DENVER, Colo. Ñ Championing the merits of red versus black is a dedicated campaign for Red Angus cattle breeders in the United States.
Members hope they can create a red tide with their guaranteed traceback and identification verified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For Hardy and Mary von Forell of Wyoming, the love affair with reds goes back more than 20 years when the family switched from Herefords to the other British breed.
They are members of a newly formed group, the Rocky Mountain Red Angus Association, which promotes the performance records and usefulness of the breed among commercial cattle people.
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The group, which represents breeders in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, staged its first Mile High Red Angus sale at the National Western Stock Show in Denver with the von Forells earning the top bid of the day. They sold a half interest in an open heifer for $10,000 US.
“Red Angus in this part of the country is the hottest thing going,” said Mary von Forell.
The Wyoming couple, whose family has attended 89 consecutive Denver stock shows, runs about 500 cows.
Their high selling female born in September 2003, was not bred, allowing the buyer his choice of mating plans.
The female is likely headed for a flushing program and the new owner also offered a flush of six embryos that sold for $3,750.
The overall sale totalled $159,225 to average $3,185 including embryo lots from Bryan and Sherry McKenzie, owners of Brylor Red Angus at Pincher Creek, Alta. They were the only Canadians in the sale.
Frank Wedel of Leoti, Kansas, is president of the Red Angus Association of America and owns about 300 cows.
He explained how the Red Angus Association of America was formed 50 years ago.
The American Angus Association had refused to register the red cattle since 1917 so a group struck out on their own.
Today the association, based in Denton, Texas, has 2,100 members and 500 junior members representing youths under 21 years.
“In the 1940s some progressive cattlemen who were interested in a better way to produce beef went to herds and bought the reds,” Wedel said.
The major emphasis for the breakaway group was strong performance records and in 1999, a source verification program was developed.
Feeder cattle sired by Red Angus bulls receive a yellow ear tag that allows for individual identification connected to a broad field of information.
The program is verified by the USDA and the association is able to certify the resulting calves came from a red bull.
Breeders involved in this program argue it goes beyond the requirements of the certified Angus beef program, which takes only those with black hides.
These red cattle are slaughtered through Excel and can fit into the Sterling Silver or Angus Pride, the company’s high quality beef programs. As well as parentage verification, breeders can provide commercial producers with user friendly information on reproductive efficiency, fertility, calving ease growth and carcass traits.
The red association also recognizes Canadian expected progeny differences statistics and encourages breeders to participate in total herd reporting for performance information.
Total herd reporting requires reporting every calf from a registered cow.
“We’ve just laid the groundwork, a solid base to increase our role for the commercial cattlemen,” said Wedel.
