“Working with the salt of the earth, the greatest people in the world—that’s the beauty of being involved in the beef industry.” This could be the motto of many; those new to the industry, and those solidly entrenched in its lifestyle.
Not surprisingly, it’s also the declaration of Clint Berry, longtime U.S. beef industry contributor and current Superior Livestock Auction representative.
History promises lessons learned
The well-traveled Berry claims fifth-generation rancher status on both sides of his pedigree, having grown up with family ranching in southern Missouri and West Texas. After graduating from Missouri State University with a bachelor’s degree in animal science, he worked in many segments of the industry, from his cow-calf background to riding pens of high-risk cattle for a backgrounding and order buying outfit, to inspecting the kill floor at IBP (now Tyson Foods) where 4,500 head were harvested daily.
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“My biggest learning from all this was I didn’t want to go to a brick-and-mortar building to work every day of my life,” Berry told WLJ with a laugh. “The kill floor job taught me the scale of what it takes to feed the world. It was a big eye opener for a young kid and confirmed that I wanted to be a part of the industry.”
After Tyson, Berry ran a commercial marketing program for the Red Angus Association of America (RAAA) which paved the way for his involvement with Superior Livestock, the RAAA’s largest ad account at the time.
“I fell in love with Superior’s business model and their hands-on approach with customers,” he said. “I’d been yearning to be self-employed and to interact more directly with consumers and clients.”
While he no longer runs his own cows due to being on the road 280-plus days a year, he still scratches this itch by managing some cattle within the Allied Feeding Partners, a cooperative LLC operating in Illinois, Texas and Nebraska.
“I get my fix without having to go home and check cows,” he said. “I figured out a long time ago I was called to do other things in life, so I’ve given up on owning my own ranch, at least for now. Maybe someday in the future when I slow down it’ll happen, but I’ve said that for two decades now, so who knows.”
A buyers and sellers partnership
Currently, Berry’s role at Superior Livestock marketing cattle for buyers and consignors alike keeps him busy juggling first-class marketing techniques and representing buyers on delivery day.
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Superior has been in the business for over 35 years and is built on selling feeder cattle. They move truckload lots through video sales, the internet and on television. Animals are marketed on forward contacts ranging from immediate delivery—meaning a week or 10 days from sale day—to as far as months down the road.
In their early days, Superior was developed as a better way to market load lots than the norm, which had meant running everything through an auction barn. Using video and forward contracts, buyers from anywhere in the country had more control over purchase and delivery dates, plus made more accurate and timely buying and marketing decisions.
Their target customers are larger operations, usually those running over 200 cows managed under a strict calving distribution interval. Calf feds, yearlings and both weaned and unweaned calves sell to either stocker backgrounders who turn bawling or freshly weaned calves into heavier, more valuable animals, or directly to finishing yards. Rare customers sell single or split loads of mixed sex cattle or smaller groups of replacement heifers.
“We need ranchers using a 60 to 90 day calving window, selling enough grouped five- or six-weight calves to make a full truck load, even with a few outs not performing as well as the others,” he said. “Occasionally, we serve farmers who might buy a single load a year, often loyally supporting their long-time suppliers. They put pounds on those calves and resell them to other yards.”
Superior boasts the world’s largest buyer base with well over 7,000 registered users. Almost everyone in the U.S. beef industry purchasing cattle is or has been on their registered list.
Pulling together as a team
To make the different pieces of the industry come together as seamlessly as possible, Berry gives credit to his seasonally based representative team scattered across Montana, Texas and North and South Dakota. The team comprises seasoned and experienced second-, third- and fourth-generation ranchers from commercial operations, the seedstock industry and even direct-to-consumer meat shops, all adding flexibility to the process.
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This approach allows representatives to remain somewhat local to their own areas while simultaneously cultivating wider scale relationships and concentrating on marketing across the entire country.
“I couldn’t handle the volume I do without them, and I think they’d say the same about me,” Berry said. “We attack everything together. I may not be the guy taking the videos or handling a delivery, but my team makes it possible for not only me, but all of us to be successful.”
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Superior’s largest seasonal run occurs yearly from June to mid-September when roughly 75% of the cattle sold annually are marketed. Most of the fall is typically spent shipping three to five daily deliveries to multiple locations.
Building marketing around management
Berry’s philosophy of dealing with buyers, sellers and their livestock focuses on building marketing around management, not management around marketing.
“Cattle people aren’t in the industry for charity,” he said. “Everyone needs to find a way to make a living, so we can’t let the tail wag the dog. It must first work for each of us individually. From there, we make changes for value-added programs, weaning or not weaning, running yearlings, or whatever it might be to capture the most money.”
He added the balance between profit and lifestyle must be considered, and each segment of the industry, no matter the product or service being bought or sold, should add value for those further down the chain.
“It’s elementary. If we want to get more for what we’re selling, we have to provide tangible value for the next person,” he said. “We can’t drain all of it and leave nothing for the next cog in the wheel, regardless of who or what that cog represents.”
Genetics, technology deliver opportunities
Berry explained this value transfer is most easily accomplished through a combination of high-quality genetics which Superior sells more of than anyone else in the country. Top genetics propel value along the beef supply chain, especially when coupled with outstanding management in health, nutrition and value-added programs.
Buyers want to be proud of what they’re purchasing, and to help them achieve this feeling, Berry said most customers are using advanced technologies like DNA verification with projections based off their results. Nearly all use EPDs and related data on sire selection, some in-depth and knowledgeable and others happy to turn over the responsibility to Superior’s experienced representatives.
“It depends on what producers want,” he said. “I’m a terrible mechanic but I have a guy who takes care of those things for me. In the same way we handle almost anything buyers and sellers desire.”
Future challenges curbed by resources
Berry believes the beef industry, and specifically the American product, has transitioned from commodity based where it was assumed every steak was the same, to demonstrating the creation of better-quality beef. He sees an increase in price differentiation moving forward with Choice and Prime grading having much higher value than the average.
“I’m as excited to be in the industry as I’ve ever been in my life,” Berry states. “There’s tremendous opportunity in front of us, simply spelled out in a growing population we need to feed. We have the No. 1, most nutrient-dense protein source in the world to tackle this challenge.”
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He said the best part is cattle are already an amazing resource, eating and absorbing grass, plants and byproducts which they naturally turn into this valuable protein.
Berry admitted real challenges and perplexing events will continue to make future appearances but envisions the demand for U.S. beef growing. Technology will advance to provide accurate data, information and valuable decision-making tools for more optimal results even before animals enter feedyards or reach the packing plants.
“The cherry on top of everything is working with and being around those salt of the earth, greatest people in the world,” he said. “It’s the beauty of being involved in the beef industry.”
