The_Ledger_Summer_2020

“This is not your average branded-beef product. We are an elite, designer beef breed.” –Craig Walker, AAA president

Aberdeen Premium Beef Continued from page 8

fold — premiums for your steer calves after harvest and improvements to your cow herd’s efficiency and bottom line with retained heifer calves. Three cow herd problems can be solved in one breeding season. “You can eliminate all calving dif ficulties with your first-calf heifers, while also moderating your cow size if you retain those females,” Effertz says. “We know that you can produce more pounds of beef per acre by tak ing about 300 pounds off your mature cow size.” At the other end of the production chain, American Aberdeens reach premium quality grades and a desir able finish weight quicker and cheap er than most breeds, and that puts money back into your pocket. “Our goal is to get a $10 per hun dredweight premium on Aberdeen Premium Beef cattle at harvest, so a 1,250-pound American Aberdeen cross steer would see a $125 pre

deen Plus ® , and whose DNA is on file with the AAA. If you need help finding an eligible sire or dam, visit AAA’s website, www.AmericanAberdeen.com. The fourth step is to register with IMI Global and obtain electronic ID tags. There is an initial $5-per-animal charge at the onset of the process with the first $3 going to IMI Global, and the remaining $2 to be paid to AAA for general product promotion. Included in that charge is an EID tag that ties your calves to your premise ID number and stays with the indi vidual animal throughout the process to maintain traceability. For more in formation about tags or to download an application form, visit https:// americanaberdeen.com/events/ premium-beef/. Contact information for IMI Global is provided at this link as well. Cattle will then need to be fed out and harvested through an IMI Global certified feeding system and process ing facility to maintain source and age verification. At harvest, there is an $8 per head fee, of which AAA receives $5 and IMI Global receives $3. Adding Value for Seedstock Breeders Having come full circle, Aberdeen Premium Beef drives market demand for American Aberdeen seedstock. “One goal of Aberdeen Premium Beef is to create market demand for American Aberdeen genetics from commercial producers who are want ing to produce this beef,” Effertz says. “I think everybody in the seed stock business ultimately has the goal of genetically producing cattle that produce desirable and more ef ficient beef,” he adds. “We have the capability of producing an extremely desirable product for the retail market that will also drive bull demand for American Aberdeen breeders.” “We have a special product with an end game market for cattlemen,” Walker explains, summing up the program’s opportunities. “This is not your average branded-beef product. We are an elite, designer beef breed. We are embracing our place in the market with this product. The possi bilities are endless.” And that’s a win for ranchers and consumers alike. TL

communicate to consumers about the health, safety and welfare of American Aberdeen beef. Walker says the only limitation cattle producers have with this pro gram is the limitation they put on themselves. “IMI Global has every certification available,” he explains. “If you want to build a grass-fed, branded product, IMI Global can take you through every step of that process, while maintain ing the standards for Aberdeen Premi um Beef. The ground-level tool allows you to take your product however far you want to go as a breeder.” Doubling Down on How the Program Works To participate in the program, you must first have a premise ID from your state veterinarian’s office. This is nor

mium,” Effertz explains. “If you add additional labels to Aberdeen Pre mium Beef such as no hormone, all natural or grass fed, premiums might be significantly more than that.” The Aberdeen Premium Beef label is a baseline age- and source-verified program that will allow additional labels if the producer so desires. The AAA Board worked with IMI Global to provide third-party source, age and breed verification on the cattle. As the No. 1 provider of verification services to the food industry, Effertz says IMI Global’s involvement in the beef industry will help producers

mally a free process. To find contact information for your state, visit www. aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/ani malhealth/traceability/state-pin. Second, you must be Beef Qual ity Assurance (BQA) certified. You can complete this online certifica tion in fewer than three hours at www.bqa.org/bqa-certification . The third requirement is that all calves entering the Aberdeen Pre mium Beef program must be out of a registered American Aberdeen bull or cow that is classified as a fullblood, Moderator ® , Moderator Plus ® or Aber-

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