An increase in membership at the American Angus Association has led to a new marketing effort.
Certified Angus Beef has introduced Ranch to Table. The Director of Producer Engagement for the group shares how the effort was driven by producer demand and not consumer demand.
“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 those smaller custom processors to allow those producers to get carcasses certified,” said Kara Lee.
Ranch to Table allows producers to engage in branding, and of course, quality was a non-negotiable for organizers of the program.
“We are still requiring that those carcasses are evaluated by an approved form of federal grading. We realize that’s a different hurdle that 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. And they’ve been working with us on finding some creative solutions.”
Lee says that is one of the biggest hurdles for producers right now.
