Alan Mead — 2025 Angus Board Candidate

Alan Mead, Barnett, Mo., is seeking a second term on the American Angus Association Board of Directors.

The elected delegates will choose five directors; a president and chairman of the Board; and a vice president and vice chairman of the Board during the Association’s 142nd Annual Convention of Delegates, which will convene at 10 a.m. Central Standard Time (CST) Sunday, Nov. 2 in Kansas City, Mo.

Visit AngusJournal.net to learn more about each candidate.

To register for Angus Convention, visit AngusConvention.com.

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Transcript

Miranda Reiman (00:01):

The Angus breed's long history in the United States is full of evidence of strong leadership. There are 10 candidates running for five open spots on the American Angus Association Board of Directors. I'm Miranda Reiman with the Angus Journal team and I'm introducing you to each of them before November's annual meeting, I'm here today with Alan Mead from Barnett, Missouri. Thanks for joining me today, Alan.

Alan Mead (00:27):

Yep, thank you. How are you doing today?

Miranda Reiman (00:29):

I'm doing great. Why don't you start out by telling me just a little bit about yourself, your history with the breed and your current involvement.

Alan Mead (00:36):

Okay, so I've been involved in the Angus breed my whole life. I'm a third generation Angus breeder. We've had Angus cattle since 1943. I grew up in 4-H and showed cattle and worked on the farm and went away to school. And when I came back to the farm, I rented some ground and started out with 20 cows that I had kind of developed over the years in 4-H and kind of went from there. So currently we've grown since that time. We've grown to about 1,500 registered cows and we're unusual in the fact we actually have four breeds, have Angus, Red Angus, Hereford, and Charolais, which I think gives me a little different insight on a few things. We currently have three sales a year. We market close to 700 bulls a year. We consider ourself kind of a family operation. I've got two daughters that are actively involved.

(01:56):

My oldest daughter currently has just graduated from nursing school though and trying to pursue a master's there. And so she's currently working in Columbia and the cardiac ICU, and my youngest daughter just graduated from high school and she's starting at University of Missouri in Columbia, pursuing a career in animal science and possibly going on to vet school. So they're very involved in the farm and enjoy the cattle. So I guess our basic philosophy here is we had the privilege of being the second largest Pathfinder herd in the nation last year, and that somewhat goes along with the philosophy here. We are very maternal, even though we sell several bulls, we really pay attention to some of the other traits, fertility, feet, udder structure and the performance of the cattle. And we still want those cattle to meet or exceed CAB requirements. We have an AI and embryo transplant program. We try to stay progressive. We really focus on the commercial cattlemen. That's kind of what drives us here is trying to provide cattle that go out there and are profitable for the commercial sector. So I guess that's kind of a nutshell over the last 50 years. So yeah,

Miranda Reiman (03:45):

With that vantage in the industry, what do you think are some of the breed and the Association's biggest strengths that we can build upon?

Alan Mead (03:53):

Well, our strengths, I mean the Angus breed currently dominates in the commercial sector. We've got a strong bull market, we've got a strong feeder calf market. There's a high percentage of Angus cattle in the commercial sector. And I feel this has been possible with the foresight of previous boards and previous administrative staff there at the American Angus Association. Something I feel is part of that strength. I'm living proof. I started with 20 cows and I've grown that and I could have never done that without the tools that the American Angus has provided me as a member to do that. And so I think the Association has done a really good job of making available all those tools for members to be profitable and grow and also to have the foresight of Certified Angus Beef and how much high demand that is. And I'm very optimistic about our breed, but in the same sense, I feel like we are a breed leader, but we also need to stay progressive. We need to continually work and try to make our cattle better with various programs and research and continue to provide different tools for members to provide cattle to commercial guy to make them successful and profitable. We need to continue to hone up on things like functional longevity and PAP and bovine congestive heart failure, fertility and health issues through the research and genomics. And we just need to continue this progress and need to have all these tools necessary to make sure our members are profitable and stay on the forefront.

Miranda Reiman (06:04):

As you look to that future, and maybe zooming out from just the Angus breed, but what do you think are some of the biggest changes you see facing the beef industry in the next five to 10 years?

Alan Mead (06:16):

Well, in the beef industry, I think, boy, that's a hard one. I think again, we have to provide a product that is at the forefront for the consumers and continue to be efficient in the way we provide that and do a better job of, again, competing in the whole beef industry. There's competition out there and we need to stay progressive and not just stand still and just assume that we're the breed leader and all the other breeds are not doing a whole lot. We just need to stay progressive so that we need to continue to provide that product that the consumer demands.

Miranda Reiman (07:19):

You've already answered this in your last answers, but I'm going to ask the question anyway. What do you feel the Association needs to be doing today to position our breed and our members for success as they face those changes in the future?

Alan Mead (07:34):

Yeah, I kind of answered that earlier, but I think we continually need to, with AGI, we need to continue to do research. We need to evaluate that research. I mean, just because we do the research doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to do something with it, but I think not doing research in itself is probably not good. And so I think we need to stay progressive there. And again, I think we've got a big diversity among our membership and I think that's a challenge. And it's also a good thing we have the diversity within the breed and the membership, but it's also a challenge. But I think we continue to make tools available to them that they can use to move their programs forward.

Miranda Reiman (08:33):

Absolutely. And now that we've kind of focused on the industry a little bit, we'll turn back to you. Why are you running for the Board and what do you hope to contribute?

Alan Mead (08:42):

Well, the reason, I mean, I've been involved in the Angus breed my whole life. It's been my passion and I'm at a stage my life where I feel like I need to give back a little bit. I don't want to seem like I'm the smartest person in the room. I feel like I'm a good listener. I think that's really important. I'm available to the membership. Anytime a member wants to talk, I'm here, I want to talk to 'em. I want to listen to their concerns and questions. I want to represent the membership and I want to move our breed forward. I want to make the breed better. The junior program is very important to me. It was important to me when I grew up. It's been very instrumental in my daughters going through the junior program. And so I think it's really important. I think we've got a great junior program, but we need to continue that for the next generation.

Miranda Reiman (09:54):

Well, as you know, being on a board takes time and effort, and so we appreciate you putting your name on the list. Is there anything else that you'd like people to know before November's annual meeting?

Alan Mead (10:06):

The only thing I would like to say is if, and I've already said it, but if the membership has questions or concerns, please reach out. I'm always available. I enjoy talking to people, so I just want to make sure they know that. Yeah,

Miranda Reiman (10:24):

Absolutely. Well, thanks for taking the time to visit with us and we'll look forward to people getting to know you better in Kansas City.

Alan Mead (10:32):

Alright, thank you.

Miranda Reiman (10:33):

Thank you. Elections will take place at the 142nd annual Convention of Delegates during the annual meeting on Sunday, November 2nd in Kansas City, Missouri. Not registered? There's still time. Visit angusconvention.com to learn more. To read full biographies and for the latest news and stories from the breed, visit angusjournal.net. And while you're there, subscribe to the monthly Angus Journal magazine. You'll get ongoing Angus convention coverage and the latest news, Association updates, stories of fellow breeders and more. Visit angusjournal.net to subscribe today.