Would you pay $345.95 for four 12 oz. strip steaks – raw steaks, mind you, not cooked.

That’s the price on-line for “Kobe-style” strip steaks, as marketed by Allen Brothers – a company some Rush Limbaugh listeners might recognize. That compares to $159.95 for the same quantity of U.S. Prime, dry-aged strip steaks – or just $104.95 for U.S. Prime, not dry-aged. I wonder if Rush buys the Kobe-style? Maybe, maybe not – but somebody buys it and more consumers these days are demanding beef with lots of marbling, despite the health benefits attributed to leaner cuts.

Dr. Keith Belk, professor at Colorado State University’s Center for Red Meat Quality and Safety, provided that information for the ag editors attending the Elanco Animal Health Sensory Evaluation Briefing this week at ISU. The point he made is that consumers are increasingly more willing to pay more for tenderness. One example of that is the success of Certified Angus Beef and other branded beef products.

“Quality grades and marbling itself has become extremely important,” says Belk. “Prime and upper two-thirds of Choice branded beef are commanding a large demand and returning a large amount of money back throughout the production chain. That’s the signal consumers are sending to us.”

Listen to my interview with Dr. Belk here:

Read more on the Beef Quality Center website.