Top US beef brand targets food safety, all natural

Fourth generation United States cattle ranchers the Beeman family are world leaders in the branded beef game and they operate under the premise that the industry’s future hinges on producing what the customer wants.

Their HeartBrand label is supplied by source-verified Akaushi beef from animals never implanted with hormones, fed an all-natural diet and not given antibiotics or beta agonists in the feeding phase of life.

In the US market, HeartBrand retails at a 50 per cent premium on steak cuts and around 25pc on ground beef and hamburgers.

HeartBrand is also exporting to South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico and China.

“We feel no added hormones is important to the consumer and to beef quality,” HeartBrand’s vice president of cattle operations JoJo Carrales said.

“The no added hormone market is one of the fastest growing markets in the US and we do have plans to expand in China.”

Mr Carrales said the branded beef industry was going strong in the US, currently representing about 30pc of the market.

“We see it continuing to grow. Branding animal protein is definitely a market that is not going away,” he said.

The HeartBrand ranch is headquartered in Harwood, Texas, and runs 3000 fullblood Akaushi mother cows. The ranch sits on 650 hectares and is home to 500 breeders with the rest distributed among other properties and co-operators across Texas, New Mexico and north western areas of the US.

HeartBrand sources 12,000 head of Akaushi cattle into its program through co-operative breeders

The first two Akaushi bulls were brought to the US in 1976, but the cattle that HeartBrand started its herd from were imported in 1994 via airplane.

“The cattle were brought here initially for their carcass excellence and the potential to improve beef quality in our country,” Mr Carrales explained.

“However, the Akaushi later exhibited many secondary characteristics, such as fertility, udder quality, longevity and adaptability, that make them extremely valuable in normal production schemes.”

The terminal cattle have shown superior carcass merit in the US market, he said. HeartBrand cattle have been able to achieve 40pc United States Department of Agriculture  Prime, the top US marbling score on average, compared to the commodity beef average of 4 to 5pc USDA Prime.

“The Akaushi have also shown to feed to these marbling scores while still maintaining an acceptable amount in rib eye area and subcutaneous fat,” Mr Carrales said.

Akaushi cattle are bred in 34 American states and six countries.

Mr Carrales, who has just visited Australia, said the Red Wagyu cattle he saw here were comprised of similar genetics to what the US herd was developed from.

“Through the performance and carcass merit we have recorded in our program, we believe that Akaushi can change the global beef industry,” he said.

“It also works for Australia due to the short red coat and moderate size - using them to increase efficiency in Wagyu herds or using them on Bos Indicus herds to boost carcass quality.”

HeartBrand markets semen and embryos globally.

The HeartBrand Beef program utilizes crossbreeding to meet consumer demand and allow for the growth of the breed.

To be eligible for the program, the cattle must be at least 50pc Akaushi.

To ensure quality, all of the cattle are required to be DNA verified and their carcasses be classified as USDA Choice or Prime only, no USDA Select or Standard.

Cattle at the headquarters and on the gulf coast utilize coastal-type grass pastures, the likes of Bermuda and Bahia.

However, Akaushi are exposed to many different forage types across the US at co-operator locations.

The fullblood females are typically supplemented with grain byproducts such as brewer’s grain and dried distillers grain during times of high nutrient requirements - first-calf heifers, pre-weaning and during fall and winter.

“Providing supplementation to cow/calf pairs pre-weaning allows for greater overall health as well as a shorter transition period for calves during the weaning process,” Mr Carrales said.

Calves are approximately three months when they are dehorned, branded and given their first round of vaccinations. At seven months, they are weaned from their mothers and given booster vaccinations.

“Our terminal cattle are either transitioned to a grow yard at weaning and introduced to a grain-based growing ration immediately, or grown on grass to approximately one year of age before they are transitioned to a high-energy grain-based diet for 200-300 days,” Mr Carrales said.

On average, the cattle are harvested at 635 kilograms (1400lbs) and will range in age from 18 to 22 months.

“Our goals are to expand our seedstock and genetics to better the beef eating experience for people all over the world while maintaining needed production traits,” Mr Carrales said.

“HeartBrand has grown at about 20pc per year, and looks to continue to grow at that rate.”

HeartBrand Beef is sold to foodservice distributors, retailers and exporters.

The business also has relationships directly with restaurants such as BurgerMonger and Del Frisco’s, selling to their distributor of choice.

Mr Carrales said HeartBrand sees the global beef outlook as being very strong.

“Worldwide beef demand has been very strong - we are halfway through the year and we have been able to sell the larger amount of beef through strong export and domestic retail demand,” he said.

“Beef seems to be the hot protein at the moment and sectors of the industry have been able to be profitable.”

The biggest challenge currently facing the US beef producer is being able to supply quality beef that can continue to compete on the world market, he said.

“The beef market is truly a global market and the US has to stay at the forefront of this in terms of quality, food safety and natural,” he said.

“We have to produce what the customer wants, not just want the larger producers want to produce.

“Large advancements in the animal science sector have been made in nutrition, genetics, meat science and gene testing. We need to be able to use all this technology and keep our costs down so cattle ranchers can be around for years to come.

“Rising land costs will also be a major factor for cattle producers in years to come.”