Kansas Angus Association - Kansas Angus News January Edition
LAR
Cherry Crk Blue Collar G275
Basin True Grit 1021
Kenny Institution 2010
Other Main Service Sires
Deer Valley Growth Fund – 15 grandsons
BAR Dynamic – 2 sons
HF Safe & Sound 019 – 4 sons
DAR Propel T085 – 2 sons
DAR Buckaroo 3461 – 5 sons
LD Dually 0181 – 10 sons
Deppe WW SFF Incredible 281 – 10 sons
Windy Ridge Great Plain 013 – 5 sons
Ferguson Breakout 103H – 4 sons
DAR Plus One 1225 – 6 sons
Craft Versatile 828-314 – 3 sons
Plus other sires
From Decline to Dominance
It’s a good time to be in the Angus business in a lot of ways, never better. Demand for registered Angus genetics is soaring. Yet, it hasn’t always been like this.
By John Stika, President, Certified Angus Beef
During the 1960s and ’70s, Americans were fighting a dietary war on fat. The beef industry basically discarded marbling and quality, with a desire to better compete with a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Focus was squarely placed on lean red meat yield and production efficiency as Continental breeds rapidly displaced British breeds to dominate the American herd. In the process, beef quality became increasingly inconsistent. Little did the industry know that these choices would cut overall beef demand in half, leading to one in four steaks being tough.
Angus cattle didn’t fit this new landscape. From 1968 to 1978, the American Angus Association experienced a 45% decline in registrations from its all-time high of 406,310 to 222,608 head.
The moment everything changed One bad steak 50 years ago, experienced by Ohio Angus breeder Harold Etling, changed everything.
Harold knew Angus ranchers could produce better beef; after all, it’s one reason he chose the breed. After his bad eating experience in 1975, he wrote a letter to the American Angus Association Board of Directors, outlining a certification process, complete with accountability to provide a consistent, reliable source of premium Angus beef to restaurants and grocery stores. Three years later, the first pound of Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB) was sold to Ella Whitt at Renzetti’s IGA in Columbus, Ohio.
This started an Angus-dominated branded beef revolution; a movement for the entire industry to produce higher-quality beef. Yet, getting the first branded beef program up and running was no easy feat.
Within a month of selling the first pound of product, the USDA canceled the program, and it took six months to reinstate the brand. In 1981, the Association Board voted 14 to one to stop the program if it wasn’t profitable within a year.
When the brand still wasn’t covering its own expenses 12 months later, CAB survived by one vote: 8 to 7. Ultimately, the Association invested $281,276.44 to support the brand before it began covering its own expenses a worthy investment.
Growing the advantage
Initiated from a simple yet visionary idea and pursued through the grit and tenacity of Angus breeders seeking a better future for the breed and Association members, it’s no accident CAB is where it is today. The brand continues to support the growing dominance of Angus in an industry that once sold them at a discount.
Since 1978, the brand’s mission has been to increase the demand for registered Angus cattle through a specification-based, branded beef program to identify consistent, high-quality beef with superior taste. Time has proven that the pull-through demand model works, rewarding Angus cattlemen and women whose cattle qualify for the brand.
CAB provides a consumer-based target and creates demand for Angus cattle. However, Angus breeders are the true brand champions for focusing on high-quality genetics to increase marbling.
That’s been integral in turning the beef industry around, so we can enjoy the best beef demand we have seen in nearly 40 years.
As an Association member, you ultimately own CAB. The goal of this new column is to help you learn more about how the brand works and is positioned in the marketplace. (to read more check out Beyond theBrand in upcoming issues of the Angus Journal.
It’s more than just good marketing, and I’ll uncover why as we go behind the brand.
Angus Media/Angus Journal
Kansas Angus Association 2026 Annual Meeting & Banquet ▪ Jan. 24, 2026 Futurity Jr. Show- Jan 25 2026 , Hutchinson
The Kansas Angus Association (KAA) Banquet and 74thAnnual Meeting is January 24 in Hutchinson at the Kansas State Fairgrounds . The educational presentations and annual meeting will be in the afternoon. The annual banquet which will include a social hour, the Kansas Angus Auxiliary scholarship auction, honorary member induction, KAA Directory page auction, Miss Kansas Angus crowning and the KJAA t-shirt fundraiser auction will be in the new 1861 Club on the fairgrounds later on Saturday evening. The junior show is on Sunday the25th. ►more info www.kansasangus.org
The President's Pen
As president of the Kansas Angus Association, I look back on 2025 as a year full of opportunity and forward progress for our members and our breed. Since becoming involved in the Angus Association in 2015, I have seen firsthand how much can be accomplished when producers come together with a shared vision. This past year brought strong participation, renewed energy, and meaningful growth across our programs, and those successes have positioned us well as we look ahead to 2026 with optimism and confidence.
I firmly believe that the greatest strength of the Angus Association is the people. Our breeders, volunteers, juniors, and families are the backbone of this organization. Their dedication, willingness to lead, and commitment to one another allow us to navigate challenges while continuing to create opportunities for progress. It is that sense of community and shared purpose that keeps the Kansas Angus Association moving forward year after year.
As a second-generation Angus breeder, I am proud of the foundation that was built before me and grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the association over the past decade. My involvement has reinforced the importance of stewardship, mentorship, and investing in youth. That commitment is especially meaningful to me as I watch my daughter, Kaelyn, who served as the 2024 Miss Kansas Angus, represent the values of our breed and our association. Seeing the next generation step into leadership roles assures me that our future is bright and that 2026 will continue the positive momentum we have built together.
Cash Schilling
2025 Kansas Angus Association President 785-332-4215
Notes & News from Anne
A record year…
In the popular song by Eric Church, the lyrics refer to heartbreak and healing. While all of us in the Angus business have experienced the heartbreak of drought, low prices, dead calves the list is long 2025 brought some of the most successful bull sales, record calf and fat cattle prices along with strong demand for Angus females and genetics and demand beef was strong despite high grocery store prices The KAA experienced a record breaking commercial female sale with $5100 commercial bred heifers topping the sale (see page 15 for full report) and hosted a very successful National Angus Tour (see pages 12-13 ).
As we move into the New Year, we can celebrate the “records” of the past year but we all know that we cannot be complacent we must continue the use the best genetics that fit our individual goals, use the tools and programs available to us from the American Angus Associations, ask questions and find mentors when needed as we work to market and promote the use of registered Angus seedstock and genetics.
Cheers to 2026 and another record year! Until Next Time,
Anne S. Lampe, Kansas Angus Association Manager,; Kansas Angus News Editor Kanasasangus@wbsnet.org, 620-874-4273
Page 1. Ks Angus Association News ▪ 1
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President : Cash Schilling, Goodland
Vice President : Stephanie Dickerson, Paradise
Secretary/Mgr: Anne Lampe, Scott City (620) 874-4273
Treasurer: Elizabeth Perkins, Ellsworth
Past President: Lynne Hinrichsen, Westmoreland
District Directors Term
Ks Angus Auxiliary 10
Cattle, Technology and Camels-National Angus Tour 12-13 A Record Year- Commercial Angus Female Sale was a Record Breaker Calendar/Sales & Events ▪ 20
Cover ▪ photo by Anne Lampe A Record Year see page 15
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• 45 Fall Bred Commercial Home Raised Heifers • All AI bred to Connealy Restore 178C then exposed to sons of Commerce and Resilient, to calve September-October 2026. Designed to increase maternal strength in any cowherd.
Angus Business
Cut Through Genetic Confusion
Why using only genetics or phenotypes alone in selection is leaving money on the table.
By Lynsey McAnally, Angus Beef Bulletin Associate Editor
A lot of commercial cattlemen have told us they chose Angus because of the breed’s marketability. There’s more benefit to Angus than just premium prices, though the genetic database and the multitude of tools available to seedstock and commercial cattlemen alike.
On an episode of the Angus at Work podcast, the Angus Beef Bulletin team visited with Kelli Retallick-Riley, president of Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI), regarding how to decide which of the many genetic tools to use, what questions you should ask your seedstock supplier, why expected progeny differences (EPDs) matter, new tools available for commercial cattlemen and more.
Changing the game
An adage says you can’t make progress on things that you don’t measure. When it comes to producers utilizing registered Angus genetics, the availability of data is seemingly endless. While it may seem to some like Angus cattle have always come with numbers, that hasn’t always been the case.
“I think early on, when it was the Aberdeen Angus Association, a lot of our individual selection for sires was based on the Chicago International or in the show ring. How did those animals look? They used eye appeal and conformation from that standpoint to make decisions,” notes RetallickRiley. “Then we went through the ’50s and the ’60s and then up into 1972. That’s when our first structured Sire Evaluation Report came out. We had 25 bulls in there and everyone was pictured. It was beautiful. I bring [the report] up because that was really a turning point for the American Angus Association and the commercial cow-calf industry.”
With the release of the sire evaluation, says Retallick-Riley, producers got away from the idea of making breeding decisions based solely on showring performance. Instead, data and performance began setting the scene for future matings.Retallick-Riley oftentimes gets the question, “Well, I’m selecting these bulls on performance measurements.” The reality, she says, is that with EPDs and national cattle evaluations, producers are better able to avoid genetic train wrecks by looking behind the curtain (and under the hide).
“We have higher degree of accuracy [using genomics],” Retallick-Riley says. “It allows us to move along genetic change a lot quicker when we can basically use this big engine to get at purely that genetic component versus the environment.”
A multiprong approach
While the genetic tools, EPDs, the dollar value indexes ($Values), and genomic scores offer immense value for cattlemen, Retallick-Riley says we can’t forget the conformation of an individual animal. Traits like foot and udder scores play a major role in the overall longevity of your investment.
Her advice to producers: Use the resources available to evaluate the data, but at the end of the day get to that sale. “Get eyes on that bull and make sure that he’s going to be able to fit your own individual scenario,” she says. “If you get there and a bull’s got a
wicked set of EPDs, but you’re starting to see there’s some structure issues, then maybe you don’t want to move in that direction.”
Cattle have got to be built from the ground up, so making sure they’re structurally sound is important, she says.
When it comes to breeding goals, Retallick-Riley encourages producers to consider their market and their breeding objectives when trying to determine which tools to use.
“How is [a producer] going to sell calves? That is how you build your breeding objective. If you’re not building cattle that fit your program to generate income … then you’re probably not going to be all that successful,” she says, noting that with 22 different EPDs and eight different indexes, producers have options. “Defining those goals and understanding where you’re at and where you need to go is really important.”
“I think we always use the old adage and I always hate to use it but you can’t make progress on things that you don’t measure. So when we think about genetics, that’s really all we’re trying to do.” Kelli RetallickRiley
The power of data
All these data and the insight they provide may sound great to a producer. However, once traits of importance are identified, that doesn’t mean learning about additional traits is off the table. At the time of recording (January 2023), cattlemen were a few years into having access to the pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) EPD, as well as the hair shed EPD.
Both EPDs were developed with the mindset of trying to adapt or select cattle to suit different environments more seamlessly.“The PAP EPD is for those cattle that are dealing with things like brisket disease or highaltitude disease in those types of environments. The hair shed EPD [is meant] to help our producers that are running in fescue country and have to deal with things like fescue toxicosis or just really hot environments where they [need] a … higher level of heat tolerance,” Retallick-Riley says. “At AGI and at the American Angus Association, we talk a lot about matching cattle to their environments. Those two specific EPDs are really trying to match cattle to environments where they may be handling [unique] environmental or disease pressures.”
Continued on page 15
Kansas Junior Angus Association
Kansas Junior Members,
As we look ahead to a new year with the Kansas Junior Angus Association, I am excited for the opportunities it will bring for our junior members. One of the highlights of the season will be the Futurity Show and Banquet on January 24th and 25th, and I encourage all juniors to join us for this outstanding event. These weekends are always special not only because of the cattle, but because of the opportunity to visit, reconnect with friends, and meet new junior members from across the state. I truly enjoy getting to know our juniors and seeing the passion and dedication each of you brings to the Angus breed. I look forward to seeing you in January and to another successful year together.
Add to this, junior cattle check in and meetings on Saturday followed by the Banquet. This banquet is our main fundraiser, not just the tshirt sponsorship but also the Auxiliary items. The cattle show begins Sunday.
Here is an expanded version with your added details smoothly incorporated and a clear, informative flow:
As we look ahead to a new year with the Kansas Junior Angus Association, I am excited for the opportunities it will bring for our junior members. One of the highlights of the season will be the Futurity Show and Banquet on January 24th and 25th, and I encourage all juniors to join us for this outstanding event. Saturday will include junior cattle check-in and meetings, followed by our Futurity Banquet that evening. This banquet serves as our main fundraiser through T-shirt sponsorships. As well as a great selection of items to bid on that supports the Auxiliary and their continued scholarship efforts. The cattle show will begin on Sunday. These weekends are always special, not only because of the cattle, but because of the opportunity to visit, reconnect with friends, and meet new junior members from across the state. I truly enjoy getting to know our juniors and seeing the passion and dedication each of you brings to the Angus breed. I look forward to seeing you in January and to another successful year together.
Austin Woodrow, KJAA President 2025-26, austinwoodrow3@gmail.com , 620-794-3927
NJAA Adopts New Exhibitor Age and Ownership rule in 2026
The General Rules are rules that the American Angus Association has adopted for use at its National, Regional and Regional Preview Junior Angus Shows. Anything that is listed in red is used to bring attention to changes and/or clarifications.
Age Eligibility Lowered- The NJAA age requirement has been lowered to 7 years old. The updated rule reads: Exhibitors must be the ages of 7–21 as of January 1 of the current year, with birthdates ranging from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2018, and must be a Junior, Regular, or Life Member of the American Angus Association. Junior membership shall be issued only to an individual and shall expire upon attainment of age 21. Participation is acceptable through the calendar year of the individual’s 21st birthday.
Ownership Rule Update -A new rule will allow multi-ownership of owned animals between siblings, provided all siblings meet NJAA age requirements and are listed as owners by the ownership deadline. The rule will read: Owned animals can be multi-owned between siblings if all siblings own the animal by the ownership date and are within NJAA show rule ages (as of January 1).
2025-26 Ks Jr Angus Association Board of Directors
Neal and Marya Haverkamp- neal@namahavalleycattle.com (3rdyear/2026)
Cash and Amanda Schilling- schillinglandandcattle@gmail,com ( 2nd year/2027)
Charlie &J Jessica Brunker jessica.brunker@gmail.com (1st year/2028)
Anne Lampe-620-874- 4273 cell, kansasangus@wbsnet.org www.kansasangus.org/KJAA
For more info- www.angus.org/njaa/get-involved/njaa-shows
Wolverine 4531
Rowh Nobility 515
Rowh Eulima 5101
Rowh Isabel 5118
Happy New Year!
Ladies, join us on Saturday, January 24 in Hutchinson for the Auxiliary meeting at 11:30am in the meeting room in the barn! We will visit about ways to support the juniors over the next year, meet the candidates for Miss Kansas Angus, and hear updates from committees. Later that evening, we will have the annual fundraiser for the Auxiliary that provides support for the juniors through scholarships and monetary support for various events at the National Junior Angus Show. Feel free to bring an item to the auction, from a basket with goodies, baked goods, or unique items, all are welcome! If you don’t bring an item, you can always support the cause through purchasing your favorite item at the auction! Join us at The 1861 Club at 6:30pm on the Fairgrounds for the banquet.
Now is a great time to renew your membership with the Auxiliary. You can renew the membership at the meeting or by contacting Lori Fink. January 10 is a big deadline day for applications! The Miss Kansas Angus, Premier Exhibitor Award, and Challenge Award applications are all due January 10.In addition, college sophomores, the Kenneth and Lorene Moore Scholarship application is also due January 10. Applications and more information can be found on the website.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to myself or any of the officers with questions.
Esther Tarpoff
esthertarpoff@gmail.com
Kansas Angus Auxiliary President
Dates to Remember:
Jan. 10 – Miss Kansas Angus and Ambassador Applications due Jan. 10 – Moore Scholarship Application due Jan. 10 – Challenge Award Application due Jan. 10 – Premier Exhibitor Award Application due Jan. 24-25 – Kansas Angus Banquet, Annual Meeting, Futurity Jr Show
April 1 – Auxiliary Scholarship Applications due for high school seniors graduating in spring 2026 April 1 – Auxiliary Endowment Scholarship Application due for college students (trade
as nursing or vo-tech)
For more info and application links visit www.kansasangus.org/auxiliary
34th Annual Commercial Angus Female Sale was a Record Breaker
For 34 years the Kansas Angus Association (KAA) commercial Angus and Angus-influence female sale has been bringing together buyers and sellers of quality replacement females while promoting the use of registered Angus seedstock and genetics by commercial producers. 2025 was a record year for this long-time successful sale, recording the highest grossing sale and the highest net profit for the KAA in the sale’s history. The sale’s bred heifer of average of $3935.00 and sale topping $5100/head and open female average of $2850 also broke records
24 open heifers grossed $68,400.00, averaged $2850.00
Top bred heifers
20 purebred Angus AI bred averaged $5100/head (avg. weight 1256) consigned by Andy Cunningham, C Bar O , Roston, OK
15 purebred Angus AI bred averaged $5000/head (avg. weight 1265) consigned by Andy Cunningham, C Bar O , Roston, OK
Top open heifers
24 mixed black and baldie averaged $2850.00/head (avg. weight 776) consigned by Kaiser Angus Darrell Kaiser, Park, KS
Sale Manager: Gordon Stucky Auctioneer: Joel Birdwell
The KAA thanks Pratt Livestock management and staff for our longtime partnership in this sale.
Cut Through Genetic Confusion
–Continued from page 4
“Your optimum may be different than my optimum. So you have to be able to try to manage those cattle with your feed resources sources, with the things that you have available to you.”, says Retallick-Riley
While the PAP and hair shed EPDs are undoubtedly useful to cattlemen in their respective regions, Retallick-Riley was excited to discuss an EPD that has the potential to affect a large swath of producers: functional longevity.
The functional longevity EPD was developed to predict at an early age which sires are going to create daughters that stay in the herd and consistently calve year after year. Understanding if a cow calves each year is part of the equation, but researchers also need to know how old the female is, her pregnancy status, how long she was open and more, says Retallick-Riley.
“Why and when do those cows leave the herd? Those types of records help us to be able to predict, ‘OK, this sire does a better job at creating females that can stay in the herd for a long time,’” she says. “Obviously, that has an economic impact on our commercial cattlemen, because if we’re culling too many females especially early on in life that can be a huge detriment to your bottom line as a commercial cow-calf producer.”
Editor’s note: The information above is summarized from the Jan. 4, 2026, episode of Angus at Work. To access the full episode, including more information related the genomic tools and AGI, check out our Angus at Work archive on www.angus.org.Photo by Lynsey McAnally.
Send your sale date or updates to kansasangus@wbsnet.org. Listing is free to members Length of calendar in each issue is at discretion of the Editor . Dates subject to change please check with sale host. All events are sales unless otherwise noted. KAA members submit your PRIVATE TREATY SALE info at www.kansasangus.org .*More sales will be added as information is received. Association members please submit your sale date. New members your sale can be added after joining. All listings are sales unless otherwise noted.
• 6/6-7/2026-Ks Jr Angus Preview Show-Hutchinson, KS-Meeting and Show
Theis Caps Off Year as American Angus Auxiliary President
The annual American Angus Auxiliary Breakfast held during the American Angus Association Convention is a long-standing tradition that celebrates the end of the year while honoring the retiring president.
Tonya Theis, Leavenworth, Kansas served as the 2025 President. The breakfast was held on November 2, 2025, in Kansas City. The Kansas Angus Auxiliary served as hostess of the breakfast and provided decorations and gifts for breakfast attendees. All guests received custom made in Kansas pottery mugs crafted by the Potters Sweel, Manhattan. Ladies were presented bracelets with sunflower and Angus charms.
◄2026 officers were elected during the annual meeting od the Auxiliary the day before the breakfast Elected were President Emma Collins, Powell, MS; President- elect Christy Perdue, NC and Secretary- treasurer Tammy Weaver, Tonya will serve as the Auxiliary past president/advisor.
