Revised April 2012 by Gary Brester, professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Montana State University, gbrester@montana.edu

Overview

Increases in wealth and advances in information technology have produced more sophisticated beef consumers.  Such consumers not only have demands for quality, convenience, and food safety, but many are increasingly demanding knowledge and information regarding cattle production practices including animal welfare and production systems.  Although some beef attributes are measurable such as portion size and quality grades, others represent credence attributes such as antibiotic-free, breed specific, tenderness guarantees, grass-fed, hormone-free, organic, natural, and family-farm produced.

According to the 2010 National Meat Case Audit, 51% of all beef sold at the retail level carried a store brand.  In 2007, only 31% of beef sales were store-branded.   The growth of store brands has displaced some beef supplier brands.  April 2012 ... Branded, Certified, Verified Beef


Marketing

• Branded Livestock and Meat Programs, Ag Marketing Service (AMS), USDA - PowerPoint presentation on branded and certified beef programs.
• Committed to Traceback, Beef magazine, 2005 - McDonald's is the world's largest beef buyer. The firm believes so strongly in product source verification that it has begun to do what is usually anathema in the retail world: pay more for products that their competitors are paying less for.
• Comparison of Certified Beef Programs, AMS, USDA, 2004 - A comparison of the various factors differentiating the programs.
• Costs and Benefits of Marketing Differentiated Beef through Process Verified Systems, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, 2005 - This paper reports on analysis conducted at Kansas State University about the costs of developing and implementing a process-verified program. Extensive producer interviews provided input.
• Creekstone Farms Receives USDA's First Tender Beef Designation, PRNewswire, 2005.
• Grading, Certification, and Verification, USDA - Lists companies that are certified.
• Food, From Start to Finish, Producers and consumers cooperate to build regional food strategy, Cooperative Grocer magazine, 2004 - A branded beef effort in New Brunswick
• MHR International Meat Directory - Links to companies throughout the world in all meat categories.
• Quality Management and Information Transmission in Cattle Markets: A Case Study of the Chariton Valley Beef Alliance, Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), Iowa State University, 2002.

Production

• Adding Value to Beef Production, Iowa State University Extension Value-Added Agriculture - This Web site gives readers an overview of various beef production alternatives.
• CAB Feedlots - The purpose of the CAB Supply Development branch is to drive the supply of Certified Angus Beef ® product by fostering the discovery and propagation of superior Angus genetics, designing management systems that increase Certified Angus Beef ® acceptance rates and widely sharing information.
• Economic Issues with Process Verification, Kansas State University, 2004 - The purpose of this publication is to describe the QSVP program and discuss how it is being used by a group of Kansas beef producers.
• General Policies and Procedures, USDA Process-Verified Program, 2004.
• Grassfed Certification: The Case of the Uruguayan Beef Industry, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, 2005 - Kansas State University and ORT University report on the development and operation of Uruguay's beef traceability (DIOSE) program and industry. Discusses whether U.S. producers could benefit from USDA Process Verification certification for grassfed beef production systems.
• Policies for USDA Process Verified, 2005.
• Quality Systems Verification Programs - This Web site is for requesting USDA process verification services.
• Topics of Consideration for Process Verification, Kansas State University, 2004 - Process verification is not likely for every group, and achieving process verification is not as easy as it may seem. There are some issues to consider when undertaking process verification. Most producers do not market all their animals through one program, and it is likely that most producers will not market all of their animals through a process-verified system.
• Use of the USDA Process Verified Shield and Term, 2005.
• USDA Process Verification Certification Generic Manual for Natural Beef Production, Kansas State University, 2004.
• USDA Process Verification Certification Generic Training Guide for Natural Beef Production, Kansas State University, 2004.
• USDA Process Verified Program - General information on the USDA Process Verified Program.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Certified Angus Beef Program - The Certified Angus Beef ® brand is sold in the United States and in 46 international destinations, and can be relied on at more than 13,600 restaurants and grocery stores worldwide.
• Certified Hereford Beef - This program began as a marketing initiative of the American Hereford Association in 1994 and was based on the findings of over three years of Colorado State University research that proved the superior eating quality and consistency of Hereford beef.
• Consolidated Beef, Canyon, Texas - This marketing alliance allows producers to take advantage of the group at large to pool cattle collectively. Formed in 2000, the group has nearly 200 members who own 2.1 million marketing rights. The group matches the correct set of cattle to the correct grid, optimizing profit opportunities.
• Feeder Calf Certification Program, Red Angus Association - In 1995 this association, in cooperation with the USDA, chartered new ground for the beef industry by introducing the Feeder Calf Certification Program. The association is now able to verify a calf's link to the Angus gene pool by certifying Red Angus influenced cattle with an ear tag. This program supplies Red Angus cattle to recognized branded beef programs through value-based marketing agreements for certified cattle.
• Five State Beef Initiative covers Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan. It involves land-grant universities, state departments of agriculture, cattlemen's associations, farm bureaus, livestock marketing organizations and post-harvest partners to develop profit opportunities for stakeholders.
• Harris Ranch Restaurant Reserve Beef, Selma, California - Only high-end USDA choice beef can qualify for the Harris Ranch Restaurant Reserve program.
• Ranch to Retail Beef, PM Beef Group, Windom, Minnesota  - This verified beef production system starts with the calf and ends with customers in mind. It is the first gate-to-plate beef company using the USDA Process-Verified System, allowing beef to follow the same stringent quality steps time after time.
• U.S. Premium Beef (USPB), Kansas City, Missouri - USPB is a producer-owned cooperative where producers purchase shares that allow the producers to market cattle on a specialty grid through the producer-owned processing company, Farmland National Beef.
• Vande Rose Farms LLC, Mahaska County, Iowa - This company was formed in 1999 from three families: the Van Gilst, De Bruin and Rozenboom families.

 
Links checked February 2013.