National Cattle Evaluation (NCE) and World Angus Evaluation (WAE) annual updates will be live Friday, May 22, 2026. The updates do not introduce new traits or major model revisions. This year, they do importantly focus on maintaining the accuracy, stability, and computational efficiency of the evaluation. Producers may notice some movement of expected progeny differences (EPDs) and dollar values ($Values) on individual animals. These changes are expected and reflect the routine updates shared earlier this month, online and in the Angus Journal. 

There are three primary factors contributing to changes during this annual maintenance: the Core 26 update, updated economic assumptions and additional records. 

Routine Evaluation Updates | Core 26 

This release includes the scheduled core update that happens every two years. The update ensures the evaluation continues to accurately represent today’s Angus population as it grows and more genotypes and phenotypes are added. 

Since the last core update in 2024, the database has expanded significantly, with over 600,000 additional genotypes now included. Updating the core helps maintain efficiency, supports timely weekly evaluations, and ensures models continue to perform with a high degree of accuracy. 

Overall, the evaluation shows very little reranking of animals, with correlations across the population above 0.99. However, even with these high correlations, some changers do exist. When larger changes occur, they are typically associated with animals that have lower accuracy or have incorporated a substantial amount of new progeny phenotypes and genotypes since the last core update in 2024. In some cases, especially for animals that have seen heavier use in recent years, more noticeable changes can occur in traits that accumulate progeny data over a longer period of time, such as maternal milk or functional longevity. 

Updated Economic Assumptions | $Values 

Each year, the economic assumptions used in $Values are updated using a seven-year rolling average of cost and revenue data from CattleFax. This approach helps smooth year-to-year volatility, while still reflecting how the relative relationship between costs and revenues changes over time. 

For 2026, updated economic assumptions reflect market data from 2019 through 2025. During this period, both input costs and cattle prices have continued to trend upward. Bred heifer prices have seen a significant increase, with the seven-year rolling average rising by $311 from 2025 to 2026. This change increases the cost of replacing a female, which in turn places more emphasis on traits that support females staying in the herd longer to wean off an additional high-value calf. 

Weaned calf prices rose from $203 to $234 per hundredweight (cwt.) for steers and from $182 to $212 per cwt. for heifers. Fed, dressed, and delivered prices also increased, moving from $221 per cwt. to $245 for steers and $244 for heifers. At the same time, ration costs increased modestly from $237 to $247 per ton. 

The supply chain continues to place emphasis on heavier weights at weaning and finishing. Consistent with that trend, days on feed increased by four days for both yearling steers and heifers compared to last year’s seven-year rolling average. 

While both costs and revenues increased, they did not keep pace at the same rate. Feed costs increased by $10 per ton in this update, compared to a $12 increase in the prior year. In contrast, weaned calf prices saw more substantial gains, increasing by $34 per cwt. for steers and $29 per cwt. for heifers, compared to increases of $21 and $19, respectively, in 2025. 

As a result, this year’s update places relatively more emphasis on cattle that continue to add weight from weaning through the feeding period, reflecting current market signals across the production chain. 

Importantly, these economic updates have little impact on how animals rank within the population. Rank correlations for $Values, based on changes to economic assumptions alone, are 0.99 or higher. What breeders will notice is a wider spread in $Values rather than significant reranking. 

For example, the standard deviation, or spread of the $Values from the mean, increased by approximately $5 for both Maternal Weaned Calf Value ($M) and Beef Value ($B), and by about $10 for Combined Value ($C). In addition, the change in standard deviation in Weaned Calf Value ($W) is $8, which is a direct reflection of how changing calf price relates to changes in selection tools. 

In practical terms, this means the higher-end animals may appear slightly higher, and the lower-end animals slightly lower, even though their relative positions within the population remain largely unchanged. When ranking changes do occur, they are typically driven by updates to individual EPDs rather than the economic assumptions themselves. 

New Data Added 

Each weekly evaluation also incorporates recent data added. This includes new genotypes, additional phenotypic records, and updated progeny data. As more data is added, some animals adjust to reflect the additional information.  

Putting It in Perspective 

These updates are a normal part of maintaining a modern, data-driven genetic evaluation. Updates continue to reflect the most current data and industry conditions, providing producers with a reliable tool to utilize in their selection decisions. 

Additional information about the updates can be found in the May issue of the Angus Journal in the By The Numbers column. Please reach out to the Association’s Member Services team with any additional questions. The team can be reached at (816)383-5100 or angus@angus.org.