Registrations are down and demand is up — say what?
“Everybody’s very, very optimistic I think about our business, our industry, the demand for beef,” said Chuck Grove at the conclusion of the 2022 Angus Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. “This meeting was very, very upbeat.”
He and fellow American Angus Association Board member and Angus breeder Mark Ahearn joined The Angus Conversation on an episode recorded at the conclusion of the 139th annual convention of delegates.
Registrations are down slightly on the year, totaling just under 305,000 head, but that’s not all that surprising, they said.
“Really they're not down that significantly when you consider the outside elements that are out there from the drought conditions cost of inputs that all these ranchers and farmers face, so I'm really pleased,” Grove said.
Optimism is found when noting 47% of those registrations were bulls.
“There's no other breed that's doing that. And that tells us that the demand for registered Angus bulls and seedstock has never been greater,” he said.
Throughout the hallways and trade show, people swapped stories and knowledge. On the main stage, several panels featured producers and experts who gave a thorough treatment to topics ranging from the future of the beef business to the genetics outlook.
“We had people that didn't necessarily agree on everything or had a little different vantage point, which is again, real and very reflective of our membership and the reality of our industry,” said Mark McCully, CEO of the American Angus Association. “Some of these things are complicated and depending on what angle you look at some of these things from and what your seat on the bus is, you have a little different perspective. And sharing that perspective is where we get better.”
To hear the full recap of the annual meeting and of Angus Convention, listen to the most recent episode of The Angus Conversation.