AlB-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 2, 1993
Convenience Rather Than Diet, Health Issues Top Beef Consumer Demands
(Continued from Page A 1)
In an interview conducted at
Herr Angus Farm (which used to
be a secdstock farm of purebred
Angus, but now is a beef finishing
operation), Byrne spoke about the
future drives and directives of the
Council. ■
New programs and projects
include a more aggressive cam
paign to reach the “grassroots
level” consumer regarding the
benefits of beef products, “which
is different than what we’ve done it
the past few years,” said Byme.
He said what makes that prog
rams different is the shift in con
centration from “thought leaders”
in the press directly to consumer.
Which means, according to the
Council chairman, you’ll be seeing
a lot more in-store demonstrations,
sampling of beef products, and
direct advertising.
Dennis Byrne keeps careful records of calves brought to
finish to the Herr Farm.
According to Dennis Byrne, potato peels and other
rejected potato material, with much of the water removed,
are hauled daily to the farm and fed as a replacement for
corn silage.
Variety of programs
“We’re going to be involved in
a lot more of the food fairs and that
type of thing than we’ve been in
the past,” he said.
The checkoff money collected
($1 per head of cattle sold) is spent
on a variety of programs. Of the
$l.l million collected, about
$200,000 is returned to the state of
origin (cattle purchased from other
states). Of the about $900,000
remaining, according to Byme,
half goes to the national beef coun
cil program. About $450,000 is
returned to the state, of which
$270,000 is used for direct adveri
tising and promotional campaigns
for beef. The rest is used for admi
nistrative purposes and program
coordination.
Most of the $270,000 will be
going to “let the producer know
we’re doing all we can for his
At Herr Angus, Byrne is involved in the overall management of operations. The
1,000-acre beef finishing farm is home to about 1,800 head of cattle a year.
buck,” he said. “Bui at some point
we have to realize that the more
dollars we spend convincing the
producer we’re doing a good job
with his buck, the less we’re
spending on the consumer who is
going to buy his product.”
Soon, more money will be allo
cated for direct promotion.
Already the Council is writing up
proposals and constructing
methods to heighten the promotion
of beef products.
Partnering
“Currently we’re discussing
some possibilties with the Heinz
Foundation and partnering on
some beef ventures,” he said.
“That will be exciting.”
But what excites Byrne the most
is the current veal marketing prog
ram under way, particularly in the
Philadelphia area.
The new campaign uses “on the
spot” radio advertising to feature
veal promotions, recipe contests,
cookouts, and other methods to
deliver a positive message about
veal products.
“We’re hearing really good
things about that,” he said. Writ
ten and implemented by staff at the
Beef Council in cooperation with
veal packers, the campaign is a
partnership “that hasn’t happened
in any other beef council in any
state,” he said, because the indus
try is contributing additional dol
lars on top of the checkoff.
1,800 head of cattle
At Herr Angus, Byrne is
involved in the overall manage
mentof operations. The 1,000-acre
beef finishing farm is home to
about 1,800 head of cattle a year.
Two full-time herd managers,
David Bell and Doug Lawrie, con
tribute to managing the care and
feeding of cattle, in addition to 220
acres of com, 250 of pasture, SO
acres of barley and SO acres of
wheat cash crops, 60 acres of reed
canarygrass, and the remainder in
soybeans.
The farm, which began with 300
heifers as a purebred Angus seed
stock operation in 198 S, now hosts
various Angus/Heieford and Char 2
olais crosses.
What makes the farm interesting
is the use of Herr Snack Food by
products. To displace the use of
com silage, Jim Herr, owner, and
Byrne have made use of three dif
ferent types of by-products to feed
the steers.
One product is what Byrne
refers to as “steer party mix,”
which includes the unused and not-
To displace the use of corn silage, Jim Herr, owner, and
Dennis Byrne (pictured here) have made use of different
types of by-products to feed the steers. One product is what
Byrne refers to as “steer party mix,” which includes the
unused and not-up-to-standard chips, pretzels, and pop
corn that are manufactured at the plant close by, hauled (2-3
tons daily) onto the farm and used as feed.
up-10-standard chips, pretzels, and used to wash the potatoes, com
popcom that are manufactured at posed of about 1 percent solids,
the plant close by, hauled (2-3 tons which is used to irrigate the reed
daily) onto the farm and used as canarygrass.
feed. The other products are potato
peels and other rejected potato By-products used
material, with much of the water “Jim Herr always thought that
removed, hauled daily to the farm, somehow or other their by-
The final product is waste water (Turn to P> A 2"
Here, Dennis Byrne computes the weight of cattle loaded
onto the scale.