Brand Update 2018: Year in Review

At left, Bacon advises Yon in the kitchen at Oak Steakhouse; above, Bacon and Yon on horseback at the farm.
For three years, the Certified Angus Beef ®
Regardless of any association with the
“We’re on the two-yard line here,”
brand has brought beef’s bookends
brand, there’s no doubt there’s plenty
Bacon added with new enlightenment.
together through a series called “Trading
to learn by time spent in someone else’s
A day earlier, he was on horseback
Places.” The goal: to provide experience
shoes – or boots for that matter. By
driving cattle, driving the feed truck
by doing and perspective by seeing,
understanding the expertise along the
and tagging a newborn calf. Education
ultimately strengthening the quality beef
chain, each part can identify the value
and real experience provided an
chain through relationships and a better
they bring to the sum.
unparalleled perspective.
understanding of the other side.
“I don’t know if you consider yourselves
“I didn’t realize what a precise process
Ranchers and chefs, no matter how different
part of agriculture, but we do consider
it was,” Yon said after grabbing a knife
their worlds appear at first, are on the same
you very much a part of agriculture,” Yon
to cut 16-oz. steaks with Bacon. “The
team. One group’s days are usually ending
said to Bacon and his staff. “Together, we
butcher and chef, they look at every steak
when the other’s are just getting started, but
are a part of food production, providing
as an individual much like we do cattle.”
they share more than they might first notice.
meals for people. What could be more
Back home, he’ll carry with him a better
Long hours, the unknown, generations of
noble than that?”
understanding and share it with those who
tradition and an appreciation for quality.
will listen.
Passion is just the starting point.
A silence said they got it. Heads nodded
and chests rose. The 20-oz. Certified Angus
The similarities in their stories don’t end,
BRAND UPDATE
28
“People want to know where their food’s
coming from, ‘what’s the process,’ ‘what’s this
thing with [the Certified Angus Beef ® brand]?’”
Chef Jeremiah Bacon, Oak Steakhouse,
Charleston, S.C., explained after a full day
spent with Angus farmer Kevin Yon.
Beef ® brand dry-aged ribeye they were set
to push carried new meaning.
“We’ve put three years into the steer going
on the plate tonight,” Yon said. “Three
years ago, we made that decision.”
although it’s often not until they’re face to
face, interacting and asking questions of
one another, that things come into focus.
It’s in the details and the precision, the
passion and the pride, that make up the
big picture.