Facts & Figures

There are currently more than 30 "Angus" branded beef programs monitored by the USDA, but the CAB brand is the only one owned by the American Angus Association and its members.

The Association formed the CAB brand in 1978 as a not for profit company that owns only the trademarks it uses. Our company functions independently from the Association through the guidance of nine directors, which include five members of the Association board. 

Today, ten carcass specifications ensure that every carcass earning the Certified Angus Beef ^® brand offers consumers the same quality eating experience. To receive the brand cattle must first be at least 51% black-hided or AngusSource ^® enrolled and meet these criteria:

Our mission: To increase the demand for registered Angus cattle through a specification-based, branded-beef program to identify consistent, high quality beef with superior taste.

1. Modest or higher marbling
2. Medium or fine marbling texture
3. "A" maturity for each, lean and skeletal characteristics
4. 10 to 16 square inch ribeye area
5. Less than 1,000 pound hot carcass weight
6. Less than 1 inch fat thickness
7. Superior muscling (restricts dairy influence)
8. Practically free of capillary rupture
9. No dark cutters
10. No neck hump exceeding 2 inches

Since 1998, packers have paid producers more than $250 million in direct grid premiums related to CAB acceptance. Packers also have been the only source of funding for Certified Angus Beef LLC, paying only pennies per pound to use the CAB brand on carcasses meeting the specifications.

By reinvesting dollars in the program, we have been able to leverage $5/head in fees from licensed packers into more than $40/head premium that those CAB-licensed packers pay to the producers of Angus cattle accepted for the brand.

More than 14,000 licensees worldwide have sold more than a half billion pounds of the CAB brand annually since 2000. CAB is the world’s largest and most successful brand of beef.