By Tom Brink, CEO, Red Angus Association of America

RAAA recently completed negotiations with USDA on the breed’s Live Animals Specification form or GLA Schedule. The result is that, at the request of each brand owner, Red Angus can be included in Angus-labeled branded beef programs. Red Angus is "Angus," and now USDA has officially acknowledged that fact by enabling Red Angus and Red Angus-influenced cattle that meet certain requirements to join black-hided animals in as many Angus brands as decide in favor of their inclusion. Both genotypic and phenotypic qualification criteria are contained in the new GLA Live Animal Specification Schedule.

Follow this link to see the new Red Angus GLA Schedule.

Red Angus originated from the same Scottish gene pool as black Angus and are therefore genetically Angus. Hence, this change makes logical sense, and will benefit cow-calf producers, cattle feeders, packers and consumers. Red Angus-influenced cattle can now be beneficially accessed to increase the supply of high-quality, Angus beef in many different programs throughout the country. Furthermore, it is a simple process to add Red Angus to existing Angus beef programs. Brand owners simply need to contact USDA and request the inclusion of the RAAA GLA Schedule as part of their program's live animal specs, then make associated minor verbiage changes in their own G-Schedules. RAAA can assist in this process, which in most cases, takes very little time to prepare, and is then followed by a relatively short correspondence period with USDA-AMS.

We are certainly pleased USDA recognizes that Red Angus are genetically Angus and look forward to working with many branded Angus lines in 2022 and beyond. Our goal is to actively support their efforts, both in quality and volume, to help these brands grow and become even more successful.