Becky Mills
Progressive Farmer Editor

Yep, prices for 750-pound feeder calves are already unbelievable. While you're collecting hefty checks, though, you might as well reach for the top. For Jamie Dail, that comes in the form of third-party verified programs.

The Wallace, North Carolina, producer has the herd enrolled in Global Animal Partnership 4 (G.A.P.) through EarthClaims, as well as Non-Hormone Treated Cattle (NHTC) and Verified Natural Beef (VNB) through IMI Global.

His reasoning is simple: "It is hard to say, with the prices as crazy as they are today, but you do get a premium over commodity-type cattle. I believe it's 10 cents a pound."

Mindi Birkeland, regional manager and business development of IMI Global, agreed. "Our first-quarter data shows premiums of around $74 a head for load lots of cattle sold with IMI-verified certifications."

For Dail, who raises Angus and SimAngus cattle with his wife, Maria, son, Cody, and daughter-in-law, Grace, the verified programs are part of a marketing progression. First, he sold his truckload lots of preconditioned calves through a video sales company. Next, he retained ownership for two years. "I wanted to get carcass data back. It cost me. We fed everything that were good cattle, and I thought we would make a little extra money, but that was the year COVID got us. My calves wound up staying in the yard an extra 30 days because we couldn't get them on the kill floor, but they still had yardage and feed and weren't gaining all that much. It hurt," he said.

ADDING VALUE TO HERD

The last four years, he circled back to video sales, this time with Mid-Atlantic Sales (MACS), of Richfield, North Carolina. "They have the best buyer base on the East Coast, and they come out, video and take all the information." That's also when he enrolled in the value-added programs.

MACS General Manager Brooke Harward encourages producers to participate in value-added programs, but also helps them choose between the confusing selection, as well as navigate the paperwork and prepare for the audits. "The value-added programs are very valuable tools and a way to get more dollars per head. Four to five years ago, at its peak, there was up to a 25-cent-a-pound premium for G.A.P. cattle versus commodity cattle. Now, it is closer to 5 to 15 cents, depending on the weight class, genetics, weaning and health program," she said.

Harward emphasized the programs are not one-size-fits-all. Feeders in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio prefer G.A.P.-enrolled cattle since cattle can't be hauled for more than 16 hours and still meet G.A.P. standards. MACS customers in east Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina fit the requirements.

Harward added, "The verified natural and NHTC are a different set of buyers. Currently, the most marketability and demand we have is for G.A.P., but we have buyers that demand both."

Since most producers who market through MACS also have Angus-based herds, Harward said the American Angus Association's AngusLink is a good choice, too. IMI partners with the Angus Association to verify AngusLink cattle and can also offer Care, their sustainability program, as well as Verified Natural, NHTC, and Age and Source Verified. Harward said, "With IMI, AngusLink is a great addition to get out in front of more buyers."

IMI also partners with other breeds with similar programs, including Hereford Advantage, Char Advantage, Red Angus Feeder Calf Certification Program, Gelbvieh Balancer Edge and Brangus Vigor. For beef on dairy, they partner with ABS for its Beef InFocus program.

PROGRAMS MAY NOT WORK FOR ALL PRODUCERS

Clemson University Livestock and Forages agent Brian Beer said programs like G.A.P. and IMI can pay, but they may not be economical for smaller operations. With G.A.P., Harward said fees are typically around $1,900 for the producers who market through MACS, with the travel expenses of the auditor added on. Director of Certification Services Malissa Lucas with EarthClaims LLC, the company that handles G.A.P. certifications, added, "Producers can choose to apply for G.A.P. as a stand-alone certification or bundle it with several other programs, including Source and Age Verified, NHTC, Verified Natural Beef, Vegetarian Fed and Grass Fed. Bundling multiple certifications into a single trip offers additional cost savings."

IMI's Birkeland said their fees average around $10 to $12 a head for a 200-cow herd. Like G.A.P., they can bundle their Care program with other certifications, including Age and Source Verified, NHTC, Verified Natural Beef, Verified Grass Fed, Non-GMO, Vegetarian Fed and Organic.

To hold down costs, Beer said the smaller producers in his area who market through MACS, including the 60-cow herd he runs with his father, Allen, go with producer-signed affidavits stating no added hormones, antibiotics or ionophores have been given to the cattle. The affidavits are typically supplied at no cost to the producers by the buyers, who range from large food companies to smaller farmer-feeders who market their own beef.

He noted, "Producers may or may not see premiums from that. Third-party verified programs have a little more credibility, and buyers tend to pay a little more." However, he added, "They cost the same whether you have 15 to 20 head or a larger herd."

The value-added programs may also come with the hidden costs of loss of production from leaving off growth-promoting implants and ionophores. Dail doesn't see it. "I've always done implants, but once we quit using them, I couldn't tell a difference." His weaning and shipping weights have actually increased and now average around 640 lbs. for steers and heifers. They ship at around 750 lbs. "All of the data on implants is older, but our genetics have improved so much I'd love to see some new data to see if there's still a gain. The genetics available now are superior to what we had 10 or 15 years ago," Dail said.

He added they haven't been burdened by the record-keeping required for the value-added programs. "We've always kept records. My wife's got records forever. We were in the registered business for a couple of years, and we started keeping individual animal information then, and we still do that today."

The other producers who market through MACS agree. Hayward said that 75% of the load lots sold through MACS are affidavit-signed or verified by a third party. Of that 75%, at least half or more are verified.

If you decide you do want to tackle a verified program, Hayward said to go in with a plan. "The people with the third-party verified programs are very good to work with, and they can help you find a marketing company." She added, "Experience with the programs is very valuable. We try to work as the middleman to bridge the gap."

Dail said it is worth the effort. "The premiums will offset the expense of it by far."

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