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Tom Scarponcini Named American Gelbvieh Association 2026 Hall of Fame Inductee

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The American Gelbvieh Association 2026 Hall of Fame Inductee is Tom Scarponcini.

LINCOLN, Neb. — Each year, the American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) recognizes a dedicated member who has been an influential figure in the Gelbvieh breed. The 2026 AGA Hall of Fame inductee is Tom Scarponcini of Rushford, Minnesota. Scarponcini was presented with his award at the 55th Annual AGA National Convention on December 4, 2025, at the Margaritaville Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

Brandywine Farms was established in the 1980s by Scarponcini, and he joined the AGA shortly after. Based in southeastern Minnesota, Scarponcini worked a full-time job off the farm with the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn., while building and improving his farm, along with raising more than 200 head of Gelbvieh cows.

Scarponcini was a student of genetics and thrived on learning about new advances in the beef industry. He was an early adopter of genomics and how to use them with the phenotypes to make more informed breeding decisions. He began selling bulls and females private treaty, but later became a member of Seedstock Plus and began marketing his cattle through the organization’s sales.

“Tom was truly a student of the breed and a man of numbers…his knowledge of EPDs and statistics was proven year after year,” said Jason Sauer, Sauers Valley View Farms. “At Brandywine Farms, there wasn’t a Gelbvieh female that was bred without Tom understanding the phenotypical and genomic potential. He was an early adopter of DNA testing to obtain a better understanding of the genetic makeup of his herd.”

Scarponcini served as a long-time member of the AGA breed improvement committee. He was skilled at listening to both sides of a discussion and asking the right questions to get to the best decision for where the breed needed to go. He ran for the AGA board of directors. He was not elected the first time, but he did not let that deter him. He ran a second time and was elected to the board. He served six years on the AGA board of directors, including two years as secretary of the board.

“Tom Scarponcini was quite simply a man who preferred to work behind the scenes and have the needed conversations. He supported the Gelbvieh breed in Minnesota and helped with state events when he could. Sometimes that meant more financial support than in-person work, but he was a faithful promoter of the breed. Tom believed in the Gelbvieh breed and its mission. He did his part to produce cattle that improved the breed and its future,” said Lori Maude, CJ&L Livestock.

Scarponcini was a steward of the land. He put in countless miles of cross fencing and waterlines to better manage his rolling hill pastures. This allowed for rotational grazing of the pastures to match the nutritional needs of the cowherd. He poured a large concrete pad for feeding his cattle to counter the Minnesota mud that came each spring. He adjusted his calving season to move away from the cold and mud because of his off-farm job and having minimal part-time help on the farm.

“Without a doubt, I know Tom would still be active in the Gelbvieh breed if it were physically possible for him to perform at the level of perfection that he strives for. He is truly one of the best men I know,” said Sauer.

Congratulations to Tom Scarponcini on being named the 2026 AGA Hall of Fame Inductee!

The American Gelbvieh Association is a progressive beef cattle breed association representing 1,100 members and approximately 40,000 cows assessed annually in a performance-oriented total herd reporting system. 

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American Gelbvieh Association Welcomes Academic Year Interns

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LINCOLN, Neb. – The American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) is excited to welcome two academic year interns: Kirsten Heselmeyer, AGA communications intern, and Gentry Warner, AGA visual content intern.

“It is truly an honor to get the opportunity to work with such accomplished young ladies as they use their talents to expand the Gelbvieh and Balancer® message to the greater beef industry. Their skillsets are incredible and will truly advance the communication efforts of the AGA,” said Megan Underwood, AGA communications coordinator.

Kirsten Heselmeyer – AGA Communications Intern

Heselmeyer will assist the AGA communications department through video creation, writing editorial content for Gelbvieh World and The Profit Picture, and member communication efforts.

Heselmeyer is from Taylor, Texas, where she grew up showing cattle and judging livestock. She is currently a senior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, majoring in Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications with a minor in Animal Science, where she is also a member of the livestock judging team.

“I have always been passionate about serving cattle producers, and I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to do that through my work with the AGA,” said Heselmeyer. “The staff at the AGA is truly world-class. Their support of my growth has been such a blessing, and I deeply admire the way they serve members while constantly striving to provide the best experiences and resources possible.”

Gentry Warner – AGA Visual Content Intern

Warner will be expanding the photo library for the AGA communications department throughout the year for images to be used in Gelbvieh World, The Profit Picture, national advertising, and digital communications.

Warner was raised on a Gelbvieh and Balancer ranch in southwestern Nebraska. She is a junior at Kansas State University studying Agricultural Communications and Journalism. Additionally, she currently serves as the American Gelbvieh Junior Association (AGJA) President.

“I am very honored to have the opportunity to be the AGA visual content intern this year. Photography is something I am very passionate about, so being able to capture media for an industry and breed I care so much about is truly exciting. I look forward to the next year with the AGA team,” said Warner.

Heselmeyer and Warner both began their internships at the beginning of the academic year and will continue through the end of their spring semesters.

The American Gelbvieh Association is a progressive beef cattle breed association representing 1,100 members and approximately 40,000 cows assessed annually in a performance-oriented total herd reporting system. 

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American Gelbvieh Association Releases New Economic Selection Indexes and EPDs

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LINCOLN, Neb. – The American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) has released three new economic selection indexes and four new EPDs that are now available to all AGA members and stakeholders.

“AGA is excited to introduce these new selection indexes to commercial cattlemen. They combine relevant traits and applicable pricing information to create tools that will assist producers in finding animals that best fit their ranch profitability model. The new EPDs bolster AGA’s impressive suite of traits that can be implemented by both AGA members and commercial producers using Gelbvieh and Balancer® genetics,” said Harold Bertz, AGA executive director.

Economic Selection Indexes

The new indexes are designed around three common production/marketing scenarios as described below. All three indexes are based on a breeding system where Gelbvieh bulls are mated to Angus-based cows and include selection criteria (EPDs) for economically relevant or key indicator traits. Summary statistics and percentile ranks will be reported through the DigitalBeef portal. Each index has been carefully designed and reviewed, and is described below with its selection criteria. Commercial producers should utilize the selection index whose production scenario most closely matches their production system.

Maternal Profit Index (MPI): In this production scenario, Gelbvieh bulls are mated to Angus-based cows with surplus calves marketed at weaning, with replacement heifers retained from the calf crop. EPDs weighted in this index are Calving Ease Direct (CED) and Maternal (CEM), Weaning Weight (WW), Milk, Mature Weight (MW), Dry Matter Intake (DMI), Stayability (STAY), and Heifer Pregnancy (HP). Mature weight is the primary driver and represents the significant cost of maintenance energy requirement in the cow-calf sector. Weaning Weight and Milk (expressed in pounds of calf weaning weight) represent the principal revenue stream. Stayability helps account for differences in replacement costs in the system and the effect of heifer retention on revenue streams. This index should be used by commercial cattlemen whose production scenario includes the traditional marketing of calves at weaning and replacement retention from the herd.

Feeder Profit Index™ (FPI™): Envisioned as a completely terminal index, FPI assumes all calves are marketed as finished beef carcasses priced on a value-based grid. Thus, it shouldn’t be used in production scenarios where replacements are kept from these matings. The new FPI formulation more precisely weights economically relevant traits available for selection, including the key carcass traits of Carcass Weight (CW), Ribeye Area (REA), and Dry Matter Intake (DMI) that were not included in the original formulation. The new FPI also weights Fat Thickness (FAT), post-weaning Average Daily Gain (ADG), and Calving Ease Direct (CED). Carcass value determined by carcass weight, quality, and yield grade influencing traits accounts for approximately 75% of the index as principal revenue drivers. Dry Matter Intake captures differences in expected costs to the terminal carcass endpoint.

Total Profit Index (TPI): Combining replacement female retention from the herd with carcass endpoint for marketed surplus heifers and all steers, TPI balances both maternal and terminal selection criteria. Because of the challenges faced by commercial cattlemen by the antagonisms in selection for this production scenario, TPI includes the largest and most diverse set of EPDs in the model, including carcass traits as the primary revenue drivers with cow Mature Weight (MW), Stayability (STAY), and Dry Matter Intake (DMI) as cost drivers.

Implementation of the new Gelbvieh indexes into sire selection decisions is simple and straightforward. Each index is reported in dollars and represents the differences of sires’ progeny values when produced under each of the specific scenarios. The index values reported are on a per conceived calf basis. It is expected that users of the indexes generally conform to the respective production circumstances.

The new Gelbvieh-specific selection indexes present an unprecedented opportunity for breeders and commercial cattlemen to select the right bulls for improved profit potential. These tools provide a simple, efficient, and impactful multiple trait selection strategy for producers in each of the common production scenarios.

New EPDs

Mature Weight (MWT): Body weight of cows adjusted to six years of age at body condition score 5. MWT is reported in pounds and is computed from a genetic model that leverages information from weaning weight, post-weaning gain, and mature weights of cows. Reported weights are adjusted for both age at observation and for body condition. Body weights of cows 2 to 12 years of age are utilized in the evaluation, so producers can report data at any age for the evaluation. Preferably, cows should be evaluated at or shortly following weaning, as that’s a convenient time for many producers to process cows. Weights collected at other times in the production cycle are acceptable. Producers should measure full contemporary groups on the same day as the observation date, which helps form the contemporary group.

Cow Energy Requirement-Yearly (CERY): Mature body weight, lactation potential, and birth weight are primary predictors of energy requirements. Mature Weight, Milk, and Birth Weight EPD are utilized to inform prediction equations from beef cow nutrition research to estimate differences in energy requirement over a production year. The CERY EPD is reported in pounds of Total Digestible Nutrients (TDN) required for an age 6 cow.

Dry Matter Intake (DMI): the genetic difference in pounds of expected average daily dry matter intake of progeny.

$GAIN: reports the difference in expected marginal value of gain, less the cost of feed to achieve that gain. Reported in dollars of marginal profit, with more positive values representing increased efficiency and profit.

All AGA members and commercial cattlemen are invited to attend a webinar hosted by Dr. Bob Weaber, AGA genetics consultant, on September 23, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. CST. The webinar will provide more information about each index and EPD, as well as guidance on how to utilize them in various production scenarios. Register for the webinar today at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/HzC4BuLCQ-q6siX5zA0Dig

The American Gelbvieh Association is a progressive beef cattle breed association representing 1,100 members and approximately 40,000 cows assessed annually in a performance-oriented total herd reporting system. 

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