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Beef Industry Innovators

Certified Angus Beef: The 1978 Brand Built to Sell More Angus Cattle

A bad steak in Ohio led to a specification-based beef brand that nearly folded in its first years before it turned profitable.

What Is Certified Angus Beef?

Certified Angus Beef is a branded beef program created by the American Angus Association. Its stated mission, since the first sale, has been to increase demand for registered Angus cattle through a specification-based program: meat has to meet set standards before it can carry the brand name. The idea was to give shoppers a steady, premium eating experience and give Angus breeders a reason to keep producing the cattle that fit it.

It is a useful example of how a breed society tried to build demand in the grocery store rather than only in the show ring. The record of how that happened, from a letter to a one-vote vote, is more dramatic than most branding stories.

Harold Etling's 1975 Letter

The program traces back to 1975. According to the American Angus Association's Angus Journal, Harold Etling, an Ohio Angus breeder, was dissatisfied with a steak he ate and wrote to the Association's board of directors. He proposed a certification process that would deliver a consistent, premium Angus beef supply.

The Association took the idea forward, and the company's own newsroom keeps a page on the history of the Certified Angus Beef brand. The Angus Journal account credits Etling as the one who started it.

The First Pound Sold in 1978

About three years after Etling's letter, in 1978, the first pound of Certified Angus Beef was sold to Ella Whitt at Renzetti's IGA in Columbus, Ohio. The company later marked the anniversary in a post titled 35 Years Ago Today.

The launch did not go smoothly. Within a month of that first sale, the USDA canceled the program, and it took six months to reinstate it. A start-up brand with no sales history and a government pause in its first season was a long way from a sure thing.

Close Calls: The 1981 and 1982 Votes

The brand was not an instant success inside its own organization either. In 1981 the Association's board voted 14 to 1 to stop the program if it was not profitable within a year. The year passed, and the brand was still unprofitable.

In 1982 it survived the review by a single vote, 8 to 7. By the time the brand began covering its own expenses, the Association had invested $281,276.44. That patience is an important part of the story: the early years were funded by breeders who were willing to wait for a return.

The Key to Certified Angus Beef's Success

The brand's early record shows a few habits that other food programs can learn from. The details below come from the Angus Journal account of the first years, with context from USDA grading standards.

The record points to these concrete lessons:

  • It began with a clear problem: a breeder's complaint about inconsistent steaks, turned into a proposal for a certification process.
  • It was specification-based, so the brand promised a standard the buyer could rely on rather than a breed name alone.
  • The sponsor kept paying for the program through setbacks, investing $281,276.44 before the brand covered its own costs.
  • Leaders were willing to set a deadline, with the 1981 board vote, and then reconsider it when the case was close, as in the 8 to 7 vote.
  • The program recovered from the USDA cancellation within six months instead of walking away.
  • Its focus on marbling, which USDA grading also rewards, aligned breeders with what consumers pay for.

Why Marbling Mattered in the Grocery Case

Marbling is the fine flecking of fat inside the lean. USDA quality grading uses it directly: the U.S. Standards for Grades of Carcass Beef set minimum marbling for Prime, Choice and Select, with Prime requiring slightly abundant marbling. Grain feeding encourages it, and consumers in the postwar decades came to favor marbled beef, as the Living History Farm account of beef feedlots explains.

The Angus Journal credits the brand and Angus breeders' focus on marbling with helping turn the beef industry around, leading, in its words, to the best beef demand in nearly 40 years. That is a claim by the breed association's own publication, so read it as the industry's view of its own success.

What the Brand Did for the Angus Breed

A branded program changes the incentives for breeders. If packers and retailers pay a premium for beef that meets certain standards, then seedstock producers have a reason to breed for the traits that deliver it. The brand's stated mission is exactly that, to raise demand for registered Angus cattle.

The sources reviewed here do not give sales volumes, the full list of specifications or the names of licensed partners, so this page does not quote them. For the current numbers, go to the company's newsroom.

Learn More

The Association's own account of the brand is in the Angus Journal, and the company newsroom has anniversary posts and historical pages. For stories about cattle and the people who raise them, visit the ranching section of farm.FM, or read a farm.FM story about Angus cattle.

Timeline

  1. 1975Ohio Angus breeder Harold Etling writes to the American Angus Association board proposing a certification process.
  2. 1978The first pound of Certified Angus Beef is sold to Ella Whitt at Renzetti's IGA in Columbus, Ohio.
  3. 1978Within a month the USDA cancels the program; it is reinstated after six months.
  4. 1981The Association board votes 14 to 1 to end the program if it is not profitable within a year.
  5. 1982The brand is still unprofitable but survives the review by one vote, 8 to 7.
  6. LaterThe brand begins covering its own expenses after $281,276.44 in Association investment.

Frequently asked questions

Who started Certified Angus Beef?

The American Angus Association launched it in 1978. The idea came from Ohio Angus breeder Harold Etling, who wrote to the board in 1975 proposing a certification process for consistent premium Angus beef.

When was the first Certified Angus Beef sold?

In 1978, about three years after Etling's letter. The first pound was sold to Ella Whitt at Renzetti's IGA in Columbus, Ohio.

What is the purpose of the Certified Angus Beef brand?

Its mission is to increase demand for registered Angus cattle through a specification-based branded beef program, giving shoppers consistent quality and breeders a market for the cattle that meet it.

Did Certified Angus Beef almost fail?

Yes. The USDA canceled it within a month of the first sale, and in 1982 it survived a review by an 8 to 7 vote. The Association invested $281,276.44 before the brand paid its own way.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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