(NDAgConnection.com) – The American Angus Association concluded a successful fiscal year, packed with member-wide comradery and industry-leading advances. The year marked the eighth-consecutive year of more than 304,000 registrations, with an additional 141,385 recorded transfers. The fiscal year, which concluded September 30, tallied a grand total of 22,488 regular and junior memberships combined.
“Angus breeders have completed a successful year, despite many challenges with weather and rising input costs,” said Mark McCully, CEO of the Association. “Angus females averaged $6,023 last year and bulls averaged $5,909 signaling that Angus genetics are very much in demand.”
Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI), a subsidiary of the Association, continued to plant themselves at the forefront of the industry to help breeders achieve their goals and serve as the trusted industry source of advanced genetic solutions. Boasting 1.229 million animals with profiles in the genetic evaluation, a 10% increase in profile tests and 13 ongoing research projects, AGI plans to keep the momentum heading into the new year and to new heights.
In efforts to provide tools to enhance breeder success, the Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR) program transitioned the Hair Shed expected progeny difference (EPD) from the research environment to a production EPD, due to the hard work of Angus breeders who diligently collected data. The EPD aims to help breeders find animals best genetically equipped to handle hot, fescue-filled environments. Additionally, AHIR continued to promote the importance of complete cow herd data through its Inventory Reporting program, enrolling 97,271 head from 768 herds.
The Angus MediaSM team created The Angus Conversation and Angus at Work podcasts to provide on-the-go information for Angus breeders and commercial cattlemen. Found anywhere you listen to podcast, the episodes feature a variety of guests who discuss everything from technology and breeding philosophies to marketing and traditions. With its goal of providing cost effective and quality marketing services to Angus breeders, Angus Media helped foster 34,000,000 online sale book page views and 3,500,000 email marketing sends.
The Certified Angus Beef (CAB) brand affirmed its quality standard with another year of exceeding consumer expectations. Combined focus on genetics and management led to a 35.5% brand acceptance rate. More than 5.78 million carcasses were certified and CAB marked 1.234 billion pounds sold. That’s an impressive 3.4 million pounds of CAB sold per day and the entity worked with more than 18,000 licensed partners in 54 countries this year.