Profit Niche

Corriente cattle have always been the Swiss Army knife of bovines. Masters of foraging, they survive and even thrive on what other breeds would walk away from. Hardy dams calve alone and are more than capable of defending their newborns from predators. Sought after for rodeos, the cattle are athletes in the arena.

What Corriente have never really been, however, is a standout as a meat animal. Oregon's 6 Ranch is changing that stereotype.

Liza Jane McAlister has found a marketing niche that goes against the grain for the operation, started in 1884. And it's all about the beef, Corriente beef.

It started out as a strictly pragmatic move. McAlister said the family had been raising registered, full-blood Corriente for more than 20 years. A traditional beef operation, 6 Ranch carried an Angus herd across some 1,000 owned and rented acres. A few Corriente were brought in to graze steep ground the other cows wouldn't attempt to reach.

"The Corriente gave us diversity," McAlister said. "But after five years, we dropped the Angus and went with just the Corriente. We had roping seed stock, and we leased yearlings out for roping."

Like a lot of Corriente producers, McAlister was faced with a dual market. Leases for ropers were strong, bringing about $35 per head, most recently. But when a 24-month-old steer or heifer came back off lease, options were limited when it came to markets. Many producers, as well as rodeo operators who bought rather than leased the calves, were faced with getting whatever salvage values were available at local auctions.

McAlister said the family would eat a few or sell them if someone wanted to buy one. Everyone who ate the Corriente raved about how good they were. So McAlister took a sample and did an analysis.

"We knew that the meat was good, we just didn't know how good," she said.

CORRIENTE COMPARISON

In trials led by the Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Registry and conducted by nonbiased parties at New Mexico State University, West Texas A&M and Clemson University, Corriente were compared with two beef brands: Certified Angus Beef (CAB) and Goldstar.

The Spanish-descent Corriente cattle were producing lean, Choice-grading carcasses. Compared to CAB and Goldstar, Corriente steaks were as tender or more tender; compared well for aroma desirability, flavor desirability and intensity; were lower in total fat by about half; were lower in saturated fatty acids; were high in unsaturated fatty acids; and were higher in crude protein.

Encouraged by the findings, McAlister set out to build on a customer base for the cattle, which were coming back to the ranch after a one- to two-year career as ropers. They were 24 to 28 months old and could be finished on grass and then sold custom-direct.

The idea has been so well received that this year, 6 Ranch sold its mother cows and bulls, and has begun the move into full-time grass finishers of Corrientes. They are buying 2-year-old ropers and finishing them for custom and restaurant markets in a tri-state area. McAlister said they should be finishing 200 to 300 head each year.

"We buy them low, add value and then sell the meat in this niche market we've been building for the breed," she said.

Because Corriente are in short supply and the beef market is so strong, these cattle are selling at record highs. Last year, McAlister said a roped-out steer would cost $450; this year, it's $650.

After putting some gain on the cattle, about a four-month process, she said the ranch can gross some $1,600 per animal. Many customers are devoted, return buyers who look forward every year to purchasing the meat.

"COWPOOLING" BUSINESS MODEL

To date, sales have been handled as a custom-direct business. An animal is purchased by a consumer live, and the ranch can kill on site and take it to an area butcher for cutting and wrapping. As the market expands, McAlister said a USDA processor may be used more.

Corriente are smaller cattle, so hanging weight for a whole carcass is around 400 pounds. McAlister said this is a plus for her buyers. Price to the customer is $4.80 per pound (hanging weight) for a quarter, including wrap and cut. She said this equates to about $6.50 per pound in the box for all cuts. At retail, cuts go from $8.50 per pound for burger up to $18 per pound for primal cuts.

"We have a lot of customers in Portland," she said. "We have a freezer trailer, and we'll load it out and haul the meat up to a big parking lot where everyone meets us. We call it 'cowpooling.' People will order one whole animal between four or five friends, and they'll split it up right there, put it in their coolers and head home. It's like a big party; so much fun."

Editors Note: To learn more about 6 Ranch, visit www.6ranch.com.

Corriente Facts:

-- Corriente is a term that means "common cattle" or "cattle of the country."

-- Today, most Corriente are raised as sport cattle.

-- Mature bulls often weigh less than 1,000 pounds; cows, 800 pounds.

-- Corriente have V-shaped heads and horns, which, at 12 months of age, are at least 6 inches in length with a 6-inch base circumference. Horns on a Corriente curve as they age.

-- Corriente in America go back to 1493, when they came to the New World with the Spanish.

-- A registry for Corriente cattle, as well as a breeders' directory and background, is available through the North American Corriente Association: corriente.us.

(VM/CZ)

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