Kidwell’s Winning Speech 

Standing here looking out amongst this crowd filled with people connected to the Angus breed, I see many generations of producers. I am a fifth-generation Angus breeder, and I know looking out at my Angus family there are people with an even richer set of values and traditions within the Angus breed. With the rich amount of tradition and history we hold as a breed, the sustainability and continuation of it is of the utmost importance. With the societal misconceptions surrounding the beef industry and the financial burdens experienced by current and future generations of producers, carrying on this tradition could become difficult; but the American Angus Association is making this future increasingly possible with their many innovations for both producers and the youth within the breed.

In the past few years, the American Angus Association has been leading the beef breed associations on innovations with the goal of maximizing productivity and profitability for angus producers. With the efforts of Angus Genetics Incorporated, or AGI, the Angus breed’s EPD (expected progeny difference) knowledge and applications technology has soared in recent years. In these efforts many programs have been formed to help producers who use Angus cattle achieve this goal. With the creation of programs like MaternalPlus® and AngusLinkSM, the opportunities have become endless. For producers, setting up their herd profile through AngusLink and MaternalPlus offers them a whole other avenue of marketing. Through these programs producers can find premiums and access to more value-added programs through the recognition and understanding of the more valuable genetics in their herd. Producers are also being continually rewarded for their use of Angus cattle in their breeding programs through other more mainstream areas of marketing. One of these opportunities is in the Certified Angus Beef (CAB) labeling. The now-familiar CAB logo on various meat products establishes a guaranteed quality of product for consumers through the 10 qualifications required by CAB. Through my years involved in the CAB Cook-off contest, these qualifications have been engrained into my memory, and trust me if you had to present them dressed as Yogi Bear obsessed with Angus frankfurters, they would stick in your mind, too. These marketing opportunities presented by the Angus Association become another way the Angus Association has given producers the tools to maximize the profitability and productivity of their herd through innovations.

All of these innovations that have been made by the Angus Association will be critical in carrying on the traditions that any Angus producer, whether first generation or fifth generation, can understand. These programs and new technologies that the Association has developed can help producers increase the marketability of their herds to other breeders, and therefore increasing the profitability of their herd. While ensuring the profitability of producers is important, there will need to be a next generation of producers, industry leaders and passionate agriculturists to lead our industry as well as others in the future, and the Angus Association is helping place and build those passions in the youth of today.

As part of the next generation of the Angus breed and beef industry, I can personally speak on the many opportunities that both the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) and the American Angus Association have offered me. All of these opportunities have come from the innovations of years before me. Through these innovations, new doors have been opened for youth across the country who are proud to be a part of the Angus family. Personally, I have been able to find some of my greatest passions through the NJAA. In the years that I have been involved with the Angus Association, I have been able to participate in a number of contests at the National Junior Angus Shows across the United States. These contests are one of the reasons I am standing here in front of you all today. These contests are one of the biggest ways we as juniors can learn about the traditions we are carrying on. From learning about ways to best advocate for the Angus breed through various speech contests to finding out best ways to market an animal to producers within the industry, the focus on youth development within the Angus Association is vital to the traditions we hold dear. There are also ways to build your professional portfolio as you move into more opportunities as an adult. Through many trips such as LEAD (Leaders Engaged in Angus Development) and Raising the Bar, the opportunity to network with Angus breeders and agricultural leaders can set you up for lasting industry connections. These connections can make it possible to further and enrich your traditions within the Angus breed. The Angus Association has also excelled in the scholarly opportunities for its members. One of these opportunities presented by the American Angus Auxiliary has given me the ability to be here today. Their dedicated mission to youth development has affected many junior lives, mine included. This opportunity of a more affordable education via the American Angus Association can help the future generations of Angus youth to increase their knowledge surrounding their passions. Whether these passions lie within the agriculture industry or in other industries, the effect they can have on sustaining a cattle operation are limitless. Being able to preserve and foster this passion for the Angus breed within our youth is a tradition in itself. Those trips to junior nationals with my family and other ROV (Roll of Victory) shows have become a tradition, and these traditions are surrounded by innovation. Whether these innovations are getting through a flat tire along an interstate on the long haul to Grand Island, Nebraska, or taking that next leap to try out a new contest. I can proudly say my traditions that I have found through the innovations of the Angus Association will carry myself as well as others far.

Many of the things we are surrounded by in the current day are steeped in innovation. From our smartphones to the food we consume on a daily basis, innovation is around us everywhere. This innovation is still present within the Angus Association, now more than ever. But what sets us as Angus breeders apart in our innovations is the decades of tradition along with it. Ever since 1873 when George Grant brought the first Angus bulls to Victoria, Kansas, we have been steeped in tradition. These traditions will hold true as time carries on, because of the passion, legacies and innovations of today.