From 14% to Nearly 40%: The Angus Quality Climb

In 2006, about 14 percent of Angus-influenced cattle met the specifications for the Certified Angus Beef brand. Today the figure is nearly 40 percent. That is the comparison the American Angus Association makes in an Angus Journal article about the brand, which says the share rose "from 14% in 2006 to nearly 40% today." For anyone who raises, feeds or buys Angus beef, that is one of the more striking changes in the industry. It also invites a fair question: what actually changed?

No single factor explains it, and the exact weight of each cause is hard to pin down. What follows is a plain explanation of the main drivers, with the caution that specs, reporting methods and market conditions have changed along the way. The American Angus Association and Certified Angus Beef are independent organizations, and this site is not affiliated with either. If you need to find producers, processors or services near you, agriculture.directory can help.

Start with what is being measured

The brand's pass rate counts cattle that meet all ten carcass specifications. Marbling is the largest barrier. A trade report on the 2020 carcass data said more than 90 percent of eligible black-hided cattle had fallen short on marbling until recently, and that the share dropped to near 80 percent in 2020, in a Drovers article. So the climb is largely a story of marbling improvement, supported by cattle that stay within the size limits.

Driver one: genetic selection

Producers have more tools now than they did in 2006. Expected progeny differences for marbling and other carcass traits are widely used. Genomic testing, which combines DNA information with pedigree and performance data, has made it possible to evaluate young animals earlier and with more accuracy. Seedstock producers have responded to buyer demand for carcass merit, and many sale catalogs now report marbling and ribeye EPDs prominently. Farm.fm's page on Angus genetics for quality and profitability explains the basic logic of selection. Our own guide to genomic testing in Angus covers when testing pays.

Genetic change is slow because a generation takes years. That is why a climb that spans nearly two decades is plausible. Each round of sire selection shifts the average a little.

Driver two: pricing signals

Grids and brand premiums tell producers what the market values. When marbling is rewarded, and when carcass data comes back to the rancher, selection changes. The change is especially strong where cattle are sold on a grid or retained through the feedyard so that the producer sees the results. Where producers never see the data, the signal is weaker.

Driver three: feeding and management

Genetics sets the ceiling, and management decides how near the cattle get. Better health programs, nutrition in the feedyard, and attention to stress all keep cattle on feed and gaining. Industry-wide, there is also much more awareness of handling issues that cause dark cutters and bruising. For the producer's side of this, see farm.fm's page on feeding programs for Angus herds.

Driver four: the specs themselves

A fair reading also has to include the rules. The brand updated its fat thickness wording in 2020 and, per trade reports, raised the hot carcass weight limit from 1,050 to 1,100 pounds in October 2022. Those are changes to the target, not just to the cattle. A Drovers piece on the 2020 changes describes the fat wording shift and an allowance for larger ribeyes in certain non-rib and non-loin primals at approved plants. It would be wrong to credit the whole climb to cattle improving, and equally wrong to dismiss it as rule changes. Both play a part.

What did not change

The brand still requires only that carcasses meet its checklist. It sets no specific Angus percentage, though sampling reported in the Angus Journal found the average certified carcass approaches 75 percent Angus genetics. Being black-hided is not enough, since cattle must still pass all ten specs.

What it means for you

• If you buy beef: The brand label reflects a more selective pass today than it did in 2006, but it is still a program with specific specs, not a guarantee of any particular steak.
• If you raise cattle: Averages hide wide differences between herds. Your own carcass data is the number that matters.
• If you are choosing bulls: Use marbling alongside growth, fertility and calving ease. A balanced selection index keeps one trait from running away.

For help reading your own results, see our guide on how to read a carcass data sheet.

The bottom line

The move from 14 percent to nearly 40 percent reflects years of genetic selection, better information, and refinements to how cattle are fed and handled, along with some changes to the specs. It is real progress, but it is not finished, and it is not uniform across herds. Check the current numbers and rules at certifiedangusbeef.com.