PrimeTime_Fall_2018

Around the Campfire Bubba Bain | Executive Director | bbain@akaushi.com EXECUT I VE DIRECTOR’ S MESSAGE H ow many of you can remember the American Akaushi Association’s vision, mis- have seemed bumpy at times but in the end, it always seemed to smooth out.

First and foremost, we are in the beef busi- ness. With our unique business model, this association’s main focus has always been on the commercial producer and, in my opinion, that should always be the primary focus. Akaushi- influenced cattle should always be the majority of our business. We create marketing opportu- nities for our commercial bull buyers and that, in turn, creates more demand for Akaushi seed- stock and Akaushi-influenced genetics. This mentality is one of the reasons the Akaushi breed has survived and become one of the most respected breeds in the beef industry today. It wasn’t that long ago that we were being called Suzukis, Cowasakis, etc. Some of our own members were even using these terms and other nouns to describe our cattle. That has changed! Those days are gone! The industry is now calling us by our proper name, Akaushi. No longer second-tier, the Akaushi breed is now widely recognized and accepted. Both past and present breeders were, and still are, dedicated and committed to developing a breed that was relatively obscure a few years back, but they have always known that Akaushi has a future in today’s beef industry. Some future seedstock and commercial pro- ducers will be unable and/or unwilling to make the changes necessary to service a changing industry and/or a changing consumer – “I’ll raise the kind of cattle I want.” That’s the wrong attitude! Don’t confuse what you need to do with what you want to do. Your customer can and will replace you if you fail to deliver quality and value. Change is happening and will continue to happen. Remember that accelerated manage- ment tools like genomics, enhanced EPDs, residual-feed-intake technology, gene editing, DNA profiling, ultrasound and selection indexes are not going away; they will be a big part of your future. Continue to improve and progress with the times. Premiums for high-quality cattle will contin- ue. Akaushi cattle have done everything we’ve asked them to do and more. They will never let you down. You’ve done a great job. Keep up the good work! BREED SMARTER AND MARKET SMARTER. Vaya con Dios! PT

sion and commitment state- ments? Well, be patient with me while I bring them back from the archives for those who never got around to reading them.

Our Mission: To change beef production through tracking, maintaining and verifying the purity of the breed, the performance of the offspring and the quality of the final retail product. Our Vision: To maximize profits for produc- ers, feedlots, packers, retail and food service by increasing the demand for beef, while benefit- ing consumers by providing a superior, consis- tent, healthy product, backed up by facts. Our Commitment: We are committed to increasing the number of Akaushi-influenced cattle by working with producers who have a desire to significantly improve the quality and value of their calves using their current cow- herd or through our fullblood programs. We will manage the American Akaushi Association as a for-profit business, investing those profits back into programs, market research and services in order to best serve the membership’s goals, while maintaining the highest level of integrity. These are our “core values,” and I’m proud to say that ALL of us have done a great job living up to and maintaining these (ideals/standards). These “core values” were pertinent back in 2009 and are still applicable today. A tremendous amount of water has passed under our bridge in the last nine years. Our unique DNA Parent Verification program; our database transition from GPS to DigitalBeef; our expected progeny differences (EPDs) and index programs; our value-added programs (A4, GridMax); our U.S. Department of Agricul- ture branded beef program (HeartBrand ® Beef); our Akaushi marketing programs (Akaushi CattleLog, Superior Livestock Partnership); the transition from short tandem repeats (STRs) to single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) and the list goes on. These things have made our breed stronger and our breeders more competitive. As the old saying goes, “We’ve come a long way but still have a long way to go.” The road may

Akaushi Prime Time • Fall 2018

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