WOOSTER, Ohio — Angus cattle producers from across the nation met in Wooster and the Certified Angus Beef headquarters for the American Angus Association summer board meeting, June 3-5.
One of the top issues on their minds is the favorable market for beef, which continues to sell at near-record highs.
Association President Steve Olson, of Hereford, Texas, said the beef market is good across the board right now, more so than producers had expected.
“It’s been fabulous,” he said. “All of our beef market has been extremely good because of low supply across the country, but our breeding stock has certainly reaped the same rewards as the rest of our market has.”
Prices for fat cattle remain above $1.60 a pound, while feed prices are on a downward trend.
Markets could change
But Olson said the situation could change down the road, and that producers should be prepared for when that happens.
“We know prices may not stay this high for an extended period,” he said.
He stressed the need for producers to build some distinction into their program, such as the Certified Angus
Beef brand, which helps farmers receive a premium over the regular market.
Another top issue for the board was planning for the National Angus Convention and Trade Show, which will be held Nov. 3-5 in Overland Park, Kansas.
Also, on June 5, the association announced the departure of Bryce Schumann as executive director, and that a new director is being sought.
Chef Rosenberg
While in Wooster, board members got to meet the newest Certified Angus Beef chef, Peter Rosenberg, who prepared a meal for them June 4, inside the CAB Education and Culinary Center.
The center opened three years ago, and serves as a place for chefs to demonstrate and experiment, and offer new methods of cooking.
Rosenberg joined CAB in September, following a successful career that included four- and five-star hotels, and catering meals for U.S. presidents and royalty, including a luncheon for Queen Elizabeth, in 1981.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Rosenberg came to the U.S. in 1979 and attended the Culinary Institute of America, in New York.
He leads the Education and Culinary Center, a place that he calls a “think tank” for sharing information and cooking technique.
His goal is to show other chefs ideas that they’ve never thought of, and things they can use in their own restaurant or institution.
“People are looking for that little point of difference, that little something that somebody else isn’t doing,” he said.
Full circle
The education center allows Certified Angus Beef to connect the finished meat product with consumers, closing the farm-to-table gap.
“Today, as people look for more information about their food, they’re more interested about how it was raised, where it was raised,” Olson said. “If we can educate these people that are right there at the consumer (level), we have made an end road to closing the gap.”
