New Bull Test Station in Florida
by Roger L. McCraw

A new bull testing station has been opened in northern Florida at Marianna. Entry deadline is June 1. Bulls will be sold on February 17, 2001. To be eligible for the test, bulls must be between 175 and 317 days of age when delivered. Testing will begin on July 14 and 15 for bulls born in 1999 and September 8 and 9 for those born in 2000.

Consignments from producers in Florida will be given preference, however, consignments from producers outside Florida will be accepted on a space-available basis.

A number of breeders in North Carolina routinely sell bulls in Florida. If you know of producers who do this, consigning to the new bull test may be of interest to them. Having good performing bulls on the test could help promote their cattle and breeding program.

For information on consigning bulls, contact: Dr. Bob Sand University of Florida Department of Animal Science 352-392-7529 or the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center Marianna, FL 850-482-9904. • 

" 2000 North Carolina Spring Stocker Sale Summaries Now Available on the Web!"

We have completed the data entry and analysis of the graded stocker sales held this spring and Linda Kern has worked diligently to make this information available to you on the web. We now have the entire summary available for on-line viewing and can be printed as an Acrobat PDF file.

The summaries may be accessed and printed at the following url:

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/an_sci/extension/animal/market/Ahmarket.html •

by Roger L. McCraw

ork producers need to take a page from the beef book and not be afraid of the "f-word" (fat word) according to Ken Keogh.

Who is Keogh? He is president of the California Culinary Institute. During the 1980s, he was involved with food service at Disney's Epcot Center. The April 24, 2000 issue of Feedstuffs contained an interesting report on his presentation at a seminar for Iowa pork producers. His topic was "muscle quality traits and market development".

For 10 to 15 years the pork industry has chased the chicken in an attempt to rid its product of fat. Beef folks jumped on the bandwagon and rode it hard too for a few years. Fortunately, the beef industry quickly learned that a certain amount of fat is essential, not only from a taste-flavor-juiciness standpoint but also from a production standpoint. The latter is more critical to the beef industry than swine because of structural differences in production.

Keogh stated that the "other white meat" campaign may have been a mistake. He says he doesn't care what color the product is because his customers do not see it in its raw form. "Consumers want flavor, especially when they dine out. Marbling is very important to consumer satisfaction," said Keogh. "McDonald's is a fuel stop, not an eating experience." Well-marbled beef is tapping that market, he said, which is why steak houses are the fastest growing restaurant segment.

He noted that consumers do not have time to prepare meals and an increasing proportion of them do not know how to cook. Home-meal replacement is the next major trend. According to Keogh, beef demand is improving because it is one of the last solid muscles with good cooking, taste, and aromatic qualities. "I am just one chef, but I represent a significant market with lots of value," he concluded.

Perhaps related to his message, Feedstuffs reported in another article in the same issue that "Continued, frenzied demand for beef forced packers to hand over another dollar for cattle. However, few were complaining as beef moved off packers' docks at nearly record-high levels, and plants were easily profitable." Analysts have described recent beef markets as demand driven -- an absolute shift that began in 1998 after 20 years of a supply-driven beef market.

If you are a beef producer, purebred or commercial, did you pay attention to the carcass trait EPDs when you selected your last seedstock? You can bet that your fellow producers who are interested in getting premiums for their cattle did. The value of carcass trait information was evident in the Springfield Angus Production Sale last Saturday, April 29.

Feedstuffs is an excellent weekly agribusiness newspaper. Subscription are $120 per year.

Call 800-441-1410 or Online at http://www.feedstuffs.com/ for $52 per year.•