YBIC
     The weekend of March 25-28 six Junior Board members attended the Youth Beef Industry Congress (YBIC) at College Station, Texas. We listened to prominent leaders in the beef industry, toured Camp Cooley Ranch and met people from around the nation involved in the beef industry.

     The conference began with a mini Beef 706 Seminar, a program run by Texas A&M University. In this seminar, we learned how to evaluate yield and quality grades of live cattle, compare live results to harvested results and how a carcass is divided into usable parts. To be able to evaluate yield and quality grades live, one must know how different breeds perform on the rail. At the slaughter house, we were given a breakdown on how a beef animal is cut up and sold. Most of the meat is found in the chuck and the round, but since they are not considered to be high quality meats by consumers, they do not bring much money. This is why the beef industry council did a study on the muscles included in the chuck and the round to come up with new and more tender cuts which are more desirable for consumers.

     Michael De La Zerda, from the Texas Beef Council, talked to us about Beef Quality Assurance, a program started to assure consumers that beef is a safe product. The safety and quality of beef starts with the producer. This program has set out to inform producers how to manage their cattle to enhance safety and quality in the end product. Along with informing the producers of this program, Michael also advertises quality and safety of beef to consumers, through broadcast advertising and beef labeling.

     Rhonda Miller, a meats professor at Texas A&M University, gave a lecture on palatability. She emphasized the effect marbling has on the taste of beef, along with the fact beef should be aged at least 14 days, if not longer, in order to make it more tender and flavorful. Studies show people who eat meat graded prime will have a 90 percent chance,or more of having a desirable eating experience, choice will have a 75 percent chance and select will have a 50 percent chance. With this data, packers can work with meat that is prime, choice or select, but once it falls below select, they cannot sell the product.

     Charles Bradbury talked with us about the Nolan Ryan Tender Aged Beef Company. This company rejects beef that is yield grade 1 or 2 and falls in the select quality grade. Their goal is to produce a high quality product consumers enjoy, and from the prime rib they fed us, I would say it’s working!

     We had two presentations on marketing. One given by Russell Woodward with the Texas Beef Council, and one by Terri Barber with the Texas Department of Agriculture. Both emphasized the importance of knowing what your product is, who your consumers are and what your consumers want.

     One of the most interesting talks was Clair Gill with Genomics. Clair is currently involved with a research project working to categorize all the genetic makeup of cattle. With this research, they hope to be able to eventually test for fertility, feed efficiency, longevity and other important industry traits. The research has already helped to develop three new marbling tests that should be on the market within the next year.

     The highlight for most of the participants was the tour of Camp Cooley Ranch located in Franlin, Texas. This operation runs 3,200 head of Brahman, Angus and Charolais cattle on 10,500 acres. They are the number one embryo producer in the world and also one of the top commercial producers in the nation. Their grounds are kept neat and clean by a well-organized maintenance crew, and employees maintenance crew, and employees clean up after everything they do. Everything is done on horseback in order to keep the cattle calm and give the ranch the image of being down to earth and reliable. An interesting statistic they gave was the fact that they wean their ET calves early, at an average of 70 days, in order to increase the conception rate of their recipient cows by 10 percent.

     The theme throughout the weekend was networking. Networking is needed in order to learn new things, market your product, get the job you want and have people available when you need help. Not only did people talk to us about networking, but they gave us many opportunities to meet people from around the nation to help us in our networking skills. I would say to anyone, if you have an opportunity to go somewhere where you can meet people and learn about an interest, GO FOR IT! I was able to meet people that will be able to help me down the road, along with gaining valuable information about our wonderful beef industry. Now, all that is left to do is tell others about what I have learned and apply it to my own situations. Thank you for this opportunity and I hope many of you will have a similar experience!
     Sincerely,
     Tina DeJong, AMJAA President