Kevin Grier, market analyst for the George Morris Centre,
says beef carcass weights are reaching the limit of consumer acceptance and if
they continue to increase, Canadians will be buying less beef.
Some buyers have been expressing concerns about increasing
carcass weights for more than 20 years, arguing that portion sizes are too
large for restaurants and for meat-counter shoppers at supermarkets.
Typical weights for steer carcasses went from 700 pounds in 1987
to 725 in 1992 to 860 in 2011.
But Grier says both packers and farmers make more money from
the bigger carcasses because most of their costs are per animal, not per pound.
An 850-pound carcass doesn’t turn as much profit for either the
farmer or the packer as 950 pounds, which is the point at which most Canadian
packers start discounting prices. In the United States, it’s 1,000 pounds.
Consumers appreciate the price break that comes with the
greater efficiencies the farmers and packers experience with larger cattle, but
Grier says there’s little room to take this further.
For one thing, retailers have been slicing beef thinner to
keep the sticker and menu prices down. At some point, that impacts cooking
quality.
For another thing, it’s hard to simply cut smaller portions
for some products, such as T-bone steaks and strip loins, Grier says. That
leaves consumers facing gigantic cuts on their plates – and high prices at the
supermarket checkout.
Grier cites a couple of other factors driving weights
higher, such as keeping calves on cheaper pasture and grass rations longer so
they go into feedlots at higher weights and, given that they need at least 140
days on a high-grain ration to accumulate enough marbling to achieve Canada AAA
of U.S. Choice grade, they end up heavier when they’re ready for market.
The other major factor is genetics that began changing in
the 1960s when Canadians began importing large European breeds, such as
Charolais and Simmental, and cross-breeding with smaller Angus, Shorthorn and
Hereford cattle.
Hybrid vigour provided a huge economic boost, but the
crosses also increased the size of the animals at a stage when they had enough
marbling to achieve top grades.
Grier says this tug of interests between production
efficiencies and consumer preferences plays out for almost all foods produced
by Canadians.
He said it’s always a balancing act and one that each player
in the system needs to keep in mind.
