George Grant imported four Angus bulls from Scotland to Victoria, Kansas, in May of 1873, as a part of the Scotsman’s dream to create a colony of wealthy, stock-raising Britishers. Grant died five years later, and many of the settlers at his Kansas colony later returned to their homeland. However, Grant’s legacy in the U.S. cattle industry remains to this day.

When he exhibited two of the bulls later that year at the Kansas City Livestock Exposition, cattlemen considered them “freaks” because of their polled (naturally hornless) head and solid black color. During that time, red and white Shorthorns were the dominant breed. A forward-thinking Grant  crossed the Angus bulls with native Texas Longhorn cows, producing a large number of hornless black calves that survived well on winter range. The Angus crosses wintered better and weighed more the next spring, the first demonstration of the breed’s value in their new homeland.

Ten years after Grant introduced Angus to the United States, the American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders’ Association was founded in Chicago, Illinois, on November 21, 1883, with 60 members. Eventually, the group’s name was changed to the American Angus Association and the headquarters were relocated to Saint Joseph, Missouri, where it records more cattle each year than any other beef breed association, making it the largest beef breed registry in the world.

Today, more than 80% of the cows in the United States are Angus-influenced and are valued not only for their maternal characteristics and growth potential, but also for their ability to produce high-quality, consistent meat for consumers. The Association has developed the widely recognized Certified Angus Beef ® brand, selling Angus beef worldwide.  

The Angus cow is the epitome of maternal instincts and is the top choice for terminal traits. Couple its genetic strengths with the people and the programs to back the breed up, it doesn’t take long to see that Angus isn’t just an option, it’s the best choice for your operation.

Learn more about the Angus Advantage

300,761 head of Angus cattle were registered in fiscal 2023, which ended Sept. 30.

The top ten states in registrations for the 2023 fiscal year were:

You simply apply! There are different memberships for juniors and adults, but all members have the benefit of registering cattle with the Association.

Learn how to become a member

The Association has more than 22,000 members including lifetime, regular and junior members.

Formed 10 years after the first Angus cattle came to the United States, the Association was initially established to track ancestry and record the herd book of Angus cattle. Keeping a registry of Angus seedstock is still a primary function of the Association and that herd book today numbers 21 million animals.

Over the years, Angus breeders have looked to the Association to offer programs for animal performance data recording and herd management, breed promotion, producer education, commercial marketing, Angus shows, exhibitions and events, and youth leadership development. While the programs of the Association have evolved over the last 140 years, the mission of serving the membership has never wavered.

Today, we are focused on helping the independent Angus breeder lead the beef industry into the future.

The Association is the not-for-profit parent company with four, wholly-owned subsidiaries. These subsidiaries were formed over time by Association leadership to serve very specific purposes. It’s important to remember that all subsidiaries are governed by a board of directors largely made up of Association board members. This structure allows the subsidiaries to operate as independent as needed and provides a layer of liability protection for the parent company while always making sure the subsidiaries are aligned with the overarching Association goals and mission.

• Certified Angus Beef – It all started with a bad steak for an Ohio Angus breeder. He knew Angus breeders could do better. So, he wrote to the American Angus Association with the idea of a specification-based branded beef program. This set in motion a movement for Angus cattlemen who wanted to do something they had never done before: Reward producers for the carcass merit of their cattle. Now there are dozens of USDA beef programs touting “Angus,” but only one Certified Angus Beef ® brand — the original, USDA branded beef program. Today, you’ll find the brand all over the world thanks to the 10 science-based specifications that guarantee a consistent, great flavor. Because the brand is owned by cattlemen, we’re invested in delivering the best product possible from our farms to a consumer’s plate.

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• Angus Genetics Incorporated, Inc. – When universities made the decision to discontinue running genetic evaluations for breed associations, leaders at the Association acted. Angus Genetics Inc. was formed as a for-profit entity in 2008, and that brought the Angus genetic evaluation in-house. To best leverage these technical capabilities and keep costs low for Association members, AGI began offering genetic evaluation services for other breed associations both in the United States and outside this country. As genomic testing came onto the scene, AGI established relationships with genomic testing companies and breeders worked through AGI for their genomic testing. Today, AGI is an industry leader in beef genetics research and innovation and works hand-in-hand with the Association to deliver the world’s most respected breeding and selection tools for Angus cattle.

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• Angus Media – What good is information if no one knows about it? Combine great stories with innovative marketing tools and you’ve got today’s Angus Media. Wherever cattlemen are, that’s where they are – with magazines like Angus Journal and Angus Beef Bulletin, podcasts like The Angus Conversation and Angus At Work, websites, salebooks and digital platforms. Angus Media exists to help increase producer profitability and they’ve been working at keeping cattlemen on the cutting edge for more than a century. After all, most Angus breeders are experts in lots of areas – raising quality cattle, pasture management, and more – but Angus Media can help you be even better. They create nearly 600 sale books annually,  help breeders with hundreds of  ranch websites, and deliver millions of digital advertising impressions each year.

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• Angus Foundation – The Angus Family is a generous bunch. Their unwavering commitment to the breed goes beyond continually improving the cattle. They give back and give back in a big way. In 1980, the Association created a 501(c)3 with the idea that collectively, Angus breeders could have a huge impact on ensuring the future. Their mission? To advance Angus education, youth and research. In the years since, the Foundation has done just that. In total, the Foundation has awarded more than 2,000 scholarships totally $4.2 million and has invested over $1 million in research funds.

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The Association and its entities maintain a number of brands and registered trademarks. These brands help to market and promote the different programs, products and services while protecting the intellectual property for Association members. A few of the more commonly used marks include: 

• Certified Angus Beef® and several brand extensions like Certified Angus Beef® Prime 
• Angus - The Business Breed
• AHIR and Maternal Plus Herd®
• AngusLink, AngusVerified and Genetic Merit Scorecard 
• AngusGS and GeneMax 
• Angus Journal, Angus Beef Bulletin and Pasture to Publish 
• Powered by Angus 

Not all Angus are created equal. In order to supply the best Angus beef, cattle must first be identified with a predominantly black hide at the packing plant, then carcasses must meet our 10 specifications. These criteria guarantee our nearly 15,000 partners around the world get a consistent, superior Angus product every time. 

1. Modest or higher marbling 
2. 10- to 16-square-inch ribeye area* 
3. 1,100-pound hot carcass weight or less 
4. 1 inch or less fat thickness 
5. Medium or fine marbling texture 
6. 30 months of age or younger 
7. Superior muscling 
8. No neck hump exceeding 2 inches 
9. Practically free of capillary rupture 
10. No dark cutters 

*Up to 19 square inches for ribeye area is acceptable for tenderloin, brisket, thin meat, chuck and round cuts at approved plants. Rib, ribeye, strip loin and short loin are excluded from this option. 

View more CAB brand facts

Names and contact information of Angus producers are on this web by clicking on Find a Breeder in the upper righthand corner. Ranches that have registered their web sites with the Association can be found through "member links" on the site.

In addition, breeders who advertise in the Angus Journal are in the advertiser’s index in the monthly magazine.

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Never miss a sale! A complete listing of upcoming Angus sales and events, sale books and sale reports can be found on the website.