At the recently completed Blueprint for The Future Cattlemen’s Conference, many key players in the seed stock and commercial cattle industry spoke about building success in the cattle industry.
Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is featuring comments from Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Intern, Maci Carter’s interview with Executive Vice President of the American Hereford Association, Jack Ward, and talked about the two-day program.
Overall, Ward said he was impressed with the way the conference was put together.
“We have done a good job in U.S. beef production,” Ward said. “We produce more pounds of beef with fewer cows.”
The needle continues to move in terms of quality, Ward said, and in producing the kind of product that a consumer is willing to pay more for.
“I was very impressed with the very beginning of the conference when we had the folks from the Noble Foundation come and talk to us about the value of soil health, regenerative grazing, and the importance of that. I think that was brought to full fold over the last two or three years in terms of some of the areas that dealt with drought.”
A big topic of the conference was about genetics, Ward said, and how to utilize genetic tools for future success.
“We had quite a bit of conversation in terms of ethics and honesty with a set of panelists that are seed stock breeders, sale managers and folks that judge shows,” Ward said. “I thought that was really an intriguing panel of discussion and obviously looking at where we are in terms of trends, Dr. Peel came in and gave us some market outlook for the next few years.”
From a price standpoint, Ward said the cattle industry should be in good shape for the next few years.
Ward also talked about the importance of staying ahead of what the consumer wants from the industry. As carcass weight and quality have been pushed hard, Ward said some question whether some efficiencies have been given up in the process.
“The consumer is first,” Ward said. “They need to know they are buying a high-quality product, but then after that it has got to be backed with information, and transparency.”
Today’s consumer wants transparency, Ward said, and wants to see the way the product is handled and managed.
“It was an interesting conference, and it took a lot of different turns, but at the end of the day, keeping that consumer in mind and what they want is going to be vital to us,” Ward said.
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.
