AMERICAN ANGUS ASSOCIATION - THE BUSINESS BREED

A Deeper Dive

Here are four "Angus At Work" episodes focused on what holds our industry together: females.

By Lynsey McAnally, Angus Beef Bulletin Associate Editor

April 2, 2025

While bulls weigh heavily on the genetic makeup of our herds, the heavy lifters when it comes to growing — from both a quality and quantity standpoint — are the females we choose as the cow power behind our operations.

Our theme for this edition of the Angus Beef Bulletin focuses on females and how to set them up for long-term success. Here are a handful of Angus At Work episodes that cover topics worth considering at home. 

Building a Better Cow with David Lalman

How can we as producers select for more efficient females and build a more self-sufficient herd? Research is helping shed some light on feed efficiency and how cattlemen can put pressure on their herd to perform.

On this episode, you will hear more from host Miranda Reiman and our guest David Lalman, a professor and extension beef cattle specialist at Oklahoma State University, regarding research being conducted to help build a better cow.

Click here to listen.

Can You Program Fertility with Shelby Rosasco

Replacement heifers are an incredibly important, yet expensive part of our operations. Wouldn’t it be great if we could program fertility in our replacement heifers? Shelby Rosasco from the University of Wyoming tells our team that nutritional management of weaned heifers can help program puberty attainment, fertility and the ovarian reserve.

Click here to listen.

“Our primordial follicles, that’s the pool of follicles that’s formed during gestation. Then, that’s what that heifer has to use over her lifetime. So, we want a nice big pool of follicles for her to use because it’s really indicative of what her reproductive longevity might be in the herd.” — Shelby Rosasco

Keep the Best Genetics in Your Herd with Joe Gillespie

Heifers are a big investment, so you want to set them up for success. With such a low cow herd number, heifer development is going to be a big player for your herd profitability. Host Miranda Reiman chatted with Joe Gillespie about sound heifer development to keep the best genetics in your herd for a long time.

Click here to listen.

“When you think about that, and you think about the value that may be created by that demand of having a tighter supply, there could be a tremendous amount of value in keeping that replacement heifer, developing her, and getting her into my herd and growing my herd back to whatever size it should be … ” — Joe Gillespie

Selecting Replacements via GeneMax Advantage with Decker and Courter

Determining whether to keep or market potential replacement females can be one of the most difficult decisions a commercial producer has to make. But even when taking into account the performance of a heifer’s mother, there can still be room for error when tasked with determining future productivity.

Editor Shauna Hermel and our guests Jared Decker and Jamie Courter of the University of Missouri discuss the features of GeneMax® Advantage™ and how testing can help identify females with varying levels of genetic merit for feed cost, temperament and end-product traits.

Click here to listen.

“… traditional selection of replacements was, ‘Oh, I’m going to pick the heifers that I think were born out of the bulls that I like or out of the bulls that I AI to,’ or things like that. But … what I hope we help people understand, is that just because the bull is a good bull, doesn’t mean that every progeny out of him will be just as good.” — Jamie Courter

April 2025 ABB cover

Featured in the 2025 Angus Beef Bulletin

April 2025


Listen in for answers straight from the experts

The Angus At Work podcast 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:

April 2025 ABB cover

Current Angus Beef Bulletin

The April issue has a “Focus On Females,” including a special advertising section devoted to herds intent on providing the female foundation.

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Angus at Work

A podcast for the profit-minded commercial cattleman.