Dear Angus Breeders,

It was a productive week as the American Angus Association Board of Directors met, Sept. 9-12 in St. Joseph, MO. Prior to this week, we had several virtual committee meetings. Each time we meet, I’m impressed with the innovation going on that will benefit our members and your commercial cattlemen customers. 

The Association remains in a solid financial position for FY2024. We passed balanced budgets for the next fiscal year for the Association and all entities allowing us to maintain and expand programs and services. In particular, we remain mindful of investing in research to bring new tools to breeders. The Angus Media board also discussed adjusting policies for accounts receivable to balance member service with sound business practices.

The delegate election process went very well this year, as members were able to vote online for the first time. There were 2,005 valid ballots cast, with 52% being electronic. Total number of votes were up 21%. We were encouraged by the increase in voting, heard positive feedback from membership, and will continue with a similar system for next year. 

Six candidates are running for five open seats on the board of directors this fall. Those members are: Paul Bennett, Virginia (2nd Term); John Dickinson, California (2nd Term); Greg McCurry, Kansas (2nd Term); Loran Wilson, Indiana (2nd Term); Dr. Mark Johnson, Oklahoma (1st Term); andDanny Poss, Nebraska (1st Term). The board elected Darrell Stevenson to be the Treasurer for the coming year.

Tom McGinnis was elected to a second three-year term as a member-at-large to the Angus Foundation Board of Directors. Rob Shuey was elected as the Industry Representative to the Certified Angus Beef Board of Directors. Dr. Mark Allan was elected as the Industry Representative to the Angus Genetics Inc. Board of Directors. 

We heard about the launch of Angus.org. Membership feedback has been largely positive and productive, allowing the team to make improvements. A big advantage of the new site is bringing several sites together under one umbrella so we can share information across entities and departments. In addition, BEEF Academy was launched to National Junior Angus Association members during the National Junior Angus Show. Development of new topics and modules continues, and we expect to test in classrooms this spring. 

We know it’s important for members to maintain security measures on their AAA Login account. Consequently, the board discussed new measures allowing owners more visibility to transfers and recent logins on their account, along with annual security reminders. 

As always, we’ve been working hard to ensure the latest and most relevant tools and research are available to cattlemen. Members have been collecting teat and udder scores, enabling the launch of the teat size and udder suspension research EPD. A series of Maximizing Maternal virtual town hall meetings worked very well and allowed members to ask questions of staff. We are still on track to update $Maternal Weaned Calf Value ($M) in May of next year. The board also discussed the sunsetting of $Weaned Calf Value Index ($W). While $M contains more traits and is designed to be a more robust breeding tool, we know many breeders still use $W. We want to hear from the membership as we consider the future of these indexes.  

We also heard about the significant work that is going into GeneMax, the only tool on the market that harnesses the power of the American Angus Association database to genetically evaluate high percentage commercial Angus females. Later this week, a newly calibrated GeneMax will be launched with a future launch that incorporates $Value indexes and new traits including early summer hair shedding and pulmonary arterial pressure genetic tools. GeneMax will also include a more insightful report for commercial cattlemen to directly connect their results and herd goals to their registered Angus bull purchase decisions.

AGI continues to be on the cutting edge of research. At the core of that research is data. Consequently, we are exploring non-traditional partnerships that will maximize AGI’s ability to lead genetic change within the beef industry.

Fertility haplotype research continues. In the coming weeks, AGI will begin a calf genotyping initiative where members can submit a DNA sample on calves born early or at term but do not survive. Watch the Member Center on Angus.org for more information.  

AngusLink has had an impressive year with 86% increase in head enrolled over last year. At the same time the number of bull transfers is up, signaling the program is driving registered Angus bull purchases. The summer video sale season has been strong with Angus Verified and GMS cattle selling at substantial premiums. Many Association members are asking how they can help their customers learn more about the program. Staff is always ready to help, and will be creating a toolkit of resources to help with your efforts.

Since December, the CAB board has been in support of the team further investigating international production opportunities. This week, the board directed Certified Angus Beef to pursue next steps in licensing brand production in Uruguay. Strategically, this opens up access for the brand in the EU and other underpenetrated markets.  A key requirement of this relationship is Certified Angus Beef^® product produced in Uruguay will not be allowed to be imported into the U.S. and Canada.

Responding to a member question, the DNA use policy was reviewed. No changes were made but the topic will be revisited in November after staff research potential considerations and their implications. Also, a member question was addressed relative to age of dam adjustment. After reviewing the data, the board was very confident in our current calculations and took no action. 

The National Junior Angus Association Board of Directors recommended we look at adding showmanship for Junior and Intermediate age exhibitors to the National Junior Angus Show with the priority of protecting the tradition of the current National Junior Angus Showmanship competition. The Activities committee voted to make this addition for 2025.

Like all board meetings, there were many other important topics addressed including how we add value to an Association membership, the 2024 and future Angus Conventions, the great work of the Angus Foundation and our incredible youth programs, and so many other efforts to drive value for Angus cattle and our members. I hope you will listen in to The Angus Conversation podcast where we recapped these topics and several others. 

As always, if you have any questions or feedback on any of these topics please don’t hesitate to contact your board of directors or myself. 

Sincerely, 

Barry Pollard
2023-24 President
American Angus Association