Hello everyone! While June didn’t rack up as many miles as earlier in the spring, it was still a busy month. As you may have seen, the iconic Feeder Calf Certification Program was officially rebranded this week as Angus Access. Much of my time this past month was spent training on program updates and assisting with the rollout wherever possible. I also helped get Jesse and Elizabeth immersed in their new roles at RAAA. It’s been great getting to know them both personally. I’m excited about what they bring to the team.

I had the privilege of attending the Superior Corn Belt Classic in South Sioux City on June 17-18. While I wasn’t able to stay for the full event, I did get to see some Red Angus calves and yearlings sell. One of the highlights was watching Gill Red Angus market 225 yearling steers for August delivery, purchased from their customers, which averaged nearly $2,900 per head. If you’re attending any video sales this summer, keep an eye out for a member of the commercial marketing team. We plan to be at most of them!

I also made time for a few commercial visits in June, with a particular focus on feedyards. My first stop was in Oakland, Iowa, where I visited the Nilan Feedyard, owned by Gary Nilan and his grandson, Holden. Gary has been in the beef industry his entire life and started feeding cattle in the 1960s. He’s a wealth of knowledge with countless stories to share. A passionate advocate for education, Gary was a founding contributor to the Tri-County Fed Steer Challenge, a program that allows producers to pool cattle into larger groups for evaluation. The program tracks growth, performance and carcass data, then returns results to help producers improve and learn more about their cattle.

From Oakland, I traveled east to Pella to visit Ryan Hoksbergen at Western Wind Red Angus. Ryan has become a good friend since I joined RAAA nearly two years ago. We spent the morning discussing the association, cattle and life in general. Ryan walked me through his replacement heifers and shared which bloodlines are working well for him. He’s especially pleased with how his Blue Chip heifers are developing and is looking forward to their offspring when bred to Amsterdam. We also evaluated spring-born pairs and discussed next year’s bull crop.

On the way to South Sioux City, I made a stop in Quimby, Iowa, to visit Nate Grahm. Nate had purchased two sets of FCCP (recently rebranded as Angus Access) and Allied Access-tagged steers from South Dakota. I dropped in to take a look and discuss marketing options. The steers were about 60 days from finishing, and I was impressed with their frame, consistency and power. Nate runs a unique operation, starting all calves outside before transitioning them into a confinement barn at 1,000 pounds. He gave me a thorough overview of the benefits of this system and how it has supported his family operation.

My final stop for the month was at Blue River Company, south of Henderson, Nebraska, operated by Preston Franzen and his father. I met Preston through my local cattlemen’s affiliate and was invited to tour the yard. Over the past eight years, Preston and his dad have built a solid business offering custom backgrounding, finishing services and feeding cattle for their operation. He specializes in high-risk calves from the Southeast, improving them before moving them to a finishing yard. While beginning to feed more Red Angus-influenced calves, I was impressed by a set of Buckskin heifers nearing the end of their feeding window. Preston sourced them from western South Dakota, and the first set harvested performed exceptionally well on the grid. Looking ahead, Preston plans to continue offering feeding services and is exploring some intriguing financing options for customers.

If you’re marketing cattle or planning for upcoming sales, be sure to contact a member of our team. We’re ready to help!