The new year has already offered powerful reminders of what sets cattlemen and women apart — determination, discipline and an unwavering dedication to raising cattle that excel in the pasture and on the rail. But as I write this column on the heels of a winter storm, I’m reminded of your unquestionable commitment to animal care.

While most of the world stayed indoors, you did not. I often wish every consumer could witness these moments firsthand to better understand the depth of care this community puts into every animal. 

The new year kicked off with some great events. Participation in both the Cattlemen’s Congress and the National Western Stock Show were outstanding and ultracompetitive as always. Both events hosted open Phenotype and Genotype Shows (PGS) for the first time, recognizing the growing interest in bridging the performance and show worlds a little better. 

The National Angus Bull Sale represented consignors from across the country with 28 lots averaging more than $22,000. On the commercial side, we see open heifers bringing more than $3,300 and bred heifers bringing more than $5,000. AngusLink^® steers weighing near 750 pounds (lb.) brought more than $4.10 per lb. All this coupled with many other record-setting purebred Angus sales suggests strong optimism and demand. What a time!

Reflective of that demand, registrations were strong for the first quarter of our 2026 fiscal year. October was the biggest registration month since 1974, and December was the biggest since 2017. For the first three months, registrations were up 9.5% with the increase coming in both bulls and females.

What’s new in 2026

To keep pace, we have been busy at the American Angus Association rolling out new programs and enhancements. One thing I am quite excited about is an evolution in our genomic parentage discovery pipeline. The long-requested feature of Parent Match^SM officially went live for members Jan. 15. It leverages the Association’s genomic database to more easily qualify sires and dams. 

The breeder will still approve the genomically-identified parents to safeguard against sampling or recording errors but being able to produce these results through the pipeline will save members significant time and frustration. 

For commercial producers, Sire Match^SM is available on GeneMax^® Advantage™. It provides a deeper understanding of the influence of their genomically tested herd bull battery — which ones are doing their job, and which ones aren’t. It also helps avoid inbreeding through more informed mating decisions.

In fiscal year 2025, 75% of the 309,926 registered animals were genomically tested. Sixty-three percent were sire-verified, and 50% were sire- and dam- verified. Those are incredible statistics, and I only expect those percentages to climb. 

Anyone who has been genomically testing for a while will admit that even with the best recordkeeping, mistakes happen. Bulls jump fences and cows swap calves. Genomic parentage is finding those cases, identifying correct parents and giving us Angus pedigrees more accurate than ever. That makes our genetic predictions far more accurate and gives commercial customers more confidence. 

As we step forward into 2026, the success story of Angus continues to be written by breeders and commercial producers who demand excellence — and by the innovation, tenacity and resilience that helps them achieve it. It’s going to be a great year.