At the 2023 Cattlemen’s Congress, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, had the chance to visit with Mark Gardiner of Gardiner Angus about growth in the cattle industry.
“It is exciting to be here in Oklahoma City, and this is in the heart of cattle country and cattle producers, and we like to say, ‘it’s where the action is,’” Gardiner said. “I think the great plains is so good for beef cattle and beef cattle producers- this is where the professionals are.”
As 2022 was a tough year for those in the cattle industry facing drought, Gardiner reflects back on the similarities to the drought in 2011. Gardiner said he is thankful for the moisture that his ranch received during the year, even if it was not much.
“All the weather forecasters are talking about spring of ’23 going to be much improved, and I think that is exciting, and necessary as we look at the opportunity that we have in the beef cattle business,” Gardiner said. “We are going to see prices and values that we have never seen before.”
Gardiner talked about the opportunities that new technologies in the beef industry have made for his family and many more in the cattle business.
“You wouldn’t be talking to me here today if it wasn’t for technology,” Gardiner said. “Without genetic predictions, without genomics, without the technology of artificial intelligence insemination, embryo transfer- all of these things are opportunities.”
There is a reason that American beef producers are the best in the world, Gardiner said, and that is because of their willingness to adopt and adapt to new technologies.
“I was lucky that my dad was a real pioneer when they invented AI- he was in college at that time, and he made the decision in 1964 to be total AI,” Gardiner said. “I actually joke that I had never seen a bull breed a cow until I was older in life.”
The acceleration of technologies in the industry, Gardiner said, allows progress to be made at a faster rate. The Certified Angus Beef Program, Gardiner said, is another way that value is improved in the industry.
“Look at where we are today,” Gardiner said. “We enjoy the greatest beef demand in the history of our industry, and when we look at where beef is as a protein, because we as producers have used this technology, used the genetics to make beef better, we are the protein of choice. We have differentiated from our competitors- pork and poultry. We are the protein that the world wants, and we are going to make it even better in the future.”
Looking forward to 2023, Gardiner said if cattle producers can receive good moisture to help with input costs, it could be the greatest year in the history of the beef industry from a price standpoint.
“Not only that value from a market-driven standpoint, but from a demand-driven standpoint,” Gardiner said. “People want our high-quality beef, and I think that makes value for all of us in the beef business.”
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
