The Link

That Angus bull’s registration paper is worth $3,750.

by Ginette Gottswiller, American Angus Association

It deserves repeating: That Angus bull’s registration paper is worth $3,750. This year it was very apparent the value AngusLink^SM has brought to commercial cattle producers who sell their calves at weaning time. Many producers who enroll in AngusLink choose to enroll in Non-Hormone Treated Calves (NHTC)/NeverEver3 (NE3) claims. Those producers who sold their calves during the summer video run this year averaged $5.35 per hundredweight (cwt.) more than calves just source- and age-verified.

Yet the real advantage was to producers who enrolled in AngusLink NHTC/NE3 and Angus-sired Genetics (ASG). Those calves realized a premium of $13.21 per cwt., on average, during the same time frame. The way I look at it, verifying the registered Angus bulls used to sire that group of calves earned $7.86 per cwt. more on sale day.

Let’s do a little math. The average weight sold this summer on the summer video sales was 645 pounds (lb.) according to the data we compiled. Let’s use the $7.86-per-cwt. premium for the calves being Angus-sired. That would equate to a little more than $50 per calf. Let’s use 25 cows to a bull and that you plan to use him for three years. That would mean, for a registered Angus bull, you could pay $3,750 more in my calculation.

If I had to pick a verification program, I would pick AngusLink. I know you are going to say I’m biased. Yep, I am, but let me tell you why. AngusLink isn’t just a verification program. It is a way for commercial producers to use value-added programs and Angus genetics to obtain the best price for their feeder calves. Any company can verify source, age, non-hormone-treated cattle and the many other claims each specific company offers, but they really can’t convey to buyers the value of your Angus feeder calves.

That is why AngusLink is nestled into the American Angus Association suite of programs. AngusLink has nothing but the best interest in mind for cattle producers who are using Angus genetics.

AngusLink is reliable and goes the extra mile to get your cattle listings in front of potential buyers.

AngusLink is comfortable. When you talk with anyone in AngusLink, you are talking to a cattle producer. Getting your enrollment done is like talking to your neighbor at the coffee shop.

AngusLink is powerful marketing for your feeder cattle on sale day. That AngusLink badge on the video screen means something.

AngusLink means integrity. The integrity of this program has never wavered. Every producer who enrolls goes though the same process, no matter what. AngusLink has had a few face-lifts during the last 15 years, but underneath the name is the same commitment that was made back in 2005.

AngusLink provides commercial producers who use registered Angus genetics an avenue to obtain the most value for their Angus-influenced feeder calves. The bull may not be able to read the paper, but for an additional $50 per calf this past summer, someone sure is!

I can’t stress this enough: Ask for your registration paper when you buy that bull.

Editor’s note: Ginette Gottswiller is the American Angus Association’s director of verification programs. Lead photo by Daniel Williams from the 2018 NJAA/Angus Journal Photo Contest.