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There\u2019s a first for everything, and for the first time producers earned premiums on the U.S. Premium Beef, LLC (USPB) Kansas grid based on the genetic merit of their cattle, starting in August 2024. One year later, the Genetic Merit Scorecard\u2120\u00a0(GMS) remains the measuring stick for these National Beef Packing Co., LLC (NBP) premiums on the USPB grid.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s predictable, consistent quality,\u201d said Chad Barker, vice president of cattle procurement with NBP. He adds that the GMS allows them to forecast and sell that quality with some confidence, because of the predictive power of the tool.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, this year\u2019s been more about validating what we expected from a performance perspective, and does it line up with our value-added business; and it does,\u201d Barker said. \u201cTo me, those things are both really positive. That makes it sustainable, and this program will probably continue to evolve as we learn and know more moving forward.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
The GMS is one of the AngusLink\u2120\u00a0value-added programs administered by the American Angus Association\u00ae in partnership with IMI Global and Where Food Comes From, and it objectively describes performance potential across four areas using a range from 0 to 200, with the industry average being 100.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The GMS Beef Score specifically predicts genetic potential for feedlot performance and carcass value and is calculated using the Association database and genetic information on sires and the cow herd. For producers and feeders, cattle harvested August 5, 2024 and later with a Beef Score of 100 or greater on the AngusLink\u2120\u00a0GMS can earn a grid premium of $5 per head. In December 2024, a second grid premium \u2013 $10 per head for cattle with a GMS Beef Score of 150 or greater \u2013 took effect, while those scoring 100-149 continued to receive the $5 per head premium.<\/p>\n
These premiums have been in addition to all other premiums and discounts available based on grading and carcass performance and are exclusively available for cattle marketed through USPB and delivered to NBP plant locations in Liberal and Dodge City, Kansas.<\/p>\n
Predictable performance<\/strong><\/p>\n Barker says NBP has been pleased with the quality of cattle qualifying for these premiums.<\/p>\n \u201cI think all but maybe four pens have been really high prime,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s something we would not be able to sort out or find without the scorecard.\u201d<\/p>\n Troy Marshall, director of commercial industry relations with the Association, said the cattle going into the program have been extremely good, averaging close to 150 for their GMS Beef Score.<\/p>\n Brian Bertelsen, USPB vice president of field operations, explained the cattle with a GMS going through the USPB grid have been well-above average. Looking at data from August 2024 through mid-February 2025, over 44% have been Prime. The average for the industry is 11% Prime.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n These qualifying cattle have averaged more than $200 per head premium over selling in the cash market, Bertelsen said. As a reference, the non-GMS or USPB average premium during the same period was a little over $100 more than if those cattle were marketed on the average cash, live market in Kansas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Bertelsen shared that overall, these cattle have excelled in all areas except for Yield Grade 4s and 5s, with those being higher than average for the USPB grid. Their average live weight was close to 100 lbs. higher than all other USPB cattle.<\/p>\n \u201cThe better your genetics are for marbling, the longer you probably ought to feed them to let them do what you designed them to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Barker says the traceability component of this is something they like, but it\u2019s also something that has not fully developed yet.<\/p>\n \u201cWe like being able to share and make progress and make improvements,\u201d Barker said. \u201cWe just have to find out what\u2019s an effective mechanism for sharing and communicating it.\u201d<\/p>\n Room to grow<\/strong><\/p>\n At the one-year mark, Barker said the main challenge is getting enough volume consistently. Since January 2025, the number of cattle with the GMS being harvested at NBP has increased compared to the first several months of the program, but there is room and demand for more cattle.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as we can continue to show a little incremental margin, we\u2019re going to be committed to growing it, and we know most good things take time,\u201d Barker said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n To qualify for the GMS, calves\u2019 sires must be predominantly (50% or more) registered Angus and 75% of the bull battery must be registered.<\/p>\n \u201cI know the guys that feed them like them,\u201d Barker said about AngusLink cattle. \u201cThen they bring a pretty big grid return.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Marisa Kleysteuber, managing partner of Triangle H near Garden City, Kansas, estimates between half to two-thirds of the cattle at their feedyard are enrolled in AngusLink, and 50% of those are customer cattle. The rest are owned by Triangle H and K Ranch. Most of the cattle fed attheir yard are marketed on the USPB grid.<\/p>\n \u201cThe GMS AngusLink program definitely rewards producers for producing high-quality beef,\u201d she said. \u201cOur focus is the consumer and producing what the consumer wants; and they\u2019ve clearly said they want high-quality beef. I think it\u2019s exciting that there\u2019s another program out there that is rewarding the cow-calf producers for their willingness to focus on high performance, quality cattle.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Tracking cattle with the GMS to earn grid premiums, \u201cit makes it a little more challenging, and we\u2019ve had to adjust our management some with how we\u2019d typically sort our cattle,\u201d she said. Other adaptations have included making sure all AngusLink certificate numbers are listed on the showlist for National Beef and providing that information two weeks ahead of harvest instead of one.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is just another way to send the market signals, and every dollar helps,\u201d Kleysteuber said.<\/p>\n Who\u2019s participating?<\/strong><\/p>\n Before these grid premiums were added, people retaining ownership of their cattle through the feeding phase did not have much incentive to enroll in the GMS program outside of benchmarking their genetic progress.<\/p>\n \u201cThey now have a financial incentive,\u201d said Doug Stanton, senior vice president of sales and business development at IMI Global. \u201cThey can see in the US Premium Beef grid that they can earn an additional $5 or $10 a head based on their Genetic Merit Scorecard on the Beef Score specifically. In most cases it\u2019s been eye-opening for them from the standpoint that cattle were maybe better than they thought they were.\u201d<\/p>\n Many of those who earned premiums this past year have been those already comfortable with marketing cattle on the USPB grid or retained ownership.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really nice that those people can get a little bit more premium, a little bit more recognition,\u201d said Bertelsen. \u201cWe can even better identify them in our data and recognize them with the higher premiums for the cattle that are truly genetically designed for our system.\u201d<\/p>\n Stanton said he anticipates new participation coming through USPB members buying cattle with the GMS, placing them in a USPB yard and then delivering them to NBP. Bertelsen agrees and adds that more will also participate during the second year simply because they will have heard more about it.<\/p>\n \u201cMoving forward, we sure hope that more cattle feeders and feedlots will step out and buy AngusLink GMS-enrolled feeder cattle to really boost the volume of cattle,\u201d Bertelsen said. \u201cThe grid system really works. If you offer a carrot \u2013 in other words, a premium for the producer \u2013 at least some of them will chase that and achieve it.\u201d<\/p>\n Bertelsen recognizes it is a challenging time to ask feeders to do that, given the current cattle supply.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey certainly know and appreciate that genetics makes a difference,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the record-high prices of feeder cattle postpone their stepping out and buying these cattle, that\u2019ll change. This cattle cycle will come around eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n For those ready to take the next step, he said he is quick to remind producers that the process of enrolling and getting a GMS for cattle is pretty easy.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to have an onsite audit,\u201d he said. \u201cYou just need to send the birth dates, the registration numbers (for sires), and a description of the cow herd.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n There is no additional cost associated with the GMS program, aside from IMI Global\u2019s Age and Source verification enrollment, which includes an EID tag. Plus, for cattle marketed on the USPB grid, a $1 per head premium is paid for each low-frequency EID tag that is read and assigned to a carcass ID number within each lot.<\/p>\n When available, feeders can lease USPB delivery rights to market cattle through USPB on the Kansas grid. Those interested should call USPB at\u00a0866-877-2525<\/a>\u00a0or visit\u00a0www.uspb.com<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we see more and more acceptance of the scorecard as a valuable tool for describing cattle\u2019s genetic merit in the marketplace, I know we\u2019ll see this program progress,\u201d Marshall said. \u201cThere\u2019s tremendous value in better understanding the genetics of cattle in our industry, and this has just added to the momentum we see for rewarding the good work producers are already doing.\u201d<\/p>\n For questions about the GMS or AngusVerified\u2120, call\u00a0816-383-5100<\/a>, or contact AngusLink\u2120\u00a0via email at\u00a0anguslink@angus.org<\/a>. IMI Global can also be reached to help start an enrollment at\u00a0303-895-3002<\/a>, or producers can complete its contact form to get started at\u00a0www.imiglobal.com\/contact<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a first for everything, and for the first time producers earned premiums on the U.S. Premium Beef,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":119930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[815,159,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-119929","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-genetics","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114974219785739910","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}