The Gold Standard: Angus

Welcome back to The Bovine Buff! This week I'll teach about the most important beef cattle breed: Angus. Angus influenced cattle make up about 80% of the American beef herd. That totals to about 74 million individual animals! 

Despite being the most common cattle breed in the United States, the Angus breed history is anything but boring.  Angus cattle began as "Doddies" and "Humlies" in Northern Scotland. These names were colloquial terms used by Scottish farmers that referred to any hornless, or "polled" as the industry uses, cattle from the Angus and Aberdeenshire provinces in Northeast Scotland. In the 19th century a herdbook was established, and the breed was refined from a varied herd of all shapes and colors into the traditional and uniform Aberdeen Angus we know today. 

While the look of Angus cattle has changed over the years, modern cattle still bear genetic and physical similarities to the cattle of the 1800s. Angus cattle are black and polled. There are instances of red coloring in cattle due to a recessive gene, and a separate herdbook and breed association was developed to account for these "Red Angus." Angus cattle are stocky animals with moderate muscling and high fat deposition.  They have a moderate frame size with slightly higher degree of bend to their rear legs in their hock.  An Angus steer reaches market weight at about 1400 lbs. (~635 kg). 

While the outward appearance of an Angus steer is less than striking, it is what is on the inside that puts these black-hided cattle at the top of the industry. Angus steers have one of the highest rates of feed conversion and intramuscular fat deposition. To put it simply, you can feed an Angus steer less feed than other breeds of cattle to gain the same amount of muscle. Additionally, Angus steers have more fat inside their muscles. This makes for a juicy and flavorful steak.  These special qualities make Angus cattle the ideal animal for beef producers as the ratio of quality product to cost in so high.  Over time, word spread to consumers about the high quality of Angus beef. Demand for the breed in grocery stores led to the creation of branded programs to set Angus products apart and give them a premium value. The very first and most well-known program is Certified Angus Beef. 

Next time you're in the grocery store, look at the labels. Chances are you can see the Angus influence on the shelves.