American Red
A unique blend of maternal traits, adaptability, growth and marbling – all packaged with a heat-tolerant red hide – is the new beef cross called American Red. Designed to impact producers in heat-challenged areas, American Red is a collaboration by the Red Angus Association of America and Santa Gertrudis Breeders International.
The offspring of this crossbreeding program are well suited for commercial producers who are seeking quality replacement females and steers that fit in the value-added segment of the beef industry.
American Red has been tested and proven at the King Ranch in Kingsville, Texas. Numerous other breeders in the southern U.S. have also begun using this strategic cross to combat the harsh environment with marked success.
Program Specs
To qualify for the American Red commercial cattle program and accompanying tag, steers and heifers in the same calf crop must be sired by registered Red Angus bulls averaging in the top 50% of the breed for the Profitability and Sustainability index (ProS) or registered Santa Gertrudis bulls averaging in the top 50 percentile for the SGBI Balanced Index*.
Breed percentages on qualified cattle will range from 25% to 75% Red Angus and 25% to 75% Santa Gertrudis, with a small allowance for other breeds. Most qualified cattle will be red. However, color is not an exclusionary requirement. Groups of cattle do not need to be fully red-hided to qualify.
Dams of qualifiable calves must contain at least 50% of the reciprocal breed, meaning 50% or more Santa Gertrudis when the calves are sired by Red Angus sires, or 50% or more Red Angus when calves are sired by Santa Gertrudis bulls.
*SGBI Balanced Index: This index assumes that producers are keeping replacement heifers from the bulls they purchase. It further assumes that producers are either 1) marketing carcasses on the grid; or 2) that buyers of their feeder calves base pricing on feedlot and carcass performance.
Enrollment requires a $1.25 fee for each tag. There is no minimum for enrollment.
