The Aberdeen Angus Breed has a tradition in Canada going back over 130 years. Today all Angus registration papers are processed through the Canadian Angus Association office in Calgary, Alberta. All animals registered in the Canadian Angus Association Herd Book are 100 per cent purebred.
The Canadian Angus Association registers both Red and Black Angus. Both colours offer the same traits, but Canadian registration papers easily indicate the colour of the animal.
Angus can be found throughout all provinces and territories in Canada, meaning access to cattle is excellent. Strong commercial demand ensures the basic traits of mothering, muscling and marbling are kept in the forefront. Along with the polled factor, natural to Angus, these traits have often been imitated but never duplicated by other breeds.
Canadian Angus has seen dramatic growth in the past few years, and international interest in our genetics continues to grow. Canadian Angus have been exported with great success to all five continents and are generally regarded to be of superior quality in global genetic circles.
Why Angus?
· Calving ease and vigorous, live calves
Even in Canada's sometimes `harsh calving season, the Angus cow consistently delivers a calf that hits the ground running, with little assistance required.
The Angus mothering instinct is very strong, as is the calf's instinct to get up and suck within the first few moments after birth.
· Superb mothers with superior milking ability
The Angus cow is renowned for her maternal traits, calving ease and ability to milk producing a calf each year that more than exceeds half her body weight
An Angus mother puts her all into her calf, producing an abundance of milk right up to weaning.
· Early maturity, fertility and stayability
The Angus cow does her job well, whether it's her first or her fourteenth calf. Stayability (a cow's continuing ability to bear calves) is more than just a word with Angus it's not unusual for 12- and 13-year-old Angus cows to be productive.
· Naturally polled
No dehorning is required with Angus cattle as they carry a highly heritable, natural polled gene.
Horns can cause bruising and tearing and good animal care is another reason to choose Angus.
· No cancer eye or sunburned udders
The dark skin and udders of red and black Angus cattle mean that sunburned udders are rarely a problem. Similarly, cancer eye is not prevalent in Angus cattle.
· Adaptable to all weather conditions
With winters that can reach -30 degrees Celsius and summers that can reach +30 degrees Celsius, Canada's climate can be harsh. Yet Angus thrive under all conditions with a minimum of maintenance and in all regions of Canada.
· Superior feed conversion
A recent study of crossbred cow types demonstrated that Angus-cross were among the most efficient, providing higher net returns on investment.
· Natural marbling for tasty, tender beef
The market is calling for carcasses with more marbling in order to satisfy consumer demand. The heritability of marbling is moderately high. The correlation between marbling and tenderness is also moderately high so when cattle producers select for marbling, tenderness improves. Using Angus cattle with their superior marbling ability opens the door to improved beef tenderness and increased consumer acceptance of beef.
· Preferred carcass size and quality
Research demonstrates that Angus sires can be selected to produce progeny that have an increased ability to grade AAA without compromising feed efficiency or animal growth and without increasing yield grade at the expense of carcass quality.
