Dairy Producers’ Stake In The Beef Checkoff Program

2 Dairy Producers are Beef Producers, Too! Products from market cows and bulls equate to: 18% of overall beef consumed 6% to 8% of dairy producer income Dairy Beef – It’s What’s For Dinner!  Nearly 50% of dairy beef goes to whole muscle cuts  89% of rounds are sold as steak  40% of sirloins are sold as steak

3 Competing for the Consumer Dollar To remain competitive: We share responsibility to assure consumers we are doing all we can to meet high standards in food safety We must maintain, or increase, high quality standards for our product  Free of defects  Tender and palatable We must continue to enhance image for residue avoidance and reduced pathogen contamination  Consumers have a no-tolerance policy when it comes food safety threats

4 How Can Dairy Producers Help Increase Their Bottom Lines on Beef? Everything we do contributes to consumer satisfaction  Healthy Animal  Humane Handling  Tenderness  Flavor  Adequate Body Conditioning/Muscling

5 What Can Dairy Producers Do? When moving cattle, reduce use of electric prods and other aggressive driving aids Improve footing due to slippage3, improve footing in loading ramps, alleys and pens When transporting cattle, separate by gender to avoid injury or bruising

6 What Can Dairy Producers Do? Adminster animal-health products in accordance with BQA standards utilizing the neck as the preferred site of administration Follow guidelines for animal care and handling Do not market cattle that are too thin or too lame for transport

7 What Can Dairy Producers Do? Maintain record-keeping systems to verify Best Management Practices and reduce or eliminate potential for liability related to food safety Ensure safety of beef and dairy products: Cows must be free of chemical, pathogenic and phsical hazards when them enter the marketing chain Continuously monitor herd health: Market animals in a timely fashion and intervene early when problems occur

8 Wholesome Safe Delivers pleasant eating experience What is “Quality” Beef?

9 Our Role in Achieving Quality Decrease injection site lesions Manage feed additives and medication; avoid residues Maintain feed records

10 Our Role in Achieving Quality Create uniformity and consistency of cattle Slaughter cattle at appropriate size, weight, and condition Improve beef tenderness Increase marbling

11 Train employees and truckers on proper handling of cattle to avoid: Bruising Abscesses Dark Cutters Our Role in Achieving Quality

12 Responsible Culling Enhances Quality – AND Public Perception! Market animals in a timely manner to avoid affect on public perception of things like cancer eye, lameness & lumpy jaw!

13 Remember the “3Ms” Manage  Proper injection sites  Adequate nutrition  Appropriate handling Monitor  Animal health  Animal condition Market  Be timely  Avoid extremes

14 Part Of A Changing Philosophy Think of cows and bulls as part of the beef supply! Participating in a DBQA program can save you $$$ rather than cost you $$$. It’s not just good business sense, it’s common sense!

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