General Session II

The National Beef Quality Audit:

What’s it Mean to a Beef Processor?

by Kelli Fulkerson for Angus Productions Inc.

 

HOUSTON, Texas (April 20, 2012) — Art Wagner, vice president of cattle procurement at National Beef Packing Co., said the information he would share from the packer perspective corresponded well to the overview of the 2011 National Beef Quality Audit that Ron Gill had presented a few minutes before. Both speakers were part of a panel addressing the second general session of the 44^th Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Annual Meeting in Houston April 18-21.

 

Wagner opened his presentation by sharing what National Beef Packing does as a company, stressing that it is more than just a beef processer. The company provides boxed beef, case-ready beef, portion control, leather and transportation.

 

“We do so much more than just taking a carcas, putting it into a box and shipping it off to the retailer,” said Wagner. The company has three major processing facilities — two in Kansas and one in California. It also has two case-ready facilities and a portion-control business.

 

Wagner said the quality of animals that pass through his plant improve every year, which shows the commitment all sectors of the beef industry have to delivering quality to consumers. That commitment is also evident in the use of branded programs. This year National Beef Packing Co. allocates space for 70 different sourced branded programs in its coolers.

 

“Ten years ago there were barely any branded programs available. Now we have 70 just in our plant," Wagner emphasized. "This, I feel, really shows the quality and commitment of the Beef Quality Audit.” Wagner said the basic BQA goals of awareness, cooperation, direction and platform stand firm in today’s industry.

 

Looking toward the future, the beef-processing sector must stay vigilant to succeed, Wagner said, calling communication and recordkeeping musts. Age verification, he said, is a tool to provide a higher-quality beef product to consumers.

 

Recognizing there are bad apples in every group, Wagner said those in the beef industry should should hold their heads high in terms of animal welfare and continue to implement the best animal handling and welfare programs available.

 

There are still issues the industry needs to address, said Wagner, the first being hot-iron branding.

 

“We understand that hot-iron branding is a tool used as identification. However, there is a right way to do this and a wrong way,” Wagne said, showing hides with multiple brands.

 

Another beginning to surface is preharvest intervention to prevent harmful pathogens entering the facility, Wagner shared. Some of these "preventions" are applied even before the animal enters the plant.

 

As a final issue to discuss, Wagner noted that more animals are being tested every day for the presence of residues.

 

“All of these challenges that we see we are working to overcome and succeed. We have to remember that all of this comes back to food safety and quality assurance. We must remember that all of this starts at the farm/ranch, this means every single thing that you do needs to be auditable and verified. You will be rewarded if you do what is right; if not, you're going to lose money and integrity,” concluded Wagner.    

 

Return to the Newsroom for links to the PowerPoint presentation that accompanied this presentation.

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