Michigan’s Beef Industry Addresses Supply Chain Challenges Head-On
In partnership with: Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
Each and every day, many factors must come together to ensure people have access to fresh, high-quality food products. While food supply chains span the whole world, we experience the complexities of supply chain management right here in Michigan. George Quackenbush, executive director of the Michigan Beef Industry Commission, knows better than most that even small shifts in the industry can have ripple effects through the entire supply chain.
“For decades, the beef industry has worked in the 10-year cattle cycle, with decisions being informed by many factors,” Quackenbush explains. “Our industry is very slow to adjust to the changes in the market because of the biology of our animals.”
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Specialization Benefits and Challenges
An essential factor to understand when evaluating complex supply chains is just how much specialization is involved. For example, anyone outside the beef industry might assume cattle raised for beef production are bred, born and raised to maturity all in the same place, but in reality, most farmers focus on a particular life stage.
“In Michigan, the specific segment where a farmer specializes usually is determined by what resources they have available,” Quackenbush says. “If your area of the state has an abundance of grain, you might have a feedlot. If you’re in an area of the state where grassland is abundant, you might become a cow-calf operation.”
While variations on this structure exist, most beef cattle will begin with seed stock operations focused on genetics – breeding for high-quality, in-demand traits. Cow-calf ranchers buy the seed stock animals to breed and raise calves until they are weaned onto dry feed. Then they spend time at another farm on a forage diet and then on a feedlot, where they eat a more grain-rich diet.
“Diets with more grain help to develop intramuscular fat, which develops the tenderness, juiciness and flavor that consumers really love,” Quackenbush says.
The animals must then be processed, packaged and distributed. In the past few years, processing facilities have become a bottleneck for the beef industry. So, if you’ve seen higher beef prices, it may be because many processing facilities cannot process as much beef as is in demand right now.
“We’ve seen a reduction in the processing capacity in the U.S. over the past decade or so, and then there was a period in 2020 when we lost 60 to 65% of our processing capacity due to protocols to protect workers,” Quackenbush explains. “There is also a labor availability challenge, with some people being reluctant to return to work in those settings.”
Significant Strides
Be encouraged because at the state and federal levels, there is a growing investment in processing capacity. While plants are brick and mortar and require time to get up and running, they show the industry will be able to process more beef soon.
Even more promising is a long-term gain in quality thanks to genetic and technological advances.
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“Using the USDA grading system, we used to only have 2 to 3% of cattle graded prime, the highest rating, and only 5% graded choice, the second-highest grade,” Quackenbush says. “We’ve made tremendous strides in how we’re feeding animals and getting high-quality marbling, to the point where 30 to 40% of cattle are now graded choice and 10% are grading prime. We’re creating a product that is high quality and being produced in high amounts, which helps to make it affordable.”
That’s good news for the beef consumers of our country. With every burger or steak purchased, they are supporting the livelihoods of many different farmers and agriculture workers along the supply chain.