Beef Quality

Every five years or so, most of the major beef processors in the U.S. are audited, sampling 10 percent of a fed or non-fed beef plant’s kill and funded by the Beef Checkoff.

Results of the most recent beef checkoff-funded 2016 National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) for steers and heifers was released during the 2017 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in July.

U.S. cattlemen have long recognized the importance of the proper care and handling of their livestock.

As I write this, most of my part of the world is in the midst of the fall gather. It’s a fun time of year as it always means lots of time on horseback, bugling elk providing a symphony as you pull cattle from the high country and lots of sorting.

Not long after we reached the back side of the pasture, the sun peeked over the horizon and the chaos erupted. It was every cow for itself, running and dodging or bawling and standing to fight.

The current fashion trend is T-shirts with clever graphics or sayings. “I’m sorry for what I said when we were working cattle” is an example.