Background
Over the past decade, the number of finished
cattle marketed on grids in the United States has expanded multiple times
and now encompasses nearly 50% of the total supply. Both buyers and sellers of
finished cattle benefit greatly if the “right cattle” are marketed on the
“right grid”. Grids enable
the sellers to find out what they have raised, but even with that
knowledge, they struggle to find the buyer that is the best match. Grids can be confusing to sellers,
some change constantly and they are nearly impossible to compare one
against another. Grids
were developed to attract the proper mix of cattle to fill the demand of a
brand or the orders of specific customers. Back when there were just a couple of
grids, the message was getting through the system. Now with every buyer having one or more grids to choose from there is increasing
confusion among sellers.
Description
Grid-Max was
developed to help solve the confusion of knowing which grids to market to. Grid-Max is a web-based system,
subscribed to by sellers, to analyze a set of cattle against the user’s
pre-selected grid possibilities.
This analysis produces estimated total payouts for each grid the
user selects in addition to individual animal payment detail. It is web based so the grids can
be maintained accurately on a timely basis. It is a subscription service to
control who has access to the website. Each subscriber receives a
unique user name and password.
Users can load actual carcass data or make estimates of quality
grade, yield grade, dressing percent, and outs. The estimated payout screen will
display the plant and the estimated return. There is also a report where
users can view details on an individual animal basis, including
weight, grade, yield grade and value. Grid-Max is not a
transaction device, but rather a tool users can use to identify the right
grid for his cattle. When the
user has analyzed his potential options, he is responsible for contacting the buyer who
represents the grid with the best net payout.
Benefits
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Calculates marketing opportunities to increase value of finished cattle by up to $10-$30 per head.
-
Translate the complexity of grids into easy
to understand, bottom-line payouts.
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Increases competition within grid
marketing.
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Updates grids weekly for base price, premiums, discounts, and
specifications.
-
Allows Grid-Max Interactive Subscribers to adjust their own Base
prices.
-
Grid-Max is owned and managed by an
independent third party, not a packer or a
feeder.
Security
Perhaps Grid-Max’s
most important feature is its security system. It will always be a priority of
Grid-Max to maintain any confidential information provided by users,
entirely secure. By
controlling user names and passwords, yards or groups of yards with
proprietary grids can access the results of their grid, even though other
users will not be able to know it exists. All carcass data entered by users
is only accessible to that user and cannot be viewed by
others.
Assumptions
Grid-Max.com accounts for each grid’s
base price and adjustments on a weekly basis. The grids and cash prices will be
based on the same past slaughter week for purposes of comparison.
Grid-Max will also display the base price used for each grid, allowing the user to make estimates during the week of
trade. Each user will select
plants and grids that are reasonable freight from the feedyard. The
users will enter distance and rate per mile for the plants in their trade area,
allowing Grid-Max to produce “net of freight” results.
Disclaimer
The
accuracy of Grid-Max depends on accurate estimates, by the user, of cattle
dressing %, quality grade, yield grade and outs. Grid-Max
makes a continuous effort to maintain the most accurate, up to date information
possible for its subscribers. Because
some grids use harvest week prices and/or thresholds, actual results may vary
from projected returns.
Phone
Number
United
States: (816)
903-4833