An exciting new program to help extend and capture the value of Aberdeen-bred feeder cattle.
The American Aberdeen Association® is pleased to announce an exciting new program to help extend and capture the value of Aberdeen-bred feeder cattle—Aberdeen Premium Beef.
In partnership with IMI Global, this new age and source verification program will help seedstock and commercial cattlemen document and encourage the use of Aberdeen genetics. IMI Global will verify calves that are sired by registered Full Blood, Moderator or Aberdeen Plus bulls that have DNA samples on file with the American Aberdeen Association.
For seedstock producers, this is an opportunity to continue to expand the value and influence of American Aberdeen genetics in the commercial marketplace. American Aberdeens check all the boxes for both the large-scale rancher and small-acreage farmer—easy-calving, good natured, low maintenance, and feed efficient with excellent taste, texture and tenderness characteristics. Aberdeen cattle also attract grass-fed and feedlot buyers with their ability to quickly finish with exceptional ribeye area per hundred pounds of body weight—translating to high yielding, high quality, high value beef carcasses.
The American Aberdeen Association is excited about this new opportunity and its potential long-term impact to help it members and the breed. An application form and cost information is currently available for download. Breeders wishing to participate will need to submit DNA samples, complete registrations for bulls being marketed as sires eligible for the Aberdeen Premium Beef program.
You must first have a premise ID from your state veterinarian’s office. This is normally a free process. To find contact information for your state, visit
www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/traceability/state-pin.
You must be Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certified. You can complete this online certification in fewer than three hours at www.bqa.org/bqa-certification.
All calves entering the Aberdeen Premium Beef program must be out of a registered American Aberdeen bull or cow that is classified as a Fullblood, Moderator®, Moderator Plus® or Aberdeen Plus®, and whose DNA is on file with the AAA. If you need help finding an eligible sire or dam, visit AAA’s website, www.AmericanAberdeen.com.
Register with IMI Global and obtain electronic ID tags. There is an initial $5- per-animal charge at the onset of the process with the first $3 going to IMI Global, and the remaining $2 to be paid to AAA for general product promotion. Included in that charge is an EID tag that ties your calves to your premise ID number and stays with the individual animal throughout the process to maintain traceability. For more information about tags or to download an application form, click here. Contact information for IMI Global is provided at this link as well.
Cattle will then need to be fed out and harvested through an IMI Global-certified feeding system and processing facility to maintain source and age verification. At harvest, there is an $8 per head fee, of which AAA receives $5 and IMI Global receives $3.
