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Red Angus Feeder Calf Certification Program Brings Home Big Premiums for Producers

Posted October 19, 2017

Denver – Producers who wish to pocket an extra $2.75 per hundredweight (cwt) should heavily consider enrolling in the leading tag program in the beef industry – the Red Angus Feeder Calf Certification Program. The FCCP “Yellow Tag” is universally recognized as the symbol of guaranteed Red Angus genetics and a trusted source for both feeders and packers filling Angus product lines. 

The FCCP combines three important components of value-added programs: genetics, source and age verification. Producers who enroll in the FCCP have access to Angus product lines and other market based premiums. According to recent data from Superior Livestock, analyzed by Kansas State University, Red Angus-sired calves enrolled in the FCCP have a distinct price advantage over Red Angus-sired calves not enrolled and not tagged. The data showed that enrollment in the FCCP significantly increased sale price of calves by $2.75/cwt, which equates to more than a $16 premium on a 600-pound calf. This premium is especially significant when considering that Red Angus and Red Angus-based feeder calves most often sell at or near the top of the market.

Enrollees must verify traceability to at least 50 percent Red Angus breed influence, the ranch of origin and group age. One example of a qualified ranch is a commercial cowherd using only registered Red Angus bulls.

Due to the tremendous success of the FCCP, the Red Angus Association of America has instituted a tag growth award in addition to a tag enrollment sweepstakes. When tag purchasers call to enroll and identify where they purchased their bulls, their seedstock provider is entered to win a commemorative .22 Henry Golden Boy rifle.  Additionally, the purchase of every bag of 25 FCCP tags purchased earns the commercial rancher an entry for $1,000 cash. At the National Red Angus Convention in Colorado Springs, Colorado in September, Chessie Mitchell, RAAA Tag Program Coordinator, announced this year’s winners: Fischer Red Angus of Harolowton, Montana, was the winner of the trophy rifle and Victor Miller of Halfway, Missouri, was the winner of the $1,000 tag growth jackpot. 

The FCCP tag is available in two options – the traditional visual tag for $0.99 each, or as a combination visual and RFID tag for $3 each. Producers must answer a few breeding and management questions to enroll in the program and can do so by contacting Chessie Mitchell at 940-387-3502 ext. 2. 

For more information on Red Angus marketing programs and the FCCP, please visit RedAngus.org. 

The Red Angus Association of America serves the beef industry by enhancing and promoting the competitive advantages of Red Angus and Red Angus-influenced cattle. The RAAA provides commercial producers with the most objectively described cattle in the industry by seeking and implementing new technologies based on sound, scientific principles that measure traits of economic importance. For more information, visit www.RedAngus.org.

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For more information, contact:
Brandi Buzzard Frobose, Communications Coordinator
(785) 448-0239 • brandi@redangus.org