Eat Beef & Be Merry
The holiday season is officially upon us, and if you’re looking for the perfect gift for that hard-to-shop-for special someone, let this cattle rancher give you a simple solution — give the gift of BEEF!
Ribeye steaks. Tenderloins. Tomahawks. Tri-Tip.
Who is going to complain when they slap a fancy steak on their grill courtesy of one of their dearest friends?
On Dec. 1-3, my friends, the DuVall family, at Capitol Angus and Texas Beefhouse will be offering 12 holiday gift baskets featuring Wagyu steaks. And the unique thing about it, is these lots can only be purchased via an online auction! The event will be held exclusively on CCI.live, with buyers able to bid on beef with guaranteed Christmas delivery.
Now the reason I’m dedicating my weekly column to this topic is because this may be the first time in our modern history where beef has been sold at auction, and I’m absolutely excited about it.
I work with some great friends at CK6 Consulting, a service focused on the purebred Angus seedstock business, and CK6 founder Chris Earl had been mulling over the idea of auctioning off beef for quite some time.
Taking beef products to the free market sounded like an incredible idea to me. Doing this allowed for customers to determine the true value and price. It cut out the middle man. It allowed producers to develop close and meaningful relationships withAnd it added dollars directly back to the ranching family.
In theory, it seemed like a win-win-win idea, but would it actually work?
We put the concept to test in November with the Capitol Angus and Texas Beefhouse annual bull and female sale. Consumers were invited out for a barbecue and ranch tour, followed by a live beef auction.
The results were jaw-dropping, to say the least. I don’t think any of us quite expected what would happen next.
More than 800+ people attending the event in person and online for this historic, landmark auction. The event was hosted on the video sale platform, cci.live, and organized by CK6 Consulting. Auctioneer Wes Tiemann led the sale, assisting 100+ buyers from all over the country in making their beef selections. Families, restaurants, and business owners gathered to stock their freezers, purchase steaks for Christmas gifts, and tour the Capitol Angus grounds, giving a unique opportunity for folks outside of agriculture to see how beef cattle is raised on a family-owned Texas ranch.
Results from the 33-lot beef auction were impressive. In total, 2,564 lbs. averaged $26.96/lb.; 1,750 lbs. of ground beef and sausage averaged $8.46/lb.; and 774 lbs. of primals and steaks averaged $68.81/lb.
“To our knowledge, this is the first modern beef auction of its kind, and the excitement was electric,” said Chris Earl, CK6 Consulting. “The DuVall family took a huge risk in trying something completely new, and the market responded in spades. Buyers weren’t just buying beef though -- they were buying into a hard-working family and the story behind this beef. The DuValls work tirelessly to invest in Angus and Wagyu genetics that will ultimately create a great beef eating experience for the people they serve.”
This is just the beginning for Texas Beefhouse, and we are all looking forward to the Christmas auction, and many more to come. And perhaps, this might be a new avenue for many ranchers, just like the DuVall family, to market their beef direct to consumers and earn a premium for what they do.
“We are so grateful for everyone who came out to support us for this sale, both in person and online,” said Tyler DuVall, of Capitol Angus. “We are excited for the future, and eager to rollout new opportunities for our customers to purchase high-quality Angus and Wagyu beef.”
You can learn more about the upcoming auction at www.texasbeefhouse.com, and my encouragement to all beef cattle producers is this:
There are many challenges threatening the future of our businesses and our way of life, and unfortunately, the political will does not seem to be there to address any of these issues.
We can’t wait for a white knight to swoop in and save us; we must instead, look for ways as entrepreneurs and capitalists, to enter into the free market and capture the true value for the hard work we do back at home on the ranch.
And the best way for us to do exactly that is to focus on raising the best beef we possibly can and telling our story to the people we want to serve. When we do that, good things will come our way, and perhaps, we’ll discover new and exciting ways for our children and grandchildren to make a go of it in this industry we all love.
Eat beef and be merry, my friends!