Growth is a primary goal of any successful company. Often, however, growth can come at the expense of the product quality, the personal aspect or the culture that made that company a desirable place to do business to begin with. How then, does a company foster growth without sacrificing these traits? Boise, ID-based Agri Beef knows the answer to that.
While growing from a 4,000-head feedlot in eastern Idaho to a regional beef supplier with a global outlook employing 1,500 people, Agri Beef has maintained its roots and core values by focusing on quality, consistency and integrity. Not only in the products that it sells, but also in the people that they employ and the producers they choose to partner with.
Agri Beef’s story began in the 1960s as the brainchild of Robert Rebholtz Sr. The son of a Bay Area banker in California, Rebholtz had long dreamed of being in the cattle business. Upon his graduation from University of California, Davis and Stanford Business School, Rebholtz began realizing that dream, first as a ranch manager in Nevada, then by purchasing Snake River Feeders in 1986, a 4,000-head feedlot operation in American Falls, ID. In 1975, the company expanded, purchasing the El Oro feedlot in Moses Lake, WA, and the company headquarters was moved to Boise, ID, in 1978.
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Early adapters
According to Jay Theiler, Agri Beef executive vice president of Corporate Affairs, this move was based on the strong belief that data and innovation were key to future success. “They wanted to use computers to help, and I think they were amongst the first in the country to really upgrade and manage their feeding operation with that type of technology,” Theiler explained to WLJ. “They needed to make sure that they had access to the technology infrastructure to support their plan, and Boise had it.”
Over the next two decades, Agri Beef continued to grow, soon becoming a major industry player throughout the Northwest. It also experienced a change in leadership, with Rebholtz’s son, Robert Jr., taking over as CEO following his father’s death in 1997. Around this same time period, Agri Beef began to make the transition from regional cattle feeder to global food company.
In 2003, the company made its first foray into the processing end of the industry, purchasing the Washington Beef plant in Toppenish, WA. Almost immediately, the venture faced a significant challenge, when a now infamous case of BSE was identified at a dairy farm just an hour’s drive from the new plant only a few months after the purchase.
“That outbreak happened in Washington, and here we were with all these boxes branded Washington Beef,” Theiler recalled. “We had beef on the water, and suddenly it could not land in Japan.”
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Finding a solution, he said, underscored some of the core principles that have contributed to Agri Beef’s success over the years.
“Because we were working in all elements of the supply chain, we were able to reassure our domestic customers that we knew the source of all our product, and could guarantee its safety,” he said. “The incident really turned into a positive for us, because it gave us the opportunity to highlight the benefits of having an integrated supply chain, and the importance of the meaningful partnerships that we have both on the customer and supply sides.”
On the supply side, Theiler explained, Agri Beef seeks to partner with cow-calf producers that share their dedication to consistency and quality. “The focus of our company always begins with the quality of the end product, and every step of the supply chain supports this goal,” he says. “We’re continually looking for producers that have a similar outlook and are invested in improving those future-oriented characteristics for quality in their herds.”
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This same focus on quality carries through to the partnerships that Agri Beef fosters with its customers. “Authenticity is important,” Theiler said. “We’re not just slapping a brand on something that doesn’t have the characteristics we want to convey. If you’re going to have repeat purchases, you have to have continually produce the same thing, and people appreciate that.” Just as important to those relationships, he said, is standing behind the product.
“If you ever fail your customer, you stand behind it and make it right. That’s how you make customers for life,” he said.
In between these bookended partnerships, Theiler points out that the company’s true strength lies in the people that are employed there. “The real credit to Agri Beef is the diversity of backgrounds that are in this company,” Theiler said.
“Certainly, we have our core of people that come out of the livestock industry,” he added. “But it’s also the technology specialists, people with experience in food sales, and a lot of other skills. It’s unique, I don’t know of another company in the business that has this model.”
Branded products
Currently, Agri Beef markets its beef under four labels, each strategically designed to fill a different niche in the market. While their Snake River Farms label sells Wagyu beef, for example, their Double R and St. Helens labels market Choice beef to the food service (restaurant) and retail markets, respectively.
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Interestingly, while most meat companies carve out the top two-thirds of Choice beef for food service, leaving the bottom third for retail, Agri Beef chooses instead to reserve just the top third and above for food service sales.
“We maybe don’t get as much availability that way, but we get a very consistent, high quality, product targeted primarily for food service,” Theiler said. “In addition, we get access to a higher level of Choice grade for retail. We do quite well with that because it’s a different profile than most everybody we compete against.”
Agri Beef sells its products not only in the U.S., but in 40 countries around the world and, despite the growth of other premium beef labels in restaurants and on store shelves, Theiler indicates that demand for their products continues to exceed supply. In an effort to meet this demand, the company’s latest venture will soon add a new label to their product lineup.
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Known as True West Beef (TWB), the project began with the construction of a new processing facility in Jerome, ID. Unlike Washington Beef, however, TWB is a joint venture between Agri Beef and more than 40 producers, all of whom have a share in ownership of the facility, which began turning out beef in June.
“The genesis of the idea was that we had these long-standing partnerships,” Theiler explained. “We wanted to create a new business model where there’s a vested interest from our producers to be a part of it.” While they share in the potential profit and loss, Theiler points out that taking an ownership stake allows a producer to manage risk across their operations and that’s a huge benefit.
“With all the volatility in our industry, it’s good to have some type of ownership in multiple segments so that you can manage your risk,” he said.
As the company has grown, Agri Beef has strived to maintain a culture of family and to remain engaged in the communities where they do business. The mineral division they built to service their own cattle’s needs, for example, has been spun off into another business, Performix, which supplies custom mineral blends to producers throughout the region.
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Additionally, Beef Counts, a charity effort started in 2010 in conjunction with the cattlemen’s associations in Idaho and Washington, has provided 4.5 million servings of beef to needy families via area food banks, an accomplishment of which the company is justifiably proud. “When we look at where we can make a difference, protein insecurity is a big one,” Theiler said. “We’re really trying to make that program bigger. We’re excited about the future of what that program can do to impact our neighbors in need.”
All of these efforts speak to a company culture focused, not just on quality, but also on integrity, family and community. A culture perhaps best summed up by a quote attributed to the company’s founder, Robert Rebholtz: “We want our customers to want to do business with us.”
