For example, we don t have a good network for calf contract sales in the fall. We could solve that problem using the Internet. Eventually, Peterson hopes the marketing program will be an extension of their Beef Quality Assurance program not just boosting sales information but also carcass and performance data. One is making the pie bigger we have to look at providing a product the consumer is willing to pay more for. Second, if we recognize the added value we are creating in these cattle, we have to get paid for it.
Internet technology can make both happen.
Internet use spawns a host of new information-based businesses. One, called eMerge Interactive, is a pioneer in developing business information management for the U.S. beef industry. The software would allow managers to set criteria and target problems before they balloon out of control. Not only will producers collect basic performance information, the new information will help them identify profit issues in all seg- ments of the chain and fix them before they eat too big a hole in the bottom line. For others in the beef industry, the Internet doesn t always need to perform lofty functions to be useful.