That is a question that we often get from our many friends and customers of our bulls and heifers. It is definitely a good question and one that we often times ponder as we study the statistics and manage our herd of Red Angus cattle.

We have looked at the beef cattle industry as a great industry. We feel proud to be part of the industry and privileged to be part of the Red Angus family. We have many friends who have shown us many kindnesses over the years and we appreciate their support. We hope to sustain and strengthen the friendship and continue to supply you with more great Red Angus bulls and females.

The future of our program is determined by the needs of the beef industry. Balanced trait selection will continue to be the mainstay of our program yet we want to enlarge our own database of information. This database includes our own personal knowledge of the beef cattle business and the information about our cows and bulls.

We hear a lot about vertical integration and the expression of the need to form alliances throughout the industry. We think this is important to make sure the cow-calf industry is represented in this process and we need to make sure the independent producer has an outlet for his beef production.

With this as a backdrop, we hope to provide our buyers with the knowledge that the bulls and females they invest in will be able to produce the kind of T-bones that today's consumers want. After all, we in the beef industry are part of the food chain and we need to be sensitive to the consuming public.

We have compiled carcass data on our animals which were sent to slaughter through the Red Angus Feeder Calf Certification program. We have also incorporated sires into our herd who are strong in carcass traits, while still carrying a balance of their overall EPDs. We feel it is important to continue that overall balance and not be swayed by any single trait selection. We are carefully monitoring the process and matching our own data with that from the Red Angus Association of America. We personally want to invite your suggestion and comments. And, better yet, if you have carcass data from progeny that has a connection to Messmer Red Angus genetics, please feel free to forward that information to us. We want the facts. We want to tell the whole story. We want to provide you with animals which will return dividend to you in your beef operation. That's where we are going. You are welcome to hop aboard and work together to keep the beef industry moving positively forward.

Tony presents the Messmer Red Angus program as Dr. Gary White and memebers of the DSU Livestock Class look on.