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Wondering where to get the top dollar for fat cattle is soon to be just a mouse click away. Micro Beef Technologies, Inc. (formerly Micro Chemical, Inc.) and BeefEx have teamed to develop the Marketing Alternatives Calculator (screenshots). The Marketing Alternatives Calculator, or MAC, is a computer software program that considers several parameters of the cattle to be sold and compares them to the various grids and marketing formulas available. "The MAC is a value based management tool that enables cattlemen to choose where to market their cattle based on the cattle's characteristics when compared to current grids," explains Mark Shaw of Micro Beef Technologies, Inc. Shaw believes this tool will aid in matching the right beef product to the right market, resulting in more satisfied consumers as well as improved production efficiencies. Initially, basic lot information is entered in the program, including head count, on feed date, estimated kill date, sex, age and genetic influences. Next individual animal records from the lot are generated. This information can be obtained in a few different different ways. First, if ultrasound and weight measurements exist, the data can be manually entered into the MAC. Second, feedyards using Micro Beef's ACCU-TRAC Electronic Cattle Management system can automatically import the data from the ECM system. If measured data does not exist, the Beef Grading Model in the MAC program can estimate records based on the phenotype information entered for the lot. The estimates are based on statistical analysis of actual, historical carcass data for the types and classes of cattle listed. If the feedlot has historical carcass data on similar cattle, these figures can be used for the lot. After the individual animal records have been generated, estimated quality grade, yield grade and hot carcass weight distributions can be viewed and edited for each animal in the lot. Sorting "what if's" can be experimented with by adding or deleting individual animal records. Next the feedlot plugs in the grid values for each possible buyer. "Realizing that grid parameters can often change, the grid can be easily edited, and the resulting quotes will resemble the edited grid," Shaw says. Once all the information is entered, the MAC displays every possible buyer that the feedyard has entered, the estimated base bid, premiums, and net price. "The MAC can be used as a negotiation tool between the feedlot and buyers," Shaw explains. "It is also very helpful for anyone learning or considering marketing cattle on a grid." Mark Manken of Manken Cattle Company was one of the first to use the MAC. "I think it is an excellent tool. It allows a marketer to see what works best for your type of cattle," he says. Manken was comparing grids manually before the MAC was developed. "It definitely speeds up my manual calculations. The program is very user friendly. Anyone with some basic computer knowledge should be able to use it." The program is windows-based, and will be available to qualified people free of charge, says Shaw. "We have scheduled a staged launch of the MAC in order for us to properly train people to use the program." The target release date for the MAC is in March, and will kick off with a series of regional meetings to demonstrate the program and train users. "We will release the MAC to the feedlot industry initially," Shaw says. "In time, it will be available to anyone else that is interested. Consultants, ranchers, stocker operators, and backgrounders could all benefit from the MAC." For more information on the Marketing Alternatives Calculator, contact Mark Shaw at Micro Beef Technologies, Inc. at (800) 858-4330. |
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