Overview

Photo courtesy of ARS, USDA.

The United States is the world’s largest producer of beef, according to the USDA. The United States also has the largest fed-cattle industry in the world, primarily high-quality, grain-fed beef used for both domestic and export use.  July 2009 ... Commodity Beef

Marketing

• After the Ban: The Japanese Market for U.S. Beef, Roxanne Clemens, Midwest Agribusiness Trade Research and Information Center (MATRIC), Iowa State University, 2007.
• Beef, U.S. Baseline Briefing Book, Food and Ag Policy Research Institute (FAPRI), University of Missouri, 2009.
• Beef Demand Study Reveals Importance of Product Convenience, Nutrition, Safety; Kansas State University; 2009 - A comprehensive study conducted by agricultural economists at Kansas State University and Michigan State University revealed  that nutrition, safety and convenience remain important factors when it comes to shoppers’ attitudes toward buying beef.
• Beef Exports and Imports, U.S. Trade Internet System, FASonline, USDA.
• Beef Manual, Value-Added Agriculture Program, Iowa State University Extension - This Web site gives readers an overview of various beef production alternatives.
  
• Beef Cow Herd Size by Inventory and Sales: 2007, 2007 Census of Agriculture, USDA, 2009.
  
• Creating a Geographically Linked Brand for High-Quality Beef: A Case Study, Bruce Babcock, Dermot Hayes, John Lawrence, and Roxanne Clemens, MATRIC, Iowa State University, 2007.
• The Economic Impact of Ethanol and Distiller’s Grain Production on Ethanol Producers and Cattle Feeders, Josh Hoeme and Michael Wolverton, Kansas State University.
  
• Farm to Fork: A Direct-to-the-Consumer Beef Marketing Handbook; Annette Dunlap, Geoffrey Benson and Matt Poore; North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service; 2008 - This handbook, developed by a multidisciplinary team with AgMRC funds, is designed to be a self-directed guide to developing a business plan for marketing beef directly to consumers. It contains basic explanatory material related to each part of a business plan, with a corresponding worksheet. By completing the worksheets in the handbook, producers will make more informed decisions about starting and growing a direct-to-the-consumer beef marketing business.
• Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System, ERS, USDA.
• Grader Bias in Cattle Markets? Evidence from Iowa, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD), Iowa State University, 2004 - There is anecdotal evidence of systematic bias in called grades across time and regions within U.S. markets, and this paper empirically examines whether such claim is supported in a sample of loads delivered to three different Iowa packing plants during the years 2000-02.
• Guaranteed Tender Beef: Opportunities and Challenges for a Differentiated Agricultural Product, CARD, Iowa State University, 2004 -This paper provides a summary and analysis of the literature on beef tenderness assessment and its use for classifying beef according to quality in order to cash in on the premiums consumers are willing to pay for guaranteed tender beef.
  
• Market Effects of Searching for Mad Cows, ARE Update, University of California, Davis, 2004.
• Marketing Beef to Latino Consumers, Ag Marketing Resource Center, Iowa State University, 2009. 
• A Multinomial Logit Framework to Estimating Bid Shading in Procurement Auctions, With Application to Cattle Sales in the Texas Panhandle, Kansas State University and the University of California, Davis, 2004 - In this paper, the authors develop an empirical model to estimate the magnitude of bid shading present in an auction based on multinomial probability models.
  

Processing/Manufacturing

• Beef Harvest Facility List, APHIS, 2003 - Lists plants by state.
• Co-location of Industries with Small Livestock Slaughter Facilities in the Midwest, Iowa State University Extension Value-added Agriculture Program, the North Central Initiative For Small Farms and The Leopold Center For Sustainable Agriculture, 2003 - Examines the potential for co-location of industries next to small, multi-species slaughter plants.
• Dairy Beef Online Course, University of California-Davis, 2004 - Free to anyone desiring information on market cattle quality and food safety. Tools for assessing and certifying on-farm quality assurance programs are provided. Dairy market cattle are a major source of beef and represent up to 15 percent of a dairy's income. Registration and completion of four quizzes and course evaluation are required to receive a certificate of completion. Dairy and meat scientists, veterinarians and media specialists from six Western states worked with project coordinators at UC-Davis to create this program. The course is also packaged as a trainer's and participant's CD-ROM for individuals requesting in-residence training or without access to the Internet. Now available in Spanish.
• Meat Preparation: Beef . . . from Farm to Table, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), USDA, 2003 - About 36 million cattle were inspected in 1997 alone by USDA's FSIS. This translates into 64 pounds of beef per person in 1997. In calls to the Hotline, beef is the third food category (behind turkey and chicken) callers most ask about. The fact sheet information answers many of their questions.
• Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Information Center; Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management; Iowa State University - These demonstration plans are tools available to guide plant and processing facilities with developing their own HACCP plans to comply with the Food Safety and Inspection Service. 
• HACCP and Pathogen Reduction, FSIS, USDA - This site has general HACCP information, additional resources and current guidelines.
• Selling Meat and Meat Products, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, 2004 - Federal, state or local agency inspection is mandatory for any meat or meat product before it can be sold. This publication explains various product categories and tells which inspection each one requires. Free download (6-page pdf).  Includes links to regulatory references and other useful resources.
• Slaughter Cow and Bull Processing Feasibility Template, Ag Marketing Resource Center, Oklahoma State University - The template is designed to give an initial overview of the costs, returns and feasibility of a 400 head/hour cow and bull slaughter plant.
  
• USDA Meat and Poultry Helpline - This toll-free telephone service helps consumers prevent food-borne illness by answering their questions about safe storage, handling and preparation of meat and poultry products. The Helpline may be reached by calling: 1-800-535-4555 (voice) or 1-800-256-7072 (TDD/TTY).

Production

• Florida Beef Cattle and Pasture Pest Management Profile, USDA Regional IPM Centers Information System, 2008.
• Livestock and Poultry Environmental Stewardship (LPES) Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Fact Sheets - A set of 24 fact sheets and related slide presentations are available to help livestock and poultry producers deal with revised federal regulations for CAFOs. The series seeks to address questions such as: Will my operation be affected by the revised CAFO regulations? What must I do to comply with the CAFO regulations? What is the timeline for achieving compliance? What records do I need to keep and what annual reports do I need to provide to EPA? Is any financial or technical assistance available to achieve compliance? A team of 20 land-grant university faculty, Natural Resource Conservation Service Staff and National Pork Board staff collaborated on the project, which was managed by the MidWest Plan Service, formerly on the Iowa State University campus.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Beef Cattle, The New American Farmer, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), USDA - Describes 17 beef production operations located throughout the United States.
• Beef Ventures, Indianapolis, Indiana - Started in 2002, this company originated with a feasibility study that was turned into a business plan to market Indiana beef. Now the company functions as a think tank, always pursuing new, innovative ideas and new ventures.
• Gentz Cattle Company, Winnie, Texas - This operation raises registered Texas longhorns on their land near the Gulf Coast. In addition to selling cattle for recreational purposes, the producers have diversified, processing some of their cattle into beef to be sold at area farmers' markets.
• Quality Management and Information Transfer in the Cattle Industry, CARD, 2002 - This is a case study of the Chariton Valley Beef Alliance, which represents cattle producers in Iowa and Missouri.
• U.S. Premium Beef - Formed in 1996, U.S. Premium Beef (USPB) is a marketing company that provides U.S. beef producers an opportunity to retain ownership of the beef they produce from the ranch to retail.
• U.S. Premium Beef - Interview with Steven Hunt, Chief Executive Officer.
• VandeRose Farms LLC, Oskaloosa, Iowa - This natural hog and cattle production and processing business was formed in 1999 from a base of three farm families: the Van Gilst, De Bruin and Rozenboom families. They trace roots and a bond back more than 150 years, when their ancestors were immigrants from the Netherlands.

Links checked January 2010.