Certified Angus Beef (CAB) gets all the attention in commercial markets for beef. The marketing on behalf of the breed has done a remarkable job in getting products from angus cattle a desired demand from consumers- and I am here for it. However, there are many other breeds that feed the world, and I wanted to highlight a program that is doing similar things to CAB.

As a Hereford owner, and over-the-top fan, though, I decided to investigate the requirements of the Certified Hereford Beef (CHB) program, which began in 1995 as a marketing initiative of the American Hereford Association (AHA). This program has increased consumer and retail demand and sells roughly 50-million pounds of CHB to retail and foodservice outlets, annually. A great feat for a breed besides Angus.

The carcasses must meet these specifications to be considered for the program (According to CHB website):

• USDA Select or higher marbling
• “A” maturity only
• Medium or fine texture marbling
• 10-16 in2 Ribeye Area
• Less than 1″ fat cover
• Hot carcass weight of 1,050 lb. or less
• Moderately thick or thicker muscling
• Less than 2″ hump
• NO dark cutters
• NO capillary rupture

For the live cattle specifications, cattle must meet these requirements:

• Must have predominately (51%) whiteface
• Hereford and Hereford-English crossbred cattle (Herefords, Black Baldies, Red Baldies)
• Beeftype breeding only
• NO dairy breeding
• NO excessive hump – bos indicus influence
• NO bulls, cows or heiferettes
• Cattle may be either horned or polled

Some facts about the CHB program, to further explain their requirements:

• Live animal specification includes straight Hereford and black- and red-baldie steers and heifers.
• The carcass specification allows for USDA Select or higher graded carcasses and several brands are sorted within the specification according to targeted markets.
• The goal of the program is to enhance the value of Hereford baldie cattle. Black-baldie steers and heifers are afforded an advantage because they can fit into any of the more than 30 USDA recognized Angus programs as well as CHB®.
• Red-baldie cattle have the exact genetic package as black-baldie cattle other than a color gene and are encouraged to go through the CHB program.
• The goal of the CHB program is to grow the program by annually influencing the value of more than 1 million head of specification feeder cattle and reduce any noneconomical color bias between black and red cattle that tends to be prevalent at times.
• The CHB program encourages crossbreeding of Hereford and Angus genetics in an effort to maximize on-farm profit potential using the advantages in heterosis that the two breeds bring together collectively.
• The CHB program has bridged the market imbalance between black-hided and red-hided cattle due to the growing markets accepting the Hereford influenced beef.

Do you enjoy seeing other breeds excel in premium branded programs? Which breed do you hope to see gain more recognition? We are thankful for all that black-hided cattle have done for the industry and look forward to a future where more breeds are recognized for their carcass quality and consumer demand!