Cows and beef products have always been targeted as harmful to the environment and human consumption, but in recent years both have become easier to promote and legitimize.

Usually when someone attacks the beef industry, one doesn’t have to look very far to realize there are some cow-hating animal rights activists involved.

This is a lot like politics; To hell with truth and science, say whatever you want and I hope it sticks to the wall.

The part that beef industry detractors don’t like to hear is consumers’ high demand for good beef products and the dollars they’re willing to spend on them.

It’s a good barometer to look at what’s going on with the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) brand of Angus producers.

“CAB’s success since 1978 is due in large part to the engaged, forward-thinking and collaborative producers and partners we work with from pasture to plate,” says CAB meat business president John Stikain.

A recent article from BEEF Magazine states: “In a year marked by changing marketing dynamics and margin pressure across the supply chain, CAB closed Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) with the second strongest sales year in the company’s history. Growing both domestically and abroad, the global beef brand achieved sales of 1.237 billion pounds in the USA and 55 countries.”

That’s one of the reasons why we’re seeing more and more restaurants across the country advertising “Angus Beef” on their menus. It sells.

The most popular slogan in the meat business is “Beef. What’s for Dinner? But I believe “Angus Beef” should be a close second. We see this from high-end restaurants to fast food burgers to local retailers.

Good genetics and management have saved CAB producers approximately $100 per head above market price in grid premiums for cattle meeting CAB brand standards.

Consumers can also find CAB brand beef at local grocery stores. Retail stores sold 521.5 million pounds of CAB beef in FY24. This represented sales of over £500 million with retailers in six years.

International CAB product sales are said to have increased by 4.6 per cent in FY24, reaching £194.8 million. While overall U.S. exports fell, this huge growth was largely driven by increased sales in Mexico, which grew 30 percent and became the brand’s second-largest international market.

CAB’s Prime beef sales reached a new high with sales of 50.5 million pounds, an increase of 22.5 percent compared to 2023. This shows that consumers are not backing away from beef.

Based on the numbers you read above, CAB producers should be proud of their beef products. The public bought into the brand both nationally and internationally. Here in the hills we call it marketing.

Dennis Sun is the publisher of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup, a weekly agricultural newspaper available online and in print.