One of the benefits of my role at the American Angus Association is to enjoy the compliments we receive when we exceed a member’s expectations. It happens frequently, and I feel a little bit like a proud dad, knowing we hit the mark.

Can we get better? Always, but each day, our priorities start with you, registered Angus breeders and your 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 is continually looking for ways to improve the experience you have when working with the Association. 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. This past summer we experimented with a new format and hosted 13 virtual town-hall meetings in conjunction with the release of the new research expected progeny differences (rEPDs) for teat size and udder suspension. 

We also used this time to review the Functional Longevity research EPD and gather breeder feedback on these tools and the $Maternal Weaned Calf Value Index ($M). The meetings were well-received; we got valuable feedback, and we will look to do more of these types of meetings in the future. If you would like to be notified of events like this, please make sure we have an updated email address on file in your Login account. 

Resources for you

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 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 know people who haven’t touched a newspaper in years and get the majority of their news from Facebook. I won’t suggest that 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 Angus Beef Bulletin^® are the first place we look to connect with cattlemen. Both of these print publications have expanded to electronic versions, e-news, and most recently, The Angus Conversation and Angus At Work podcasts. Another major effort that launched this summer was the newly designed www.Angus.org website. Make sure you regularly check the Member Center for the latest up-to-date information for Association members. We hope the new site is a more logical and intuitive format than before. If you haven’t already, I hope you go check it out and see what it has to offer. 

Of course, nothing replaces one-on-one and in-person interactions. I trust you would never hesitate to reach out to our talented regional manager crew or anyone else on the Angus staff, or come look us up at a sale, field day or other industry event. 

Speaking of events, I would argue the best way to stay connected with all that’s happening in the Angus breed is to attend the Angus Convention being hosted Nov. 1-4 in Fort Worth, Texas. The convention promises to be multiple days full of fellowship, education, networking and opportunities to learn about and influence the Angus breed and beef industry. If you are serious about the Angus business, you won’t want to miss it. Can’t wait to see you there!