As COVID-19-related cancellations mounted in 2020, it was clear exhibitors wanted a place to show and cattlemen needed a place to sell. In the state of Oklahoma, breeders got busy working their connections, and soon Cattlemen’s Congress was born. Now in its fourth year, the event featured record numbers and record-high sale averages this January. It has become a place of camaraderie, celebration, commerce and competition.  

This episode gathers three individuals who were there for the beginning and have been involved ever since, as they talk about its influence on the state and plans for the future.  

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman and Mark McCully 

GUESTS: Mark Johnson, Tyler Norvell, Donnie Robertson 

Mark Johnson, along with his wife, Brenda, and two daughters, operates J&J Beef Genetics, LLC.  Johnson grew up in Deerfield, Mo., and attended Northeastern Oklahoma A&M junior college and later Oklahoma State University (OSU) before completing his doctorate at Kansas State University in 1992.  

Since then, Johnson has been a professor of animal and food sciences at OSU and has served as supervisor of the OSU Purebred Beef operation for 32 years. At OSU, Johnson has held the Totusek Endowed Chair, been recognized with awards for teaching and advising, conducted youth and beef cattle extension programming, and coached the livestock judging team. He's been very involved in the Oklahoma Angus Association, and in 2024 he and his wife were inducted into the OAA Hall of Fame. 

Tyler Norvell, president of the Oklahoma Youth Expo and board chairman for Cattlemen’s Congress, has deep roots in Oklahoma agriculture. He grew up on his family’s farm and ranch, judged livestock for OSU, and served as vice president of public policy at Oklahoma Farm Bureau. Since 2012, Tyler has worked for the Oklahoma Youth Expo, where he leads in strategy development and fundraising. In addition, he owns a lobbying firm.  

Donnie Robertson was born and raised in Lexington, Ky., and had experience at purebred Angus operations across the country before coming to Express Ranches, Yukon, Okla., 31 years ago. He’s currently the vice president of marketing at Express Ranches, where he travels extensively and attends many purebred Angus sales. He is also responsible for selecting the sale cattle for Express’ six sales held at the ranch each year.  

Don't miss news in the Angus breed. Visit www.AngusJournal.net and subscribe to the AJ Daily e-newsletter and our monthly magazine, the Angus Journal.

Wildfires, floods, hurricanes, tornados – when natural disasters hit cattle country, it hurts. Lives and livelihoods are changed, sometimes in mere seconds. Today’s guests, Callie Carson of Laurel Springs, N.C., and Steve Herbst, Salmon, Idaho, talk about the hope that exists in those spaces. From everybody saddling up horses to evacuate ahead of a fire to the donations that poured in after Hurricane Helene, this episode covers some of the similar threads in stories across the United States. It also touches on everything from practical preparations to mental health implications. This conversation will leave you with plenty to think about, whether you’ve experienced disaster, been there to help, or sent cash and prayers across the miles.

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman and Mark McCully

GUESTS: Callie Carson and Steve Herbst

Callie Carson of Laurel Springs, N.C., and her husband raise Angus cattle on a forage-based operation in northwest North Carolina. She also works as a field representative for the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation. She is currently serving her second term as president of the North Carolina Angus Association, and, in addition to experiencing the effects on their own farm, has been actively involved in Hurricane Helene Relief efforts. 

Steve Herbst operates Nelson Angus Ranch with his family near Salmon, Idaho. His father-in-law, Clyde Nelson, started the registered Angus herd, and they’ve had annual sales every year since 1966. They were early adopters of genomics and have extensive experience in PAP testing. Herbst is known as a leader in the region and often serves as a voting delegate for the American Angus Association annual meeting. 

Don't miss news in the Angus breed. Visit www.AngusJournal.net and subscribe to the AJ Daily e-newsletter and our monthly magazine, the Angus Journal.

Starting out in the Angus industry wasn’t easy in the 1980s and 1990s, but as the old adage goes: where there is a will, there is a way. Doug Schroeder, of Clarence, Iowa, and Charlie Boyd, of Mays Lick, Ky., talk about the beginnings of their businesses and the opposite end of that continuum, transitioning to the next generation. They cover the tough decisions they had to make while serving on the American Angus Association Board of Directors and the progressiveness of those before them. This episode takes listeners from the early years of “working at Hardee’s and fixing tires” to living the dream of raising Angus cattle, kids and crops. 

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman and Mark McCully  

GUESTS: Charlie Boyd and Doug Schroeder 

Charlie Boyd II, Mays Lick, Ky., graduated from the University of Kentucky, and after a short stint away, returned back to his family’s Boyd Beef Cattle operation. He and his wife, Paula, added Angus cattle to the historical Hereford herd, and today their sons, Blake and Logan, are raising cattle with them.  

Charlie served two terms on the American Angus Association Board of Directors, and was president and chairman of the Board in 2017. He’s served as president of the Kentucky Angus Association, and he and Paula volunteered as co-chairs of the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) in 2003 and 2012. He enjoys cattle shows and has evaluated cattle across the United States.  

Doug Schroeder, Schroeder Angus, and his wife, Glenda, were married in 1982 and started their operation near Clarence, Iowa, with the purchase of five head. They have three children who participated in the Angus junior activities, and today their son Drew farms alongside them.  

Doug served on the American Angus Association Board from 2008 to 2014, chairing the Certified Angus Beef Board his final year. He served as the president of the Iowa Angus Association and on the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association board. In addition, Doug and Glenda were both Iowa Junior Angus Advisors for 13 years and chaired the National Junior Angus Show twice. 

RELATED CONTENT:    

President’s Perspective  

Giving Back  

SPONSOR NOTE: Premium cattle marketing meets one of baseball's most iconic venues. Stockmen at the Stadium, LiveAg's inaugural video auction event, is set for Jan. 16, 2025, at Denver's Coors Field. Visit Live-Ag.com to learn more and consign your cattle today. 

Don't miss news in the Angus breed. Visit www.AngusJournal.net and subscribe to the AJ Daily e-newsletter and our monthly magazine, the Angus Journal.

Industry consultant Nevil Speer helps illustrate the story of the transformation of the nation’s cowherd during the last decade or so, and Oklahoma producer Jimmy Taylor shares his personal example. Rising to meet consumer expectations has been a self-fulfilling prophecy, where better beef begets more demand, but there are other considerations. 

Can you have the carcass and the cow? How have novel genetic tools allowed for a much faster pace of progress? What’s on the horizon? Answers to all that and more, in this episode that offers a peek at the priorities of the commercial Angus bull buyer. 

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman and Troy Marshall, American Angus Association director of commercial industry relations  

GUESTS: Jimmy Taylor and Nevil Speer  

Jimmy Taylor, an Elk City, Okla., commercial Angus producer, manages around 600 females on 12,000 acres alongside his wife, Tracy. In 2011 they were named the Certified Angus Beef Commitment to Excellence Award winners and in 2013 the Oklahoma Angus Association Commercial Breeder of the Year. Taylor has served on various local boards and recently served on the executive committee for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. He is a strong proponent of using all the tools available to produce the highest quality beef possible.   

Nevil Speer, Bowling Green, Ky., started his industry consulting business after a career in academia and private industry. He earned a doctorate in animal science from Colorado State University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Western Kentucky University, where he taught for several decades. He says he’s forever a student of the business and uses his combination of on-farm experience, academic training, and start-up know-how as he consults, writes and speaks across the country. 

RELATED CONTENT:  

A Crucible for Quality  

Beef Market History and Status with Nevil Speer  

Don't miss news in the Angus breed. Visit www.AngusJournal.net and subscribe to the AJ Daily e-newsletter and our monthly magazine, the Angus Journal.

It’s not always glamorous but if there’s a will to return home to the ranch, there’s a way. In this episode, the American Angus Association’s two Young Breeder of the Year honorees share their path back to generational Angus operations. 

They suggest there’s more opportunity for young people than ever before and share the opportunities they’ve capitalized on as they’ve come.

“There are people looking for somebody to step up. It’s going to be work and it could be very dirty work, but there will be a reward at the end,” says John McCurry, Burrton, Kan., who joins Cody Quam, Lodi, Wis., for an authentic discussion on how they're making their ways in the Angus business.

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman and Mark McCully 

GUESTS: 
John McCurry, McCurry Angus, Burrton, Kan., says he is “double bred Angus.” His parents Mary and Andy McCurry were two third-generation Angus breeders who met at Kansas State University and started their own operation. Today the ranch operates on 2,000 acres of sandhill pastures near Hutchinson, Kan. Also a graduate of Kansas State, John was an energetic National Junior Angus Association member, actively participating in the show ring and attending national conferences. He capped off his junior career in 2003 as he hung up his green coat for the last time. Today he and his wife, Melody, have three children who compete at the National Junior Angus Show every summer and are capable hired hands during school breaks and weekends. 

Cody Quam, Marda Angus Farms, Lodi, Wis., is a fourth-generation Angus breeder working side-by-side with his family. Cody leads genetic selection and the donor/embryo transfer program as well as sales and marketing. Under his stewardship, the business has earned multiple top honors at the Midland Bull Test. Off the farm, the young breeder stays involved in the cattle industry, as a long-time delegate to the national convention, a graduate of the Beef Leaders Institute and president of the World Beef Expo board. Cody and his wife, Tracy, are raising their two kids, Levi and Paisley, as the fifth generation in the Angus business. Cody was recently awarded the 2024 Young Angus Breeder of the Year award, and he accepted the award at the Angus Convention in Fort Worth, Texas.  

RELATED READING: 
Double Bred Angus
A Tradition of Proficiency  

Don't miss news in the Angus breed. Visit www.AngusJournal.net and subscribe to the AJ Daily e-newsletter and our monthly magazine, the Angus Journal.

A judging team romance led to a lifetime of breeding cattle together. That’s Chris and Sharee Sankey’s story in a nutshell. The pair came with cattle roots, but made their own way when a lease opportunity came up outside of Council Grove, Kan. There’s no way to put a price tag on the memories made during all the miles traveled to cattle shows, but the couple says that helped them grow their kids and their cow herd both. They now meet their adult children and their families at the same locations. This episode covers their history, how they’ve seen the industry evolve and a nod to the future — with more than a few stories sprinkled throughout.  

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman and Mark McCully  

GUESTS: Chris and Sharee Sankey  

In the early 1990's Chris and Sharee Sankey purchased the headquarters and part of 6N Ranch near Council Grove, Kan., after leasing the ranch from the Norquists since 1983. With the blessings of the original owners, the ranch was able to stay Sankey's 6N Ranch in the Flint Hills. 

The Sankey family's roots in agriculture and the Angus breed span a century. They have been building their Angus herd off of intense artificial insemination (AI), producing cattle that will survive primarily on grass in the Flint Hills, but also be successful in the showring. They Sankeys have produced three national Roll of Victory Show Bull of the Year honorees, and many females that have been successful showing on a national level. 

SPONSOR NOTE: This episode is sponsored by Deer Valley Farms. They invite you to their fall production sale Saturday, Nov. 9, at 10 a.m. near Fayetteville, Tennessee, where they will sell 124 bulls and 139 females lots. Find the salebook and more at https://deervalleyfarm.com/sale/sale-ring/.

Don't miss news in the Angus breed. Visit www.AngusJournal.net and subscribe to the AJ Daily e-newsletter and our monthly magazine, the Angus Journal.

Focusing on the future and creating the tools that help produce high-quality bulls for the beef industry – that's the message from the cattle feeding segment back to Angus breeders in this episode. A feeder’s top priorities are cattle that stay healthy, get big, marble well and use resources efficiently, and if cattlemen send those kind of raw materials, this episode’s guests pledge to make the most of them. If today's cattle are “high-performance athletes,” hear directly from those who are the final step in making them winners.

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman and Mark McCully

GUESTS:
Tom Fanning, general manager for Pratt Feeders Group, oversees the four yards that make up the feeding company: Buffalo (Okla.) Feeders, Ashland (Kan.) Feeders, Ford (Kan.) Feeders and Pratt (Kan.) Feeders.

Tom earned an agricultural economics degree from Oklahoma State University in 1987 and served as an Infantry Captain in the U.S. Army from 1982 to 1992. He completed his master’s in management at Troy State University in 1992. From 1992 to 2001, Tom was employed by Cargill, where he managed cattle feeding operations across the Texas Panhandle. Then he spent 22 years as manager of Buffalo Feeders, before assuming his current role.

Throughout his career, Tom has held various leadership positions in cattlemen’s organizations at local, state and national levels, including serving as chairman of the Oklahoma Beef Council. Under his leadership, Buffalo Feeders garnered numerous accolades, including the 2009 Certified Angus Beef Feedyard of the Year, the 2019 Beef Quality Assurance Feedyard of the Year and the 2023 Texas Cattle Feeders Association Feedyard Excellence in BQA.

Pete Anderson is director of research for Midwest PMS, and directs research all their research activities, provides technical support to nutritionists and clients, and oversees the company’s performance records analysis program. He also has quality assurance, feed safety and regulatory responsibilities for the firm’s production facilities.

In addition, Anderson leads the company’s initiative in business and operations consulting. He provides strategic planning, succession planning and management and leadership education to clients, and coordinates operations consulting efforts for the company. He applies scientific principles to solve business problems, based on 25 years of experience as a senior business executive.

Pete received his bachelor’s in animal science from Kansas State University in 1983 and a master’s and doctorate from Michigan State University in 1987 and 1989, respectively.

Pete has never made a hole in one, but he has climbed several fourteeners and has his own barbecue website (petesmeats.com). Pete and his wife, Denise, reside in Loveland, Colo., and have three adult children.

SPONSOR NOTE: This episode is sponsored by Ingram Angus LLC.

The entire Ingram team invites you to their annual production sale, Friday, Nov. 8, on the farm at Pulaski, Tenn., to see how they've harnessed the power of the Angus cow to make the herd bull your operation needs.

Visit IngramAngus.com for more information on some of the breed’s most proven cow families, and they’ll see you Nov. 8.

Don't miss news in the Angus breed. Visit www.AngusJournal.net and subscribe to the AJ Daily e-newsletter and our monthly magazine, the Angus Journal.

Angus breeders only stay in business if their customers do, too. Joe and Lake Elliott, of Robert Elliott & Sons Angus near Adams, Tenn., make selection decisions with that end in mind. Their rules of management include one-line statements like, “No bad genes in = no bad genes out” and “realize trend is not destiny,” and they help guide their program. This episode covers Lake’s path back to the family operation and the evolution of their customer base with more focused, data-driven buyers looking for value-added marketing opportunities. To them, things like disposition and fertility aren’t just nice to have, they’re foundational traits.  

HOSTS: Mark McCully and Miranda Reiman 

GUESTS: Joe and Lake Elliott

Joe Elliott 

Tennessee cattleman Joe Elliott has been in the Angus business since age 9. An active 4-H member, Joe’s father put him in charge of the family herd performance records. Robert Elliott & Sons Angus hosts an annual production sale and were the first farm in the Southeast to take live online bids and to host an online auction.  

Joe and his wife, Anne, have two sons, Lake and Bennett. Today, the family farm is a partnership with Joe’s brother, William, and son Lake as Robert Elliott & Sons Angus near Adams.  

He served on the board of the Tennessee Angus Association and as president. Joe also served on the American Angus Association Board of Directors from 1996 to 2004 and as president in 2004. 

Lake Elliott 

Lake Elliott serves as herdsman for his family’s Tennessee Angus operation Robert Elliott & Sons Angus, managing the herd’s more than 250 head. 

He has a degree from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville (UTK) in animal science with emphasis in production and management. 

Lake has served the beef industry since his youth as a Tennessee Junior Angus Association director and as vice president. He was an advisor to the Tennessee Junior Angus Association and served as the adult chair of the education committee at the 2012 National Junior Angus Show (NJAS). He has also served six years on the Tennessee Angus Association board of directors, has been a delegate to the annual Angus Convention of Delegates and participated in the Beef Leaders Institute. 

SPONSOR NOTE: Vytelle is revolutionizing cattle breeding with their hormone-free IVF technology, providing reliable, predictable results without the use of hormones. Stop by Vytelle’s booth at the upcoming Angus Convention, or visit Vytelle.com to access their calendar of upcoming OPU events.  

Don't miss news in the Angus breed. Visit www.AngusJournal.net and subscribe to the AJ Daily e-newsletter and our monthly magazine, the Angus Journal.

Big data and strategic collaborations are the way of future when it comes to solving genetic challenges in the beef business. This episode covers work that is happening now to inform tools of the future. Christine Baes gives a peak into a multi-disciplinary project she works with on behalf of the Canadian dairy industry, and Andre Garcia draws parallels to what could be possible in the U.S. beef industry. Fertility, efficiency and methane emissions are among the traits that could see new ways for selection pressure in the future. 

HOSTS: Miranda Reiman and Kelli Retallick-Riley 

GUESTS: 
Christine Baes, department head and Canada Research Chair in Livestock Genomics for the University of Guelph, was born and raised on a dairy farm in Southwestern Ontario. She has a bachelor’s degree from Guelph, a master's in animal welfare from Universität Hohenheim, and a PhD in quantitative genetics from the Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology and the Christian Albrechts Universität zu Kiel in Germany.

She and her team are involved in various large-scale livestock breeding projects (swine, horses, dairy cattle, goats) and bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and practical application of new knowledge. Baes has extensive knowledge in the areas of quantitative genetics and statistical genomics as it relates to the genetic and genomic evaluation of livestock. 

In her spare time, she runs a small farm outside of Maryhill.

André Garcia, senior geneticist for Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI), grew up in southern Brazil with a diversified agriculture background.

In 2015, he earned his animal science degree from Margina State University and followed it with a master’s program in animal breeding and genetics. He earned his PhD from the University of Georgia, where he also took on a postdoctoral research position with a strong emphasis on quantitative genetics and the use of genomic information for genetic evaluation.

Garcia came to AGI as a research and development geneticist in 2021. He works on genomic evaluation and in an educational role, helping producers understand the technology available to improve their herds.

SPONSOR NOTE: This episode is sponsored by Westway Feed Products.

Westway Feed Products’ liquid supplements increase forage utilization when seasons cause forages to decline in value, our products deliver effective and efficient nutrition to your herd. To learn more, visit westwayfeed.com. 

Don't miss news in the Angus breed. Visit www.AngusJournal.net and subscribe to the AJ Daily e-newsletter and our monthly magazine, the Angus Journal.

How is the Association sitting financially at the end of the fiscal year? Do age of dam adjustments distort the genetic evaluation? How does Angus Media handle long-outstanding accounts receivable? How different are the $Weaned Calf Value ($W) and $Maternal Weaned Calf Value indexes?

When the American Angus Association Board of Directors met this week, these questions (and many more) were discussed. From DNA sample policies to new advertising products, the Board covered the gamut of Association business. This recap episode captures some of the conversations that breeders have out in the country and how those are then brought to the board room.

There were successes to report: AngusLinkSM numbers are up 86%, the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB ®) brand acceptance rates climbed even during times of tight supplies, the Beef Academy and a new Angus.org launched and much more.   

HOSTS: Mark McCully and Miranda Reiman 

GUESTS: Charles Mogck, Olivet, S.D., is a third-generation Angus breeder and serving a second term on the Board. He has built upon his family’s heritage in the breed, increasing their herd to 400 registered females.

Mogck began his career as a loan officer after attending South Dakota State University, but eventually he found himself working on the farm full-time. Today, Mogck & Sons Angus markets 120 bulls and 50 females annually. They farm 2,000 acres of corn, beans and wheat with an additional 2,500 acres of pasture and hay ground. They also routinely buy feeder cattle from their commercial customers, allowing them to collect data on their customers’ cattle. Mogck records ultrasound, carcass and genomic information to help them make the best decisions they can for the future of their herd.

Barry Pollard, Enid, Okla., currently serves as the chairman of the American Angus Association Board of Directors. He attended Oklahoma State University (OSU), followed by medical school and serving as neurosurgeon, performing than 18,000 surgeries prior to his retirement.

In addition to other agriculture business ventures, Pollard has built his Pollard Farms registered Angus operation to 400 Angus cows, selling around 150 bulls each year.

Darrell Stevenson, White Sulphur Spring, Mont., is serving his second term on the Board. Stevenson holds strong ties to the Angus breed and a history of activity in the Montana Angus Association. He continues his family’s legacy by operating Stevenson Angus Ranch.

He is actively involved in international Angus events. In 2010, Stevenson created a partnership with two Russian businessmen to form an international beef venture between the two countries. Due to its success, Stevenson has since overseen shipments of Angus cattle to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

In 2019 Stevenson and his wife, Sara, expanded from Hobson onto a new unit in White Sulphur Springs to establish a later-calving herd operating as Stevenson Down T. Although separated by a mountain range, Darrell continues to breed and market genetics with Stevenson Angus Ranch.

Visit the Member Center on angus.org for the full president’s letter or watch for in-depth articles on many of these topics in upcoming editions of the Angus Journal. 

Don't miss news in the Angus breed. Visit www.AngusJournal.net and subscribe to the AJ Daily e-newsletter and our monthly magazine, the Angus Journal.