Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

April 2, 2009 Officers for 2008-09 were - Chair: Rhonda Miller; Vice-Chair: Mariah Ehmke; and Secretary: Dennis Olson who was unable to attend and Glynn Tonsor volunteered to be acting secretary in his absence. Dr. J.O. Reagan of the National Cattlemens Beef Association gave an introduction and welcome. Glynn Tonsor was elected secretary for the upcoming year. The officer team for 2009-2010 will be - Chair: Mariah Ehmke; Vice Chair: Dennis Olson; Secretary: Glynn Tonsor. The W2177 2010 meeting will be held at Kansas State University with tentative dates of April 1 and 2, 2010. Justin Kastner agreed to work with Denny Olson to coordinate the meeting. Reports and guest speakers followed. Main accomplishments discussed in reports are identified in Accomplishments and Impacts section by objective for the project. Jim Oltjen report. NCBA Overview Dr. J.O. Reagan  REI (Research, Education, Innovation) Update Dr. Tom Fields  Producer Education, Beef Quality Assurance: Tom gave a timeline history of these pre-harvest programs, noting the core efforts (e.g., National Beef Quality audits). He noted BQA has been successful in initial issues such as residue control; new efforts are needed on animal welfare, environmental impact and others. On discussion on changes in cow-calf farm size, Tom made points on bimodal development (economies of scale in large operations; lifestyle drivers for smaller operations) Dr. Mandy Carr  Safety Program Leader, overviewed timeline of efforts for improving beef safety. There was discussion on e-coli vaccine use; noted that feedlots are most likely to use. Ellen Gibson  Beef Innovations Group Leader, discussed the adding value through the chuck roll program and summarized the success of several new products. Ching Yuan Hu (called in from Hawaii) Noted next year will be mid-term evaluation of 2007-2012 project (new chair will lead this review. Annual reports may not be reviewed by directors, but mid-year review likely is; enhancing the need to document impact in mid-year reports. Noted multi-state project impacts are needed in report; which goes further than individual projects and impact statements. Suggested the group work on noting collective impacts not feasible through individual efforts. In publication/output list clarify which ones are joint efforts and results of this committee. Also make sure attendance at meetings is solid. Membership vs. attendance is something to be managed. Maybe need to note the proportion of universities that were represented (this may be more accurate than the proportion of individual members). Noted Rhonda will submit project report, within 30 days of tomorrow. Mariah will be responsible for next years reports. Discussed lack of CSREES representative at this meeting. Noted that additional contact with CSREES to establish who the representative for next years meeting. This is important to maintain USDA support for the committee. Noted that 25% of Hatch funds must be spent on multi-state projects. Sentiment within the western directors group: 1) Budget cuts are top discussion and common across states (HA, WA, MI, FL examples); 2)Efforts ongoing to increase federal support of formula funds Believes Hatch funding may experience a small increase over the next few years Last comment was that CY was going to nominate the group for an award; further emphasizes the need to think about outputs/impact while together today. Chris Calkins report. Matt Stockton report: Overviewed his work as it relates to this committee group noted a couple production oriented issues that may be relevant briefly listed 3 possible projects regarding: 1) beef imports; 2) product development and issue of displacement w/I beef vs. outside of beef displacement;3) beef carcass value & relationship to cattle inventory changes Mariah Ehmke report. APHIS report from invited speaker Ann Seitzinger. Highlights of the NAHMS Beef 2007-2008 Survey. Overviewed methods and history of related surveys. Presented a summary of the findings; particularly regarding impacts of region and size of operation. Ann noted that input on NAHMS surveys are open to web-survey to solicit ideas; needs assessment Scott Fausti report. Justin Kastner report. Paul Clayton, invited speaker from US Meat Export Federation: Summarized historical beef and pork exports. Commented on new administration/ Discussed market access issues April 3, 2009 Jim Oltjen initiated a discussion on next steps of the committee and reporting our successes. Integration can occur in planning/actual research and/or in outputs (joint publications or symposiums). Ideas discussed included: Hold symposium at Western Agricultural Economics Association (WAEA) &/or equivalent Animal Science meeting. Chris noted a multi-institute instrument grading project that should be noted in our reports. Mariah noted a ranch to consumer information transfer symposium. Scott noted a meat demand symposium possibility. Jim noted that pulling off a symposium is challenging, so doing an annual symposium may be unrealistic. Chris noted the need for a champion to lead the integration efforts, particularly on planning symposiums. Collaborative effort possibilities: Jon noted the availability of MT data on several years of NAIS tagging animals and associated carcass data on some animals and some price/sales data. Matt and Scott noted an interest in working with Jon Chris raised issue on how the industry can/should use information on tenderness; in particular on how the supply chain should adjust. Issues on how signals are sent; if mean tenderness is appropriate; change the grading system to reflect tenderness; marketing to consumers There was a wealth of discussion on a wide range of sub-components of this issue. Rhonda noted that Keith, Chris, and she are working on issues related to this. Particularly, work on DNA markers for tenderness research and corresponding production oriented issues. Matt raised a range of institutional and consumer side issues that are inherent in this problem. Mariah elaborated on the current issue being an information transfer system, linking up signals/incentives throughout the chain. Jon noted the ability of MT breeding program to give preliminary data validating tenderness impacts. Jon also noted the need for decisions to be made within the next 30 days regarding his triggering a tenderness breeding of 200 cows in MT. Mariah laid out the approach of identifying the incentives that are needed to obtain different producer surplus, consumer surplus, and societal surplus. Funding options include: AFRI Small- & Medium-Sized Farms program noted by Matt & Mariah; 5-state program noted by Scott; Mariah noted WY funds on campus that might be a fit; Jon noted the need for $10k to deal with loins Rhonda suggested she may have resources to cover shear testing work Chris succeeded in getting agreement that this broader issue is worthy of collaborative work by this group. Chris suggested that someone needs to champion this effort. Rhonda noted she will lead an effort to go to the next step. Rhonda ended with need to pull in economists to the current production/genetic side of this discussion. Mariah asked for a non-economist leader and an economist leader to keep this moving forward. A non-economist and an economist leader for each issue were identified as: 1. Traceability: Jim & Dustin 2. Tenderness  primarily meat project (reflective of Rhondas discussion): Jon & Matt 3. Industry structure study  incentives for adoption & scenarios for market structure: Scott & Rhonda Glynn Tonsor gave his report. John Paterson gave his report. Dustin Pendall gave his report. Randy Blach invited speaker from CattleFax. Noted the notable expansion of research abilities of CattleFax over the past 10 years. Noted the +/- 55 page report which goes out every 2 weeks summarizing the situation in the protein complex. Overviewed macro effects using several indices/charts. Randy noted the sheer lack of young talent for the beef industry; noted CattleFaxs increasing interest in working with possible candidates earlier and earlier. Rhonda Miller gave her report. WRAP-UP DISCUSSION Rhonda must submit a report within 30 days. Everyone needs to send station reports Mariah will email everyone with bullet statements on collaborative efforts that have occurred since project initiation Follow-up on 3 areas for collaborative action. Also discussed efforts to get other universities involved Mid-term review is due after next meeting Justin suggestion was also made about on-campus ag-radio being another unique way to get outputs listed. Would be an example of proactive engagement.

Short-term Outcomes: 1. Enhance palatability, processing, and marketing of beef by studying instrument grading, beef flavor and tenderness technologies, and carcass cutting strategies Research at the University of Nebraska helped to identify innovative cutting strategies for beef carcasses. An industry-wide workshop was held in 2008 to get the word out to the industry. Additional Nebraska research demonstrated that feeding wet distillers grains plus solubles to cattle causes an increase in the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the tissue, resulting in reduced oxidative stability, an increased rate of discoloration in the retail case, and development of off flavors. Dietary supplementation with vitamin E helped to mitigate these effects. Texas A&M University researchers evaluated 625 commercial steers and heifers in the first year of a three year project to evaluate the relationship between animal behavior, eating behavior, growth characteristics, and live animal performance with carcass characteristics and beef tenderness. Additional work to validate commercially available tenderness genetic markers is being conducted using these cattle. Cooperative research with scientists at the University of Nebraska, Colorado State University and Texas A&M University was conducted to evaluate automated grading tenderness assessment instruments. This research is on-going and results will be reported. Researchers at Colorado State University have evaluated large numbers of finished beef cattle marketed on grid-based pricing systems. Carcasses that did not conform to mainstream specifications generally did not achieve full value due to failure to achieve premium prices. Research was conducted to evaluate beef carcass ribeye area at the 12th and 13th rib interface (LMA) and its relationship to portion sizing acceptability of other muscles in the carcass. Sixty beef carcass sides of varying LMA sizes (between 67.74 and 166.13 cm2) were fabricated into 14 individual cuts. Retail portion size (g/1.27-cm steak), along with cut surface area and dimensions, were recorded from steaks cut perpendicular at the midpoint of the longitudinal axis of each muscle. Subsequently, a nationwide survey was conducted with foodservice chefs and retail meat merchandisers to evaluate acceptability of portion sizes and dimensions of individual muscle cuts. Results showed that LMA was not associated with retail portion size for 6 of the 14 muscles. Similarly, LMA did not affect surface area of the face of the steak from 6 of the 14 muscles. Muscles for which portion characteristics were related to carcass LMA were further evaluated in the survey. Many muscles were still acceptable to retail merchandisers and foodservice chefs in portion size, even though carcass LMA was outside the range of commercially acceptable sizes. This study demonstrated that carcass LMA is not an accurate determinant of the size, and subsequent acceptability, of other muscles in the carcasses and may not be a good determinant of the remaining value of the beef carcass; data will be used by industry to modify current beef pricing practices. At Iowa State University, biochemical mechanisms that influence beef tenderness, specifically ¼-calpain activation, calpastatin activity and subsequent muscle protein proteolysis in six specific muscles of the beef rounds from ten carcasses were determined after 24 hrs and compared with the longissimus dorsi (LD). None of the muscles had the same biochemical changes as the LD, although some had greater protein degradation than the LD. These biochemical changes will be used to further study the sensory properties of some of these muscles to determine their potential for added value if used as individual cuts. Michigan State University researchers are evaluating the perceptions and preferences of cow-calf producers and regarding individual animal traceability. They have two publications in review publications. 2. Develop science-rooted strategies and technologies to reduce foodborne illness and improve the effectiveness of policies related to food safety and trade. Research at Kansas State University examined trade policy concepts of regionalization and compartmentalization. Regionalization and compartmentalization are international trade policy concepts that have caught the attention of the Frontier program. Regionalization and compartmentalizationboth of which are World Trade Organization (WTO)-affirmed means by which nation-states (including the United States) can through geographical means (in regionalization) or through supply-chain management practices (in compartmentalization) certify the biosecurity of animals and/or meat products and, significantly, continue to export meat products when outbreaks occur outside of the certified regions and/or supply chains. For geographically large countries like the U.S., the trade policy concepts of regionalization and compartmentalization present a WTO-endorsed policy opportunity to limit trade disruptions when isolated food safety or animal disease outbreaks occur. Another area of research has been to describe how agricultural protectionism, consumer awareness, and political-institutional strength affect global participation in the rules-based multilateral trading system; this included research on institutional capacity and implementation of the provisions of the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. With Frontier research assistant and a political science graduate student, Dr. Kastner used (a) development and trade indicators from the World Bank, (b) sanitary and phytosanitary notification data from the WTOs SPS Information Management System (http://spsims.wto.org/web/pages/search/other/Search.aspx), and (c) other institutional strength indicators to examine the capacity needs to facilitate trade and regulatory cooperation in food safety and animal health. At Iowa State University, irradiation was used to control pathogenic bacteria in ground beef. They found that at higher doses (2.5 kGy) lipid oxidation and discoloration increased. Inclusion of ascorbic acid, tocopherol and sesamol mitigated these changes. All beef bologna and frankfurters were manufactured from the same emulsion batch and irradiated. No differences in physical, chemical and sensory properties were found between the two products, which was contrary to some undocumented reports from processing companies. Work at Michigan State University is examining consumer demand for food safety, animal welfare, healthiness, convenience, and sustainability production practices in beef products and they have published results that are forthcoming in the Journal of Agricultural Economics on factors impacting food safety risk attitudes and perceptions. Researchers at Montana State University evaluated the level of E. coli 0157:H7 in Montana cattle and the subsequent effect of feeding colostrums to calves on the incidence of the pathogen. They found colostrums feeding decreases level of pathogen in calves. 3. Determine factors influencing domestic and international consumer preferences for beef. University of Nebraska researchers, working with natives of Japan and Korea, were able to identify alternative cuts of beef that provide an acceptable substitute for beef cuts commonly imported into those countries. Expanding the variety of acceptable cuts should increase the value of carcasses that qualify for export. Researchers at Michigan State University have examined consumer formation of beef safety risk perceptions and have determined consumer valuations of beef steak food safety enhancements in Canada, Japan, Mexico and the United States. Two research studies at Texas A&M University evaluated the effect of dry versus wet aging on consumer preferences. The effect of aging time and cut was determined. About two-thirds of consumers did not know what dry-aging was; however, between 70 and 80% understood the general concept of aging. Consumer did not differentiate dry versus wet aged steaks; however, they preferred Choice steaks and juiciness like decreased with aging period up to 35 days. Additional research evaluated four tenderness treatment applied to seven under-utilized beef cuts for beef fajita application. Treatment tended not to affect the consumer palatability scores of the M. diaphragma pars costalis and M. serratus ventralis and these muscles were preferred over other muscles evaluated. Consumers were willing to purchase the M. latissimus and M. serratus ventralis treated with papain + blade tenderized and papain, respectively, and these muscles performed well enough to be considered as alternatives in the beef fajita market. 4. Assess supply chain management strategies to identify and overcome barriers that interfere with the transmission of consumer preferences to producers. University of Wyoming researchers are working on a meta-analysis of country of origin labeling (COOL) studies. Their analysis covers 18 individual studies reporting 51 different measures of consumers willingness to pay for COOL. To test the hypotheses that the format of the study, number of other attributes included, and location of the study, as well as the origin of products, influences individuals valuation for COOL. Initial results show study construction can significantly influence COOL valuation. Studies which ask consumers about their preferences for organic production and animal welfare also report higher COOL valuation rankings. Products sourced from the EU and US are typically valued above those from other countries. 5. Evaluate the cost/benefit of traceability and assess its value in market-based programs. Research at the University of California Davis has compared producers costs and benefits associated with participating in animal identification programs such as the voluntary NAIS or market-driven programs. The analysis used conventional or electronic ID technologies for livestock operations of different sizes (scale), types, and types of certifications. This has resulted in a regional analysis of costs and benefits associated with animal ID programs. Based on publications and extension work using the outputs above, beef producers should improve their understanding of animal ID issues and be encouraged to implement appropriate participation in animal identification programs. Additional animal performance research has examined the impact of beef genetics and production systems on beef quality. Researchers have published analytical results of production and economic relationships between genetics, management, and beef quality. Producers will gain greater control over beef quality and improve profitability due to our academic papers on the affect of cattle health, management practices, and carcass characteristics on producer profitability. Research at South Dakota State University evaluated the national marketing pattern for slaughter steers to determine the market share and the trend share of individual animal pricing marketing channels versus pen level marketing channels. They found that on average, steers prices as individual animals accounted for 14.7% of steers sold in the cash market and 77.8% of steers sold in the forward contract and formula market. Combined cash and contract grid marketing averaged 41.48% and the overall trend in grid market share during this period was flat. Additional research evaluated the effect of mandatory livestock price reporting (MPR). Empirical evidence indicated a significant change in the weekly variability of publicly reported fed cattle grid premiums and discounts after MPR was implemented and there was increased transparency that was compatible with either an increase or a decrease in dispersion. A four-state study was implemented to evaluate normal verses early weaning management strategy and high versus low input feeding programs of calves. Initial results indicated that feed cost per pound of gain was lowest for normal weaned control steers that grazed native pasture and highest for normal weaned steers that grazed stockpiled unharvested standing corn. The University of Wyoming researchers used experimental economic methods to examine the effects of information reporting on buyer and seller transactions in private negotiation environments. They found that increased information sharing increased the bargaining power of buyers and market efficiency. Additional work considered the effect of different buyer groups and bidding rings and their effect on market prices. Information from these projects will assist in more effective coordination and market transactions along the beef supply chain. Research on maternal beef nutrition also was conducted this year. Drought is a major concern for cow-calf producers in the west and decreases the quality of beef available for market consumption. Investigators from animal science and agricultural and applied economics are analyzing the ability of a maternal protein supplement to improve fetal development in gestation and increase the quality of beef yields in drought conditions. The experiment includes three treatments: a control, drought ration, and drought ration with protein supplement. Initial results show that a protein supplement for cows in drought conditions affects calf muscle development and finishing. They are developing enterprise budgets to measure the potential profitability of these supplements for cow-calf producers in the region. Researchers at Colorado State University analyzed the benefits and costs of the national animal identification system (NAIS) and submitted results to USDA-APHIS in early October 2008. The primary purpose of this project was to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the economic benefits and costs of NAIS in the U.S., including premise registration, animal identification systems, and animal movement reporting for major species of cattle, hogs, sheep, equine, and poultry and, to a limited extent, minor species of bison, goats, cervids, and camelids. The final report currently is under review. Montana State University researchers collected data form 400 producers that represented approximately 100,000 calves to understand perception of electronic identification programs. Data includes time of adaptation and costs. Outputs: Multiple publications are defined as outputs for the outcomes defined above. Producers meetings were conducted for research on traceability and information related to the application of this research is being disseminated to end-users. Consumer research is being used by the beef industry and marketing groups within the beef industry to correctly position beef within the US and in Japan and Korea. This research is closely aligned with marketing objectives of the National Cattlemens' Beef Association and the US Meat Export Federation. Activities: Research within each objective defined above will continue within each institution and across institutions. Three new areas of research collaboration were initiated for the next year: 1. Traceability research collabortion 2. Tenderness research, genetic markers, live animal performance data and automated grading research 3. Industry structure study  incentives for adoption & scenarios for market structure. Milestones: Research has been initiated within the 5 objectives defined for the project. Data has been reported and are being disseminated into the scientific and public arena for implementation. Initial research on the cost of traceability and producer ID systems has spurred additional cooperative research to assist beef producers in understanding the costs and benefits of individual animal ID and trace-back systems. Understanding marketing channels for beef and how producers utilize these channels will assist in development of education programs to assist beef producers in more effectively marketing their beef and improving beef's competitiveness. Understanding how to sort cattle into outcome groups based on expected live animal performance, carcass characteristics and tenderness will assist beef producers in more efficient production of beef. Development of automated grading systems to assess beef tenderness will assist in more effective target marketing of beef. Use of irradiation of ground beef improved beef safety. Under utilized beef cuts are being more clearly characterized and applications for there use are being determined.

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