How Old Is Too Old for the Brand

Most cattlemen never think about the age spec on the Certified Angus Beef list because their steers go to the plant young. But every year somebody holds a set over, backgrounds them too long, or finishes a late-born bunch and finds out the hard way that age is a gate. Here is how the rule reads and how to stay on the right side of it.

Specs change, so read the current document. This site is not tied to the brand or the Angus Association. If you need a trucker, vet or supplier, agriculture.directory has listings.

The rule

The brand's third spec calls for A-maturity lean and cattle under 30 months by dentition, per the Association's Angus Journal article. Another trade source words it as 30 months or younger. Check the exact language with the brand if you are close to the line.

Maturity is a USDA grading term. A is the youngest class. University of Florida extension describes cattle under 30 months as the most youthful, or A maturity, in its publication on beef quality. The grader looks at the carcass, mainly bone and cartilage development and the color and texture of the lean, and the plant checks teeth for the age side.

Why they care

Older cattle make tougher, darker beef. The brand is selling a steak that eats the same in January as it does in July, so it keeps the age limit tight. Quality grades work the same way. Marbling counts for less when the carcass is older.

When it catches people

• Late calves. A calf born late in a long calving season is younger when you want to ship, which helps. But the early ones and the carryovers are the ones to watch.
• Long backgrounding. Cattle held through a winter on low gain to wait for grass and then finished can stack up months.
• Heifers held back. If you hold a heifer to breed, decide she is open and ship her late, she may be a good bit older than you expect.
• Bought cattle. If you did not raise them, you may not know their age. Ask for documentation.

How to keep control

1. Write down birth dates. Calving book, tag numbers, dates. That is your age record.
2. Consider age and source verification. The Association's AngusLink family includes AngusVerified, a USDA Process Verified program for calves of at least 50 percent Angus, and enrollment starts with age and source verification, per the AngusVerified page. It costs money, so see whether your buyer pays for it.
3. Plan the finish date at weaning. Count back from the date you want to sell. If you are going to run past 24 months, you need a reason and a margin.
4. Watch the ration. Cattle on a decent diet reach finish faster, and faster means younger. See farm.fm's page on feeding programs for Angus herds.

If you feed your own steers, our article on feeding a market steer for finish is a decent primer on pacing.

A quick example of the math

Say you have a set of steers that could ship now at a decent weight, or you could hold them another few months on grass and hay hoping the market improves. Write it on a sheet. Feed cost per head per day times the extra days. Interest on the value of the steer. Death loss risk. Then compare to what the extra weight brings at today's price and what a market move might bring. Now add one line: what happens if they age out of the program or run heavy and fat past a spec limit? If that line wipes out the gain, you have your answer.

The same exercise works for heifers you are deciding whether to keep. Every month you carry one past the point where she should have gone is a month of feed with no return, and the age clock keeps running.

Talk to the buyer

Before you plan around any program, call the buyer or the feeder and ask what they require and what they will pay for. Some buyers want age and source paperwork and pay for it. Some only care about weight. Do not buy into a program the buyer is not going to reward. Farm.fm's page on marketing Angus beef has a decent overview of the selling side.

The money angle

The decision to hold cattle longer is a bet that the extra weight and marbling pay for the extra feed, interest and risk. Add age to the list of risks. A carcass that ages out of the program loses the premium. Do the math before you hold. A few extra months might still pay in a good market, but you need to know where the cliff is.

Bottom line

For most Angus-type cattle raised the normal way, age is not what stops them. For carryovers, long backgrounders and unknown-age purchases, it can be. Keep records, plan your finish date, and read the current spec at certifiedangusbeef.com. USDA's maturity and grade definitions are at its beef grading page.