A mentor reminds me often: just because we did it this way last time, doesn’t mean we have to do it that way again. It was something I told myself, my family and my employees often over the last 18 months.

Balancing progress and tradition amid a quickly changing environment isn’t easy. Being open to new ways of operating your business can be intimidating. But having a support system along the way makes it a little easier.

Angus is more than a breed of cattle or a black hide. It’s a family. A network of individuals striving for quality, integrity and improvement. Whether we are creating or carrying on a legacy, we are raising our families and our cattle on the land we love.

As farmers and ranchers, we love to see the fruits of our labor. To see that calf crop weaned off the cow, proving our genetic decisions worked. To see that field of corn planted and harvested, witnessing how much effect we had on the production of that seed and what the yield was.

We’re tasked every day with the job of feeding a growing population on shrinking acreage in an occupation that the world doesn’t understand like they used to. The number of farms and ranches in the country is small when you stop and realize the influence we have on feeding the world.

At the end of the day, raising the best beef for folks like you is rewarding. But I’ve come to realize: the same way we’ve done things all our life is changing fast.

We have to be more prepared, more adaptable and more willing to embrace change and do what we have to do to serve that consumer in any way possible. We are working to make cattle practical and sustainable, to continue to improve carcass yield, carcass merit and a high-quality product so that we can continue to hold our place in the market.

I hope you feel our commitment and ownership of the brand every time you sell or serve the Certified Angus Beef ® brand.

Owning a restaurant and managing a cattle operation simultaneously yields endless hours of work. Yet, much like you, I love what I do. I love the land, the cattle, and entertaining friends and family gathered around good food.

Thank you for continuing to trust families like mine to raise the beef you put on your family’s plate.

–  Jonathan Perry, Deer Valley Farm & The Hickory House Restaurant,  2021 Chairman of the Certified Angus Beef Board of Directors

Read more stories from the 2021 Brand Update here.