CALF_News_Oct_Nov_2018

33 CALF News • October | November 2018 • www.calfnews.net Continued on page 35  The Cellerate Yeast Solutions ® portfolio of products is only as good as our understanding of your operation. That’s why Phibro offers more than just high-quality yeast products. We build lasting relationships with our customers, provide extensive expertise and offer solutions that are backed by science. Practical solutions for healthy animals and a healthy bottom line. the most POWERFUL supplement is PARTNERSHIP Talk With a Phibro Expert 800-677-4623 | pahc.com ———————— Also providing you ———————— Terramycin ® AB20 ® GemStone ® Bloat Guard ® facilities to enhance employee safety. Roughly 90 percent of the cattle Caviness processes are cows and bulls. About half are Holsteins, primarily from regional dairies. Many ranchers from Texas and neighboring states sell cattle to the packer. Caviness was a key market for ranchers who were forced to liqui- date all or part of their herds during the drought years of 2011 through 2014. Ground beef is a major product coming out of Caviness, which also oper- ates a beef patty plant in Amarillo. That facility processes more than 900,000 pounds of beef chub and patties per week.“We provide beef for several food service and retail customers,” Terry says. Branded beef With about 10 percent of their cattle supply coming from cattle with 30 months of age and with high-quality car- casses, Caviness has developed a branded program to diversify and expand its customer base. Branded products include those designed to fit any consumer preference for beef. They include Caviness Farm Fresh Regional Beef, Top Shelf Grain-Fed Beef and Grass-Fed Beef. The Caviness source- verified beef program is well received by beef retailers, restaurants and consumers. “We see expanding our branded program because there are good growth opportunities to process more fed cattle in this region,” Terry says. Regan adds that the Hereford plant also processes cattle from registered breed programs.“We custom process cattle for HeartBrand® Beef and 44 Farms,” he says. Reversing a trend The Caviness expansion programs have bucked the trend of slaughter capacity reductions by other packers, large and small. In early 2015, CS Beef Packers LLC was formed as a partner- ship between Caviness and the JR Sim- plot Company in Kuna, Idaho. It also can process up to 1,800 head per day. The plant was designed and built similar to the Caviness plant in Her- eford. The Simplot company was started in 1929 and grew from a one-man farm- ing operation into a food and agribusi- ness empire. Before Simplot entered the packing business, its vertical integration included seed production, farming, ranching, cattle feeding, fertilizer manu- facturing, frozen-food processing and food brands and distribution. Both plants operate with food safety and animal welfare in mind.“As pro- gressive beef packers, we are dedicated to producing safe and wholesome beef products,”Trevor says.“We focus on maintaining an environment for live cattle that meets or exceeds the highest humane livestock handling standards, whether set by our industry, our customers or by gov- ernmental regulation. Our cattle handling facilities were designed with help from [animal behaviorist] Dr. Temple Grandin. “We have rigorous protocols and employee training on humane livestock handling for all personnel handling livestock.” Trevor notes that with the extra atten- tion given to food processors and manu-