9:15 am - 12:30 pm • Phoenix 18-19 Rooms
MA 104: Process Verification — Does it Fit Your Operation?
Charlie Bergh, Sunland Beef Company; Ted Schroeder, Mike Boland, Kansas State Univ.; Jim Riva, USDA; Joe Parcell, Univ. of Missouri; Renee Sanden, Sweetlix;
David Hemme, KS
Process Verification
If beef producers had supplied as much product in 1998 as was available in 1980, they would have had to accept half the 1980 price due to lower demand for beef, Ted Schroeder, Kansas State University (K-State) told attendees of “Process Verification – Does it Fit Your Operation.” The workshop was part of the Jan. 28 Cattlemen’s College hosted by Pfizer Animal Health prior to the 2004 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show in Phoenix, Ariz.
Demand slipped from 1980s levels because consumer demand signals were not getting back to the producer level, the K-State ag economist said. The vertical market chain wasn’t coordinated to send the price signals back down the chain.
Demand has increased since we became more responsive to meeting consumer requests, Schroeder said. Opportunities exist through vertical integration, as seen in some industries, and vertical cooperation through contracts, marketing agreements, partnerships and alliances.
“The action” is in branded products, meal packages and foodservice, he said. While the three segments vary in product needs, they do entail more accountability and assurance of product integrity, but with that comes an increase in opportunities. The system cries out for more intense process certification, he said, and then turned the program over to speakers providing examples of verification systems.
Joe Parcells, assistant professor of ag economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC) provided an overview of the Show-Me-Select Replacement™ Heifer Program. Started as a producer education program, this program has evolved into a marketing program providing verification of production processes. Critical to the program is the participation and third-party verification provided by 166 veterinarians. Program requirements are detailed in the proceedings available from the link below. For more details about the program visit www.agebb.missouri.edu/select.
Mike Boland, K-State associate professor of ag economics; Renee Sanden, Sweetlix; and producer David Hemme of Perry, Kan., provided an overview of Good Natured Family Farms (GNFF), which is awaiting approval of USDA Process Verification. GNFF involves an all-natural beef cooperative of 25 producers, Rainbow Organic Farms, K-State and retailers. The proposed process-verified claims include: (1) raised on local, family-size farm operations; (2) no growth hormones; (3) no subtherapeutic antibiotics; (4) 100% vegetarian ration; (5) no antibiotics during the finishing phase; (6) source of origin verified from producer through retailer; and (7) dry-aged 10-14 days. For more information about the program, see the link to the proceedings below or visit www.agmanager.info.
“The ultimate marketing program is one that your competitor cannot or chooses not to meet,” said Charlie Bergh, general manager of Sun Land Beef Co. “A superior product that has third-party verification gains tremendous credibility. Bergh urged producers to shoot for the ultimate marketing program and utilize USDA Process Verification to build consumer confidence through a third-party verification. See the proceedings link below for more on this presentation.
Details of the USDA Process Verified program were spelled out by Jim Riva, chief of the audit, review and compliance branch of the Agricultural Marketing Service Livestock & Seed Program. He stressed that the program was voluntary and detailed the application process as well as the auditing process. For more details, link to the proceeds below and visit http://processverified.usda.gov.
— by Shauna Rose Hermel
Click here to download Bergh's presentation.
Click here to download Boland's & Sanden's presentations
Click here to download Riva's presentation
Click here to download Parcell's presentation
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Click here to download a free version.
Click here to view Bergh's PowerPoint presentation
Click here to view Boland's PowerPoint presentation
Click here to view Riva's PowerPoint Presentation
Click here to view Parcell's Handout 1
Click here to view Parcell's Handout 2