Feed Lot Magazine Online, Consolidated Beef Producers Reach Goal

Consolidated Beef Producers has reached their magic number in half the time allotted.

Consolidated Beef Producers, Inc., a non-profit marketing association formed last spring, reached their goal of 750,000 head of cattle committed to their marketing system last week. That goal is well ahead of their self-imposed deadline of Oct. 1.

" Consolidated Beef Producers, Inc. is now official. In less than 60 days after our first membership meeting, Consolidated Beef Producers has surpassed our minimum goal of 750,000 head," says Paul Hitch of Guymon, Okla., chairman of the board of directors of the new venture. "And we still have more than 60 days for other producers to join our marketing effort."

Their efforts to line up more cattle will continue, he says, but cattlemen considering membership in the new marketing venture need to get on board quickly.

" We will continue to enroll members and sell marketing rights until our cutoff date of Oct. 1, 2000," Hitch says. "Now that it is clear that Consolidated Beef Producers will happen, cattlemen who have been waiting on the sidelines can enter the game with confidence that their investment is sound. And those who are already members may want to increase their marketing rights."

Consolidated Beef Producers, Inc. is open to cattle feeders in the U.S. with emphasis on the major cattle feeding states. Cattle producers can join by paying a $3,000 membership fee and purchasing a minimum of 5,000 marketing rights at $1 per head.

Hitch says cattle feeders who are considering whether or not to join the program need to ask themselves if they are satisfied with the way they are marketing cattle?

They also need to ask themselves, he says, whether they think the way they market cattle will change in the near future and whether or not they want to participate in the change or let someone else do it for them?

" If you are not satisfied with the present marketing environment, if you want to participate in the changes sweeping our industry, and if you believe that true value-based negotiated pricing is the ticket to optimizing the value in your cattle, then you owe it to yourself to learn more about Consolidated Beef Producers, Inc.," Hitch says. "We intend to present the right cattle at the right time at the right packer to optimize value."

Hitch says now that CBP has reached its goal, the new venture will launch an aggressive search for a general manager.

" We want to get a staff in place so we can begin operations as soon as practical after the membership enrollment deadline of Oct. 1," Hitch says.

The Oklahoma Panhandle native, who is also president this year of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, says the packers have unwittingly helped with Consolidated Beef Producers' enrollment campaign by pushing the price of fed cattle down at the very time the new group was enlisting support from producers.

" The strong interest and confidence that cattle feeders have in Consolidated Beef Producers shows that they believe in the program and are ready to change the way they market cattle," Hitch said. "Our goal with Consolidated Beef Producers is to consolidate our marketings so we can remain independent as cattle feeders. The industry is changing, and we are standing on the cusp of an incredible opportunity to shape that change, to nudge the ball in a way we want it to go."

CBP, which was incorporated in April, topped the 600,000 head mark by the end of June, holding a series of informational meetings across Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado.

" Interestingly enough," he says, "there have been very few dissenting voices at the meetings that we've had."

Hitch says not many would argue that cattle feeders are unhappy with the way finished cattle are sold. The three-quarters of a million head commitment is necessary to be a player in the market, he says.

Individual feedyards would still be responsible for finishing the cattle and caring for them. CBP would handle only the sales. Cattle to be sold would have to be committed two weeks prior to sale.