A Deeper Dive
Here are three "Angus At Work" episodes focused on helping set your herd bulls up for success.
January 1, 2025
With the herd rebuild hopefully on the horizon, investing in quality Angus genetics is as important as ever. From basing your bull selection on which direction you want your herd to move to ensuring the investment you make has the best chance of succeeding come turnout, Angus At Work has an episode for you.
Our theme for this edition of the Angus Beef Bulletin focuses on anything and everything that has to do with Angus bulls. Here are a handful of Angus At Work episodes that cover topics worth considering at home!
No matter where you’re located, either bull-sale season or bull turnout is likely approaching. With all the options out there when it comes to Angus bulls, how can you put to paper what is important to you from a selection standpoint before sale day?
Angus Media’s Miranda Reiman sat down with Brian Bertelsen, vice president of field operations at U.S. Premium Beef (USPB), to discuss selecting bulls from the perspective of the end product and how producers can potentially maximize profit on their feeder cattle by purchasing the right herd sire.
“Over the years, that quality grade premium has grown very consistently,” says Brian Bertelsen. “That’s a combination of our cattle getting better, the marketplace rewarding more in recent years. We talked about how, yes, the industry has undergone this big increase in quality. Choice or better has gone from like 55% to 82%.”
Why do commercial cattlemen choose Angus bulls? Almost 41% of respondents to the 2023 survey Industry Insights Powered by Angus Media and CattleFax put emphasis on marketability. There’s more benefit to Angus than just premium prices, though — the genetic database and the multitude of tools available add value for seedstock and commercial cattlemen alike.
In this episode AGI President Kelli Retallick-Riley chatted with our team about why using genetics or phenotype alone in selection is leaving money on the table, how cattlemen can decide which of the many genetic tools to use, what questions producers should ask their seedstock supplier, why accuracy and percentile ranks matter, and which tools are available to specifically cater to commercial cattlemen.
“When commercial cattle producers buy a bull that has genomically enhanced EPDs, they’re basically buying a bull that has as much accuracy as he would if he had his whole first season [of calves] already reported back to the Association,” says Kelli Retallick-Riley. “When you buy Angus, you’re buying a lot of accuracy and a lot of consistency because of our seedstock members and how committed they’ve been to data reporting.”
“When commercial cattle producers buy a bull that has genomically enhanced EPDs, they’re basically buying a bull that has as much accuracy as he would if he had his whole first season [of calves] already reported back to the Association,” says Kelli Retallick-Riley. “When you buy Angus, you’re buying a lot of accuracy and a lot of consistency because of our seedstock members and how committed they’ve been to data reporting.”
“The other thing I think a lot of people miss is they take the bull that’s been on a fairly high-concentrate diet for a period of time during the bull development scenario of their life, and then they take them home and kick them out on not very good feed,” says Jeff Erquiaga. “A lot of those bulls lose weight, and I think that can be one of the things that can lead to potential infertility as well.”
Featured in the 2025 Angus Beef Bulletin
Listen in for answers straight from the experts
The Angus At Work podcast provides news and information on health, nutrition, genetics, marketing and management. Get your information straight from the source as we talk to technical experts, American Angus Association staff and fellow cattlemen about topics pertinent to your bottom line.
Recent episodes include:
- The Influential 10% With Paul Dykstra
- Comparing EPDs Across Breeds Featuring Esther Tarpoff
- Bull Buying Thoughts From Your Angus Regional Managers
- Targeting Disease with Medgene Labs featuring Bob Gentry
- Changing the Pickup Purchasing Landscape with Pat Driscoll
- Insight From the Packer with Chad Barker
- Reimaging Red Meat Yield with Dale Woerner
Related Content
Current Angus Beef Bulletin
Articles to help you make the most of your investment in Angus genetics.
