Certified Angus program

A certified Angus beef program called Ranch to Table. Direct marketing effort is growing in 2024. David Sparks Idaho AG today, a new program from certified Angus Beef called Ranch to Table is expected to gain momentum in 2024. Certified Angus Beef Director of producer engagement Cara Lee says the effort was driven by producer demand, not consumer demand. Speaker2: We have a higher number of our membership at the American Angus Association who are very hands on, involved in direct to consumer beef merchandising and as a member owned brand. You know, we felt the frustration of those folks who said, we know we have high quality beef that have the ability to meet certified Angus beef brand specifications, but we didn't have an infrastructure in place for some of those smaller custom processors to allow those producers to get carcasses certified. Speaker1: Ranch to table allows those producers engage in the process to access certified Angus beef branding, where it makes sense. Speaker2: We are still requiring that those carcasses are evaluated by an approved form of federal grading. We realize that's a different hurdle than a lot of smaller processors have not had the opportunity to work through in the past. But the beautiful thing about the timing of this is that we've actually seen a lot of encouraging endeavors through USDA. They realize there's a need for. Speaker1: Certified Angus beef also provides a special marketing kit to help producers.