Mark McCully has served the American Angus Association as Chief Executive Officer since 2019. He was a former vice president of production for Certified Angus Beef and previously led the beef improvement program and value-added feeder cattle marketing programs for cattlemen within a 22-state region for Southern States Cooperative. Of course, the Cattlemen’s Congress is a must-attend event for the experienced cattleman and Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays was on hand to talk with McCully about what is going on in the Angus industry.
McCully said. “The number of spectators, exhibitors, and sales for the event along with the uniqueness of the facility and ease of moving cattle in and out is so exhibitor friendly. It has really become a fantastic showcase for the Angus breed.”
McCully cited the historically high prices of cattle today and the expected longevity of them as worthy reasons to be a cattle producer today. With the nation’s cattle inventory down, demand is incredibly strong, and beef quality is at an all-time high. Beef – and especially Angus beef – producers are well positioned to prosper.
Certified Angus Beef has been around since 1978, and the industry has flourished around its high standards for beef. “Ten years ago, I would have said that we would never have been able to put beef out in front of consumers like we are today and have them still put it in their shopping carts or order it off of a menu. We still have the protein of celebration,” McCully said. “The quality that we have put in our product has allowed us to grow demand and maintain these price levels.”
McCully is proud of the Angus genetics that meet the demands for high-quality beef without sacrificing growth, performance, longevity, or maternal function. “That is where the Angus breed has really excelled,” he said. “It can do all of those things. The Angus breed has definitely been in the driver’s seat both in the maternal and the terminal sides of the beef industry.”
During the recession of 2009, McCully, along with other beef producers, learned that demand is about the price/value relationship. Working for CAB at the time, he remembers advising retailers not to make the decision for the consumers but rather put the product out there at the needed price and allow the consumer to decide.
“I think when prices got high in past times, retailers decided that the consumer wouldn’t pay for that, so they didn’t put it in the ad feature or even, oftentimes, in the case,” he said. “We have found that if the product is consistent and high quality and meets the consumer’s expectations, they are willing to pay for it, and we don’t need to apologize for that price.”
McCully reiterated how CAB worked for twenty to twenty-five years before they finally began seeing grid premiums and true economic signals sent to the producer. He added, “Now, those signals are pretty significant, and the remarkable thing is that the more supply we put out there, the premiums have gotten bigger, which is a little counterintuitive, but it speaks to putting product out there and accessing new consumers, markets, and retailers.”
CAB Prime has also continued to grow in demand despite the current price climate and has become a new target for cattle producers to aim for.
CAB is a non-profit, branded beef program, owned, operated, and governed by members of the American Angus Association. Its mission is to drive demand for Angus cattle to benefit the members who raise them.
“That is unique,” McCully admitted. “It has put us in a unique position when we are out there talking to these very large companies selling our product, they like that story and the grassroots ties that the Certified Angus Beef Brand has to the beef industry.”
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 at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
