Welcome back to Genetics & the Gavel, powered by American Cattlemen Media. Just ahead, we have Gale McKinney, he's the owner of American Cattlemen Media, and he chats with Seth Leachman and Austin Berwald, with Berwald Red Angus. In this episode, they will dive into the Berwald Red Angus 4th Annual Bull & Female Sale, held on March 11th, 2026, at 1PM CST, at the farm, Toronto, South Dakota. 

Berwald Red Angus has built their program around a select group of genetics from some of the most well established and successful programs in the breed. With these base genetics they have gone into a very intensive ET and AI program to mass produce the kind they like and know will work for their customers. Their main goal in all of this is to build a cow herd of very maternal females that can produce progeny with growth and carcass merit.

Seth explains that he joined Austin about four and a half years ago, when Austin was transitioning from quietly building his Red Angus herd to hosting a full production sale. From the beginning, the goal has been to develop a superior cow herd based on a small number of elite cow families, using intensive embryo transfer and artificial insemination. They now implant 500–600 embryos per year, which accelerates genetic progress by shortening the generation interval and rapidly turning top young females into donor cows. The bulls in the sale largely trace back to just a handful of influential cows, creating consistency and uniformity throughout the offering.

The 2026 sale will feature around 125 bulls, including Red Angus, black Red Angus gene carriers, and some Simmental-influenced cattle. Seth and Austin highlight several standout sire lines, such as Berwald Destiny 3138, whose first sons and daughters sell this year, and high-impact sires tied to prominent cow families like J-Lo 007 and the 0018 cow. They emphasize structural soundness, especially foot quality, a priority shaped by Austin’s dairy background and years spent scrutinizing feet and leg structure. Carcass merit is another focus, with one lead bull posting exceptionally high marbling and ratio figures.

In addition to bulls, the sale includes registered open heifers drawn from the very top of the replacement pen, many of them direct daughters or full sisters to leading herd sires and donors. Austin and Seth stress that these are females they would happily retain themselves. The program also offers a strong group of commercial open heifers, representing the same cow families and genetic base as the registered cattle.

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