Enhancing the Competitiveness and Value of U.S. Beef

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Our goal is to broaden the knowledge base on beef-quality-issues affecting consumer acceptance of beef to help sustain the beef industry's competitive position. We believe that integrating animal science, meat science, and economics is the most effective way to conduct research on these issues. Economic research is helpful in determining what consumers' value and how consumer preferences vary across market segments. Animal and meat science research develops innovative approaches to supplying the types and qualities of beef that consumers in different segments desire. Price, however, does matter to the consumer. Production and process innovations that lead to lower costs and prices will enhance beef's competitive position in the market if these innovations are accepted by the consumer. Animal/meat scientists and economists can work together to evaluate consumer acceptance of quality-enhancing technologies or process innovations. We focus on five issues: the cost/benefit of traceability and its value in market-based programs; the strategies and technologies to reduce foodborne illness and improve the effectiveness of policies related to food safety and trade; the supply chain management strategies to identify and overcome barriers that interfere with the transmission of consumer preferences to producers; the palatability, processing, and marketing of beef by studying instrument grading, beef flavor and tenderness technologies, and carcass cutting strategies; and the factors influencing domestic and international consumer preferences for beef.
<P>APPROACH: We will compare producers costs and benefits associated with participating in animal identification programs such as the voluntary NAIS or market-driven programs. This analysis will be extended to incorporate an examination of the costs and benefits associated with developing identification protocols to market cattle with specific certifications. The analysis will be accomplished using conventional or electronic ID technologies for livestock operations of different sizes (scale), types, and types of certifications. This analysis will consider different ID strategies for different segments of the industry (i.e., cow calf, seedstock, stocker, feedlot). ID strategies include determining ways to ensure that the value of data transfer up and down the supply chain exceeds the costs of collecting and passing data through the chain. The method is to compare costs of collecting and passing information compared to the value of increased efficiencies or improved prices. For example, this information could be used to improve genetics or to determine the appropriate certification programs in which to market or the foreign markets to target. Using these procedures, investigators will assess the cost of compliance with NAIS, conduct risk assessments along different segments of the supply chain, compare the costs and benefits associated with incremental changes in technology and selection of market segment, and identify alternative solutions to reduce cost of animal ID technology. This analysis will be repeated in California, Iowa, and Utah. Covering different parts of the country replicates and verifies the results under different production systems. Partial enterprise budgets will be used to conduct the analysis with information being gathered from producer surveys and interviews with sale barns, packers, and other market participants. An initial analysis will provide some indication of the size and demand elasticity associated with these markets. Econometric analysis will be conducted on existing databases of individual animal health, performance, and carcass characteristics to determine factors that contribute to cost and revenues in the current system (Iowa State University). This analysis will quantify levels and variability of animal and economic measures that impact beef supply chain competitiveness. Analysis of USDA data on price discovery and grid pricing will be conducted using econometric modeling to evaluate its effectiveness of improving beef quality and cost competitiveness (South Dakota State University). Faculty at University of California, Davis; Iowa State University; South Dakota State University will conduct animal performance and economic research on the impact of beef genetics and production systems on beef quality and cost of production. Economic research and statistical analysis on alternative sources of retail price data will determine the effectiveness of current reporting procedures and evaluate potential strategies (Economic Research Service).