LIMOUSIN
Limousin Today - Profit Tomorrow
Market Fed Cattle on the
Limousin Grid
The North American Limousin Foundation has
partnered with Tyson Fresh Meats to provide a
Limousin Grid to market commodity cattle.
The North American Limousin Foundation (NALF),
in an effort to further promote Limousin genetics,
has teamed up with Tyson Fresh Meats to create a
value-added cattle feeding pricing program. Tyson is
offering feeders the opportunity to market cattle on
a Limousin Grid, which is designed to pay substantial
premiums for conventionally fed cattle. This grid
rewards cattle that excel in quality and yield grade.
The grid uses average harvest results from all Tyson
plants for each week’s deliveries. The premiums
are tremendous for cattle that exceed the week’s
averages for Prime, CAB, and Yield Grade 1s and 2s.
In the example grid, the USDA 5 Area Weekly Weighted
Average Price is used as the initial starting price. Since the
cattle are being compared to the weekly average results
for all Tyson plants, the actual harvest averages are figured
for the week with resulting premiums and discounts for
the clean-up cost. The average discount total of $5.56/
cwt was used to subtract the $3.88/cwt of premiums
for a difference of $1.68/cwt, which is then added to
the base price of $222.89/cwt for a new starting price
of $224.57/cwt. The producer’s cattle are then figured
against the results of the plant averages for each category
and the variances are calculated for the final price.
As a result, the starting base price is adjusted upwards
since the cattle are competing against all cattle
harvested for the week at Tyson plants. If a set of
cattle exceeds the averages for quality and yield grade
while keeping discounts at a minimum, the ability
to achieve an additional bonus is very apparent.
Limousin cross cattle have the ability to do well on this
grid given their natural ability for yield and grade. The
advantages of Limousin cattle to put a high percentage
of cattle into the Yield Grade 1 and 2 categories while
achieving quality grade standards when fed correctly with a
moderate implant program equals premiums for the feeder.
To be eligible to be marketed on the NALF-Tyson
Fresh Meats Limousin Grid, cattle must carry a Lim-
Choice panel ear tag and be reported to the NALF
office. For more information on this grid or other
marketing opportunities through natural and NHTC
programs, contact Mark Anderson, NALF executive
director, at 303-220-1693 or [email protected].
To find out more about how you can profit tomorrow with Limousin or Lim-Flex® bulls and females,
contact the North American Limousin Foundation at 303-220-1693 or visit www.NALF.org.
LIMOUSIN
North American Limousin Foundation
40 | OCTOBER 2017
6 Inverness Court East, Suite 260
Englewood, CO 80112-5595
O: 303-220-1693 • F: 303-220-1884
[email protected] • www.NALF.org