and eligibility for premium or export programs. Producers can “climb the staircase to profitability” with management practices, data collection and alliance with established programs.

Currently, more than HALF of the beef sold in the United States is marketed under a branded beef program. That is up almost 10 percent in just four years. There has also been a shift to more retailer-owned brands, which Smith anticipates will be reversed.

True brands offer traceability, a story and quality control. An increased component of many brands’ stories includes animal welfare as groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals continue to cast doubt in consumers’ minds about the treatment of animals. Consumers want to feel someone is overseeing the care of the animals and the environment all the way through the production system. This trend will likely see increased

Welcome to Beef Beyond Borders!

Attendees of the 2008 Beef Beyond Borders - Beef Improvement Foundation Conference enjoyed a welcome reception this evening sponsored by the Canadian Cattlemen's Association at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Calgary. After hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, Herb McLane and Don MacKenzie of the Canadian Beef Breeds Council and Lora Rose of BIF welcomed the group.

Getting down to business, National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium Executive Director John Pollak, PhD, from Cornell University (also named a BEEF magazine "Top 40" most influential person in the industry) opened the presentations with an overview of the current trends in beef cattle improvement. With the rapid pace of DNA evaluation technology development, he said now is the time to begin transitioning toward the next generation of selection tools. Possibilities to consider include:

• "molecular breeding values" based on DNA data
• incorporation of DNA data into EPD calculations
• a centralized database for genetic information
• multi-breed evaluation
• research collaboration
• optimizing exploration

Pollak's take-home message was that as an industry we need to "optimize selection decisions based on the information in hand at the time the decision is made."