At Agri Beef our business model requires a little more explanation than just a "beef company."

Our vertical integration means we get to influence the entire production cycle of our beef, which means we don’t have to settle for anything in that process that could lower the quality of our beef. From ranches to feeding operations to meat packing, we either run things or partner with small, family operations who share our values.

The unique perspective we’ve gained from our stake in each pillar of the beef industry gives us equally unique insights into how to better raise cattle.

Now we’re being recognized for it.

Agri Beef, along with our President and CEO, Robert Rebholtz Jr., have been named Richard L. Knowlton Innovation Award honorees for 2018. The award, given since 2000 by industry publication Meatingplace, is meant to award leadership, innovation and corporate citizenship.

“A vertically integrated business model — rare in the beef industry — and a policy of betting on technology early in the adoption cycle has put (Rebholtz) at the leading edge of championing the quality of Pacific Northwest-raised beef,” Meatingplace states in its award announcement.

You can read the award announcement here.

It outlines some of the technology we have championed to keep our company different and competitive, such as working with the USDA on a computer-aided grading program or our quick adoption of computer-aided metrics.

We’re most pleased, however, to see that the values we care about are appreciated across the industry.

“And at each step, Agri Beef and the Rebholtz family have reinvested in their Pacific Northwest community, dedicated to sustainability, animal and employee welfare, a culture the company has built upon right from its founding,” Meatingplace states.

Rebholtz said we welcome any spotlight on how Agri Beef does business.

“Our goal is to share what we do. We think it’s important that consumers understand what we do, how we do it, why we do it and things we’re trying to improve upon. What’s important is the transparency and the education,” he said.

A longer profile will be included in a future publication.