“For over a thousand years, polled black cattle have roamed the landscape in Scotland, yet their origin remained shrouded in mystery. Finally, curiosity and legend prompted a collaboration of three writers with vast knowledge of the livestock industry in the United Kingdom and the United States to uncover the most comprehensive history of the Aberdeen-Angus breed to date.”
So begins the Preface of “The History of Aberdeen-Angus in the U.S., UK and Worldwide,” a new 544-page “coffee table” book exploring the evolution of a cattle bred for a purpose: the efficient production of tender, juicy beef.
This fascinating volume traces the breed back to the ancient native cattle of northeast Scotland and describes the determination, gumption and grit of key individuals from generations of farmers, breeders, marketers and exhibitors who have made Angus the world’s No. 1 breed.
“Angus is a meld of the best of the native cattle of the early 19th century from the Scottish counties of Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, Kincardineshire and Angusshire,” the Introduction reads. “Some were horned and some were polled with ‘humlie’ or ‘dodded’ describing the polled strains of cattle in Old Scottish writings. However, over time, due purely to practicality, polled became the desired standard, along with a preference for all black.”
The book culminates a three-year trans-Atlantic collaboration of three cattle historians: Dr. Bob Hough, a frequent contributor to WLJ; Andy Frazier, whose work with Aberdeen-Angus spans four decades as a stockman, exhibitor, author, podcaster and commentator; and one of the most experienced Angus minds on U.S. soil—Tom Burke, who heads the American Angus Hall of Fame in Smithville, MO.
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Hough says the book resulted from a conversation with Burke. “Tom read the Shorthorn book we published in 2021 and said, ‘We have to have a history book like this for Angus.’” Hough posed the opportunity to Frazier, who quickly came on board.
While books have been written about Angus in several countries, the authors say no one had covered the breed’s rise to global domination with the depth and breadth of this book.
Burke commented, “Bob was the key driver in ensuring that the book’s scope encompassed more than Angus—the bigger picture of beef production. Anyone interested in the livestock industry and American history will enjoy reading this book,” Burke said. “It’s a definitive source of not only the history of Angus cattle but the history of the United States, of trans-Atlantic trade and the history of the global beef industry.”
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The story comes to life in rare photographs and artwork, as well as insightful sidebars of important historical figures. It’s a veritable “who’s who” of global agricultural influencers of the 1700s and 1800s, from Hugh Watson and William McCombie to such forward-thinking agriculturalists as Robert Bakewell on breeding methods, Lord Charles “Turnip” Townshend on crop rotation, and Jethro Tull on farm implements, which spurred the British agricultural revolution.
It’s a volume filled with surprising “who knew” moments in history, where Angus played a role in settling the New World and establishing the cattle industry in North America, railroads, stockyards and cattlemen associations.
Who knew that Aberdeen-Angus breeder McCombie “was the one who stayed the course with the local strains of cattle more than anyone?” posed Hough. “He went to the Paris World Fair’s livestock exhibition in 1878 and swept it! It made such an impression on people all over the world that it went a long way to putting the breed on the map.”
Who knew that department store magnate J.C. Penney and General Dwight D. Eisenhower were also cattlemen who raised Angus?
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The book details the random yet relevant, including one of history’s most lucrative land deals when Russia relinquished its claim of Alaska: “Russia was also struggling with the debt accrued during the disastrous Crimean War (1853-1856), which made subsidizing a colony in America an unattractive expenditure. In the late 1850s, Russia made multiple attempts to sell its Alaska territory to the U.S. but the uncertainty leading up to the U.S. Civil War made it an inopportune time to make such an investment … In 1867, negotiations concluded with the U.S. agreeing to pay Russia $7.2 million for the Alaska territory or approximately 2 cents an acre.” When Alaska established an Agriculture Experiment Station in the early 20th century, it was of course stocked with Aberdeen-Angus.
“The History of Aberdeen-Angus in the U.S., UK and Worldwide” is available at www.AngusHistoryBook.com. — Kathy Weiss, WLJ correspondent
