Cattlemen might not often label themselves as dreamers, but there’s a vision many have held to for the last several years: a return to an industry where cattle that receive a champ slap in the show ring mimic the type and kind of cattle sold on the auction block to commercial producers. 

When Charlie Boyd II sat on the American Angus Association Board of Directors, he realized he wasn’t alone in wanting that dream to become a reality. Boyd says he and John Grimes recognized a disconnect between show cattle and performance cattle. Though both segments of the industry have tremendous value to breeders, what if there was a way to celebrate the animals that could succeed in both?

“We felt that going forward, there needed to be a venue for people that believed that you could combine phenotype and genotype together, because that’s actually where the commercial industry has their focus,” Boyd says. 

And it wasn’t just the Board having these conversations. 

“The PGS show is like a perfect, nationwide stage for us to show what we do,” explains Alexandra Duckworth. 

Prior to aging out of the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) in 2024, Duckworth was exhibiting her family’s Grassy Valley Farm cattle in the show ring. She had found the Phenotype and Genotype Show (PGS) at Eastern Regionals in 2020, and it felt like the right fit for the type of production-oriented females their operation was known for. 

“We got involved with it because [of] what we have bred for the past 60 years. We’re always trying to find the balance that works for customers in our area, because our main focus is to sell bulls to commercial cattlemen in the Southeast,” she explains. 

Beyond the platform the PGS offered, more seasoned breeders also saw it as a learning opportunity for the next generation. 

“I love the show cattle industry, but right now, we’ve all seen the separation between the commercial industry and the show cattle industry,” says Dan DeMeyer, general manager of Brumfield Angus Farms. “These kids being able to show a heifer in the PGS deal that they could actually go home and sell bulls out of to commercial [cattlemen] would be a huge bonus.” 

This year, however, marked a new accomplishment for those taken with the PGS event. The show’s reach is expanding, offered for the first time to open exhibitors at Cattlemen’s Congress, hosted in Oklahoma City at the beginning of January 2026.

Boyd Beef Cattle, Grass Valley Farm and Brumfield Angus Farms all competed in the PGS division at Congress this year, coming home with new banners and titles. But, more importantly, DeMeyer says they were just proud to support the inaugural event.

“I’ve always been and Frank’s always been hoping that it would get out to where it would be at more major shows … to where these farms could compete,” he says. “It is going to enable us as breeders to come out and showcase our cattle.” 

That exposure is what Boyd finds so exciting about the PGS. 

“I think it offers marketing opportunities. The main reason for anyone to show cattle is for marketing,” he adds. “Marketing the individual cattle themselves, but also their breeding programs. I think that’s where the true benefit lies for the senior part of the membership.” 

Duckworth saw that truth play out even before the open events were on their calendar. 

“When we started finding some success at the national level with several of our PGS heifers that we had raised, we started noticing we got a little more attention in our production sales, both from people in our region and nationally,” she recalls. 

For those interested in competing, DeMeyer reminds them the cattle that don’t walk away with a banner are not being devalued in the industry. 

“It’s still a tool to help select cattle. It’s not the end all, be all. Just because one wins or doesn’t win doesn’t make them any better or worse,” he says. “It does come down to basically one person’s opinion. You can have a bad day and turn around and two weeks later have a good day under a different guy.” 

He foresees the PGS division growing in popularity in the future. As more and more people start to see the event in person, he hopes entries will grow, too. Based on the way the PGS system works as a whole, more entries will only improve the show. 

That’s a future Boyd is eager to see play out. 

“I’m glad that the Board accepted [the PGS show], the staff accepted it. And now, it sure appears that the membership and the breeders are embracing it,” he notes. “Hopefully as this thing continues to grow and prosper, it will give more breeders an opportunity to express and display their breeding programs that are based on those principles.” 

For now, DeMeyer says it’s up to him and those who also brought cattle to Oklahoma City and Denver for the PGS shows to continue to encourage their peers to join them. 

“I never think it hurts to bring cattle out and let people see them,” he says. “How else are some of us performance people going to gain new customers? We have a new venue to put them in front of.”