04/09/08 Scarce beef

High feed costs influence beef producers and buyers in different ways on the same animal. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back with an explanation. High feed costs strike feedlot operators right in the profit or loss column. To be successful, feeders have to produce finished beef at the least cost they can. Just about any feeder that is still in business has their operation running at the most efficient level possible. Now, when feed costs are so high many of the feedlot people send their cattle to processors at the earliest possible time resulting in fewer high quality beef carcasses. This creates in a supply and demand problem for restaurant owners and managers. The demand problem is that restaurant customers prefer and expect a constant supply of high quality beef. The supply problem is the reality that getting enough of the preferred cuts can be challenging now that cattle are going to packing plants earlier. This was the message restaurant owners got from a monthly conference call sponsored by the American Restaurant Association. One of the specialist speakers, Jim Robb of Livestock Marketing Information, stated this might cause more restaurants to procure beef from branded sources to ensure excellent continued consistency. I know I heard a local restaurant ad talking about branded beef, high quality steaks just yesterday. I had not heard what beef that establishment uses before that advertisement. Looks like that conference call speaker's prediction may be right. I'm Jeff Keane. Farm Journal  Mid February 2008