990756 “Nebraska Corn-Fed Beef” Label Debuts

Omaha, NE - Some Nebraska beef producers don't mind being labeled one bit. In fact, they lobbied for it.

Boxed beef came off the production line at Hastings Meat Supply labeled for the first time as Nebraska Corn-Fed Beef.

And producers with the Nebraska Corn-Fed Beef program hope their label does as much for them as it did for Florida orange growers.

“Nebraska beef is known worldwide,” said Sallie Atkins with the Nebraska Beef Board. “We feel we have a great product, and we're confident to sell it with our name on it.”

The corn-fed label, featuring the state emblem and a cowboy, is an effort by those in the beef industry to reverse downward trends in market share and prices.

The program moves live cattle pricing away from the commodity beef market into a consumer-driven market.

Instead of just producing cattle for their weight, producers in the corn-fed labeling program will produce cattle for the quality of their meat. The program sets requirements on how much corn the animals are fed and how they are raised.

Each animal's progress is chartered from birth through slaughter, and the records are used to help producers market better products.

Most American beef is sold as a commodity and shipped in lots to restaurants and supermarkets with no clues about its origin.

Not so with Nebraska Corn-Fed Beef.

“Retailers are asking for it, and the industry is responding,” said Ken Angermeier, director of retail marketing for the National Cattlemen's association in Chicago.

He said Nebraska is synonymous with corn-fed beef, and the new labeling can do nothing but enhance that positive image.

Sandra Milton, the corn-fed beef program's executive director, said 50 feedlots ranging in size from 100 to 40,000 head are participating.

Milton said the goal has been to build the program slowly and successfully.

The labeled products are now being marketed through mail-order operations, like Nebraska Famous Steaks.

Alan Janzen of Henderson, a Corn-Fed Beef Council member, hopes to then get into restaurant chains first and then retail outlets.

Janzen said the product will be marketed in Nebraska, Arizona and New Mexico to start. Milton hopes to have labeled products in stores by late fall.

The program's labeled package was proposed by the Nebraska Cattlemen association three years ago. Now that the product has become available, those in the industry hope it does not take as long to become popular with consumers.

The challenge in retail is to have consumers purposely seek out the branded product, and not mind paying more for it.

Strict standards and tracking will help ensure the safety of meat sold under the Nebraska label. But officials said producers still may have to have patience until the product catches on.

The program will help advertise Nebraska's beef across the world, said Gov. Mike Johanns. But, he added, “I wish I could tell you it's going to raise cattle prices a nickel tomorrow.”

This Article Compliments of...