About BQC

Produced by Drovers in cooperation with Certified Angus Beef LLC, "Beef Quality Connection" is published every two weeks, exclusively on the World Wide Web. The objective of the project is to provide useful business information for beef producers who seek to improve the quality of their herds and the beef they market. The information is intended to be applicable to any other producer, regardless of his/her breed preference.

Industry Press

Study measures economic impact of pharmaceutical technologies in Modern Beef Production: May 09, 2007

Montana Livestock Forum and Nutrition Conference: March 15, 2007

Pasture to plate cooperation needed to please consumers: March 15, 2007

Tyson Foods unveils new Discovery Center: March 07, 2007

IE panel recommends favorable change to BSE rating: February 28, 2007

more news

Latest Article

Opportunity for Calf Buyers: May 08, 2008

If the forecasts of many market analysts are correct, this fall's calf prices will be lower. The high cost of corn and other feed grains has pushed feedyard costs of gain higher, making placement of heavier cattle more appealing to cattle feeders. Feedyard economics favor shorter feeding periods associated with cattle weighing 700 pounds or more, rather than lighter calves requiring more days on feed.
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Recent Articles

Plan for lower calf prices: April 25, 2008
For several years, calf sellers have been in the catbird seat. Demand for their calves remained good and calf prices stayed higher longer than many people expected. It's been a pretty good ride, but it looks rough up ahead.

Beef quality audit offers good news and direction for more improvement: April 10, 2008
There is no doubt about it. That video showing the mishandling of a downer cow at a California packing house blackened the eye of the beef industry. Even though the Hallmark/Westland Meat Company incident really wasn't about food safety, that's the spin some reports gave it. And while the animal handling practices depicted are not characteristic of the beef industry, it caused some people to question our stewardship. The whole thing serves as yet another reminder that perception is powerful.

DNA Testing & Ultrasound: Conflicting or Complementary: March 27, 2008
Our previous issue focused on DNA testing, and application of the technology for improving genetic selection of beef cattle. Featured were comments, by University of Missouri geneticist Robert Weaber, explaining how DNA markers can be used to track the inheritance of simple traits controlled by a single gene, or complex traits controlled by many genes. Through marker assisted selection, parent stock known to carry a gene associated with a certain trait can be used to increase the frequency of desirable forms of the gene within a population.

DNA testing for production and carcass traits: March 13, 2008
For centuries, genetic selection was a subjective process, based on a cattle breeder's eyeball appraisal and pedigree. The process became more objective when breeders could apply numbers related to an animal's performance relative to its peers – such as in-herd ratios for weaning weight and yearling weight.

Which production system yields quality and profit?: February 28, 2008
Most agricultural economists and cattle market analysts are singing the same song. The tune's title is "The Ethanol Express" and every verse tells how high feed grain prices are changing the cattle business.

Will there be enough high-quality beef?: February 14, 2008
It's a question that keeps Mike Drury up at night. The meat marketing manager worries about whether he'll be able to secure enough high-quality beef for his foodservice customers. Sure, it's becoming more expensive, but that doesn't bother Drury as much as the prospects for an adequate supply of USDA Prime and high-Choice product.

Feedyards placing heavier cattle? Not yet, but it’s coming: January 31, 2008
A few months ago, economic signals heralded change for the cattle feeding industry. With grain prices driven skyward by increasing ethanol production, feedyard costs of gain also had climbed higher and higher. Demand for grain as a fuel source would continue, the indicators showed, and a cattle feeding industry built on cheap corn was perched on the brink of change.

By-products & beef quality: More evidence & more questions: January 17, 2008
You take the good with the bad. For more than a few cattle feeders, the good thing to come out of increased ethanol production is the increased availability of by-product feedstuffs. Particularly for feeders located reasonably close to a source, the nutrient value and relative costs of ethanol by-products have helped salve the sores higher feed grain prices. Those higher prices, of course, represent the bad thing.

Economics of pharmaceutical technologies: January 03, 2008
Ever stop to think about how many people derive their living from the cattle business, without owning a cow brute? We’re talking about “allied industry” people that make and market products for improving the efficiency of beef production, and enhancing beef quality. Take pharmaceutical products, for example. Generally, each product promises respectable return on investment resulting from improved animal health and increased performance. More pounds and better quality translate to cattle with added value and an opportunity for greater profitability.

Beef safety is a quality factor (Part 2): December 20, 2007
The year 2007 will bear the blemishes of increased recalls of ground beef suspected of contamination by the bacterial pathogen E.coli O157:H7. Recalls led to one meat company (Topps) being forced out of business and a major processor (Cargill) became the target of litigation. Of course, ground beef recalls became fodder for the news media, with a flurry of accusations hurled at meat companies and USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS).

Beef safety is a quality factor (Part 1): December 07, 2007
Certainly, from the consumer's perspective, food safety is a beef quality factor. So any safety issue that might threaten consumer confidence in their product is of concern to beef producers. During 2007, cattlemen had cause to cringe repeatedly, due to the increased incidence of meat companies recalling ground beef products. There have been 20 recalls this year, for fear certain ground beef products might be contaminated by the E.coli 0157:H7. That's just one recall short of the record set in 2000 and repeated in 2002.

Does supplemental Vitamin A impact quality grade?: November 21, 2007
What child hasn't been told to eat his or her carrots, because they promote good eyesight? It's true of foods containing carotenes and carotenoids which are precursors of Vitamin A. Students of animal science learn early that Vitamin A may be of most practical importance to ruminant nutrition for other reasons too. Vitamin A is essential to normal growth, reproduction and maintenance. It plays a big role in the utilization of other nutrients. But levels of Vitamin A in the diets of finishing cattle may also influence carcass quality grade.