What is this Take Business Take the Time

What is this “Take Business”? “Take the Time” l “Take it to the Bank” l “Take Care” l “Take Charge” l “Take Ownership” l “Take Me, For Instance” l “Take This Job and……” l

But most of all, Be Prepared!

5/20/2003 Canada Confirms Single BSE Case in a Cow From Alberta by Roger Bernard Canadian agriculture officials today confirmed that they have a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad cow" disease.

How many of you are Angus breeders? If you can answer the following question then I know you are prepared? Do you know why the person that invests your money is called a broker? George Carlin

Okay, if you couldn’t answer that one: Do you know if Lipton Tea employees take a coffee break? George Carlin What hair color do they put on the driver’s license of bald men? George Carlin

Okay, here is one that all Angus breeders can answer: Whatever happened to Preparations A thru G? George Carlin Now, if you can’t answer these questions well……. .

Use this conference to hone your skills and improve your business strategy and savvy.

“Take the Time” ……. to plan for Success What is success? – Degree or measure of a favorable outcome. “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. ” Sir Winston Churchill

What best describes a successful cattlemen to me? Talented in many areas…. . – Have the ability to be well organized; see both the big and small picture, and are capable of time management, balancing the jobs at hand communicating the appropriate direction to others.

Hone Your Success Traits – Visionary “Imagination is more important than knowledge…” Albert Einstein

Hone Your Success Traits – Astuteness – Setting Goals – Customer Oriented “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. ” Bill Gates, Business @ The Speed of Thought

Hone Your Success Traits – Taking Action – Flexibility & Business Agility – Passionate/Competitive Drive – Compassionate – Communicator “Communication is the universal solvent. ” Unknown

Hone Your Success Traits l Success Traits – Tenacity – Working smart – Positive Outlook – Courage “Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway. ” John Wayne

Hone Your Success Traits – Reliability and Integrity “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. ” Mark Twain “Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing. ” Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841

Hone Your Success Trait of Success – Accuracy – Continuous learner – Joy in sharing success

Well, maybe I should get on with some subject matter What are some of the Meat Marketing Trends? Let’s take a trip down memory lane

Pre World War II Just give me something to eat Product innovation -- non existent Brands were not well established Processing and marketing were disconnected Knew producer of my food Higher percentage of income spent on food

After World War II “The June Cleaver Era” Consumers could buy more - but were not use to choices Commodity producers owned the market and drove the demand for commodity brands No communication up and down the production & marketing line Beginning of emotional marketing Processor is still the driver

Late 60 s, early 70 s “Era of Concentration”

– Commodity wholesale companies that created brands “Era of were proliferating brands Concentration” – Efficiencies were everywhere – Took less money to buy and had more choices – Processing and packaging increased -- didn’t see the food anymore – Total disconnect from their food system – Number of people connected to the land-- dramatically dropped – Actively isolated the consumer from production – Producers no longer saw and touched food as they knew it

1980 & 90 s: Wal. Mart Model

Wal. Mart Model – Information flowing in a system – Organized information – Tracks consumer behavior – Retailer calling shots with processors – Wants to include everyone as a customer – Exclusionary policy toward suppliers

Today ? ? ? l Are we switching power from the retailer to the consumer? l The Consumer Wants to Know !!! l Or at least that is the message being touted…. .

Global Product Expectation is a changing…… l World Competition may dictate necessities in our future production systems. – Source and animal identity – Verifying production processes – Quality assurance – Production supply chains – Cattle Care Guidelines

Industry Trends End Product Side – Source Verification – Traceability Our World Competitors l Paul Clayton: Jan. , 2003 NCBA Meeting – – – Ear/Tail tags Electronic ID Paper trail Computer tracking Birth to consumer track 11 countries 2 countries & 3 planning 5 countries, 1 planning 4 countries, 1 planning 5 countries

Industry Trends l End Product Side – Case-ready revolution – Branded Beef Programs – Changes in Marketing Grids/Formulas

The Look of Case-Ready Impact of Case-Ready -forcing packing industry to sell beef with 0 trim -current packer standard is ¼” trim with seam fat -case-ready cuts it to 0 fat trim -CURRENTLY cooler sort meets supply -but what about the future?

From Tyson-IBP Web Site IBP Fresh Meats Consumer Friendly Products will: – Allow you to redirect labor more productively – Reduce out of stock conditions caused by time, pressure and workload – Reduce marketing losses, ie, reworks, rewraps, markdowns, etc. – Enhance sales because of recipe/preparation instructions on every package, as well as safe handling instructions – Expand the variety of cuts currently offered – Enhance greater food safety – Extend marketing life over and above store cut product – Allow you to improve your bottom line

Will case-ready products have an impact on us? 2000 l 2001 l Expected in 2003 l Expected by 2010 l Will this cause a change in grid market premiums & discounts? 9% of all beef sales 18% 35% 80%

Industry Trends End Product Side – Branded Beef Programs – The race to brand beef products seems to be leveling off, but heat and eat is proliferating. USDA Certified Beef Programs

With all these product changes what changes are taking place in the commercial industry?

Has there been a change in use of Grid Marketing? KS, TX, OK & IA Schroeder, et. al. , Kansas State University, 2002 l Fewer cattle will be sold on the cash live and carcass dressed basis. l Percentage of cattle sold using grid markets – – – 1996 – 16% 2001 – 45% 2006 exp – 62%

Industry Trends Commercial Side – Supply chain development from cowcalf through feedlot – More retained ownership through the supply chain to capitalize on genetic and management investments – Demand for seedstock that positions commercial production correctly for the supply chain: correct end product quality, cutability and weight – Refocus on profit traits: Genetic emphasis on efficiency; reproduction and feed conversion – Continued pressure to develop animal and environmental friendly systems?

Industry Trends Commercial Side - Additional production aspects – Supply chain access will require source and process verification. – Market targets will continue to become better defined. – Easier access to end product data will occur. – Database management and analysis will be necessary. – High valued “reputation” feeder cattle will need to have years of data to back up the claim – “reputation”.

Industry Trends-Seedstock l l l l l Full service providers- Ritchie, ’ 03 Not only specification type seedstock, but… Feeder cattle merchandising Arrangement of retained ownership programs Alignment with feedyard and carcass data feedback Contract matings Embryo services for commercial producers wishing to raise their own bulls for bio-security purposes Replacement heifer programs for both seedstock and commercial customers Seedstock alliances to accommodate commercial sector Informational managers!

Industry Trends. Seedstock l Even greater focus on profit traits l Development of more EPDs and gene markers – Especially for Reproduction, Health and Efficiency

The John Airy Beef Cattle Symposium “Visions for Genetics and Breeding” May, 2003 5 renown International Geneticists – all spoke about their efforts in genetic developments on animal diseases. l l l Dr. Michel Georges, U of Liege, Belgium Dr. Morris Soller, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Dr. Jay Hetzel, Genetic Solutions, Australia Dr. Merete Fredholm, Royal Vet. & AG University, Denmark Dr. Stephen Bishop, Roslin Institute, UK

Industry Trends. Seedstock l “The role of molecular genetics will not diminish the importance of phenotypic recording and EPDs. ” Dr. Jack Dekker, ISU Molecular Geneticist @ Brown Bagger

Industry Trends. Seedstock l And finally, due to the increased number of EPDs and gene markers – selection and profit indexes will be demanded by your future customers.

Closing Thoughts l l Improve your competitive edge Better understand each others problems Improve your communications with customers and other segments And do your best to learn new skills

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it. ” Yogi Berra