The_Ledger_Summer_2020

New Branded-Beef Program Targets High-End Consumers

Aberdeen Premium Beef ™ set to capture designer beef market

BY TONYA PEREZ, AGTOWN TECHNOLOGIES

W ith today’s market chal lenges, now more than ever, beef producers need to minimize ranch expenses while maximizing harvest premiums to capture the most profit. Meanwhile, with the COVID-19 pan demic leaving some grocery shelves empty, consumers are increasingly interested in buying their food closer to home. With tremendous opportu nity knocking at the door, the Ameri can Aberdeen Association ® (AAA) has boldly entered the room with Aberdeen Premium Beef™, a superior quality, branded-beef program geared toward upscale consumers. “The taste, texture and tender ness of Aberdeen Premium Beef is exceptional,” says Neil Effertz, North Dakota American Aberdeen breeder and AAA secretary-treasurer. “Our retail customers who have purchased Aberdeen Premium Beef marvel at the meat’s fine texture and intense, robust flavor.” Craig Walker, AAA president and New Mexico cattleman, echoes that breeders across the country can’t keep American Aberdeen beef in stock; once they try it, it’s their No. 1 choice in beef. Combined with the white table cloth-level taste that could headline menus at the finest restaurants in New York City or Los Angeles, Aberdeen

Premium Beef has a special appeal to consumers as the most environmen tally friendly beef product available. “Aberdeen Premium Beef is an eco friendly product that appeals to envi ronmentally conscientious consum ers,” Walker says. “It’s not going to negatively impact the environment be cause American Aberdeen cattle use one-third less feed and spend one third less time on feed to finish earlier with a high percentage of Choice and Prime grades. And all this can be done without added hormones. “With one-third less impact on the environment, no other breed of cattle can claim more sustainability and a lower carbon footprint than American Aberdeen cattle,” he adds. The brand targets a different con sumer than the average branded-beef program. The designer beef appeals to an urban customer who has dispos able income and wants to feel good about how they are making the world a better place. “We aren’t trying to put American Aberdeen beef in McDonald’s Happy Meals,” Walker says. “This product is geared toward a consumer shopping at a Whole Foods Market or designer boutique grocery store. We want con sumers to recognize the eco-friendly values of this product and look for ward to having it again.” For cattle producers selling their beef locally, the more proportionately correct carcass halves or quarters also fit most consumers’ freezer space better, plus it fits their health better, too, Walker says.

“If my doctor told me I could only eat X amount of steak, I don’t want a 21-inch ribeye that slices up to be a quarter of an inch thick. That’s not a good dining experience. I want a 12-inch ribeye that is 1 1/4 inches thick. That’s a much better sit-down, gourmet-type dining experience.” For consumers who also yearn for a taste of yesteryear, Aberdeen Premi um Beef wins again. While American Aberdeen cattle may seem new to some U.S. ranchers, the genetics actu ally trace back to the original Angus cattle hailing from Scotland, when beef was king of the plate. Ameri can Aberdeen genetics are the result of the top genetics from the Angus breed in 1929 that were purchased and maintained in a closed research herd in Australia. Effertz imported some of those genetics into the United States in 1996, and now, to ensure the breed’s purity, American Aberdeen breeders DNA verify their registered seedstock. With less gene dilution, today’s American Aberdeen cattle maintain profitability at the cow-calf level through moderate cow size, efficiency and the traditional eating quality of Angus genetics that make consumers crave beef above all other proteins. How the Consumers’ Win Means Gains for Commercial Producers Breeding calves tailored for the Aberdeen Premium Beef program rewards commercial producers two-

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