In the United States, there are large numbers of young people involved in organizations like the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA), FFA and 4-H; and many are exposed to animal agriculture in hands-on ways. We celebrate when families have the chance to hand down their herds and persist for a century or longer. 

While it is clear our industry values mentorship and paying forward lessons learned, how does this translate to the next generation of animal breeders? As more technologies become available and more traits of interest are studied, what are we learning today about the challenges cattle breeders will face tomorrow?

We tend to think new generations will have it easier, but solutions appear at the same speed as new problems show up.

Devices that track health patterns, cameras for monitoring, imaging with gait tracking for lameness, and many other technologies are being implemented into the ranching lifestyle. We have robots sweeping and pushing the food in dairy operations, milking cows and somehow before we noticed, we’re witnessing the Jetsons’ way of farming.

Automation may decrease the need for manual labor for current and future generations, but it also demands niche knowledge. The next generation might not need to be constantly driving to a barn in below-freezing temperatures, but they will likely need to know how to operate a drone and to budget for their farm’s cloud storage.

Apart from the technology piece, more intensive cattle farming comes with biological challenges as well. More density inside pens, more pressure on finishing time, sexual precocity, faster growing … all create metabolic stress and increase the burden on the immune system.

New technologies for monitoring health also mean new traits, new selection criteria and breeding strategies. Many options for data-driven selection are already available in the market, and a plethora of indexes and expected progeny differences (EPDs) make the learning curve steeper each year.

Every expert was once a beginner and as a partner for genetic improvement, Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) and the American Angus Association are committed to educational efforts for this and future generations.” — Larissa Novo

Genetic selection for disease resistance will continue to be a priority, whether a new monitoring system is launched or not.

However, health traits are inherently challenging to improve through genetics because of environmental factors that play a role alongside genetics. The next generation of cattle breeders must approach lowly heritable traits of interest in the health space with a disciplined approach to selection. 

These selection goals will be influenced by the long-term economics of the operations and outside, sometimes uncontrollable, challenges that are influenced by folks not operating in your farm or ranch. Realistically, no perfect selection goal exists, and trade-offs often are made while acknowledging the limits of genetic selection when the environment is not correctly accounted for.

At the 2026 Beef Improvement Federation’s Symposium, economist Derrell Peel of Oklahoma State University shared that the 2025 U.S. calf crop was the smallest since 1941, and the 2025 beef cow inventory was the smallest since 1961. So, on one hand we can be thankful for high prices at a time when supplies are low. On the other hand, animal breeders and their customers (and their customers’ customers), are interested in how we can make genetic improvements and make better management decisions to do more with less. 

New technologies also mean the bar for basic knowledge changed; and the same way computers replaced pen and paper, newcomers will need to have algorithms in the back of their heads.

While some in-depth knowledge will not be required in the future as some management decisions may be software-based, future animal breeders will need to know a little about everything, from biology to politics. 

New generations will have even more access to information, but will still need guidance and a good succession plan. Regardless of databases and profit, ranching is also about families and a way of life. 

In uncertain scenarios, what likely won’t change for new animal breeders is the importance of economic signals, the desire to simplify selection and the effects of having confidence in the selection tools used.

Every expert was once a beginner and as a partner for genetic improvement, Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) and the American Angus Association are committed to educational efforts for this and future generations.