As a commercial cattleman, you start each day with a list — a set of priorities you’d like to accomplish. It’s no different here at the American Angus Association. Our priorities start with Angus breeders and you, their commercial customers.

At a time when good help is hard to find, we are continually blessed to have a talented, dedicated and mission-minded staff anxious to provide their service and expertise. The team works hard to provide world-class customer service, and it is continually looking for ways to improve the experience you have when working with the Association for any reason.

Whether you are registering a calf, turning in Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR^®) data, submitting DNA samples, building an ad with Angus Media or enrolling your calves in AngusLink^SM, we are always trying to find ways to make it easier. As you have suggestions, please share them.

We put a significant amount of time and effort into producer education resources. We continually hear from breeders and our Board of Directors that they value what we offer and want more.

A new format

This past summer we experimented with a new format and hosted 13 virtual town halls in conjunction with the release of the new research expected progeny differences (EPDs) for teat size (TEAT) and udder suspension (UDDR). We used this time to also review the functional longevity (FL) research EPD and gather breeder feedback on these tools, as well as the maternal weaned calf dollar value index ($M; learn more in “Sorting Gate”).

The meetings were well-received. We got valuable feedback, and we will look to do more of these types of meetings in the future.

Communication should be two-way

The meetings tie to a continual focus we have on facilitating two-way communication with our breeders and commercial customers.

I have often said I believe this task is far more difficult in today’s society because we have so many different forms of media available to us and not everyone prefers to receive their information the same way. I know people who get multiple daily newspapers and religiously watch the local evening news. I also know people who haven’t touched a newspaper in years and who get the majority of their news from Facebook. I won’t suggest one is better than the other, but it illustrates how differently people get their information today.

For Angus, our flagship publications of the Angus Journal^® and the Angus Beef Bulletin^® are the first place we look to connect with cattlemen. Yet it doesn’t stop there. Both of these print publications have expanded to electronic versions; e-newsletters; and, most recently, podcasts with The Angus Conversation and Angus at Work.

A major effort that launched this summer was the newly designed www.angus.org website, which we hope is more logical and intuitive than ever before. If you haven’t already, I hope you will check out an entirely new section designed with you in mind. The Commercial Cattlemen’s page offers a wide array of information, including a toolbox that can help you navigate using Angus genetics.