Posted September 26, 2025
DENVER – Annette Steffan of Belfield, North Dakota, was recognized as the Red Angus Association of America’s 2025 Advocate of the Year during the 72nd Annual National Red Angus Convention in Loveland, Colorado. The award honors individuals who passionately promote the Red Angus breed to producers, industry partners and consumers.
Steffan’s connection to Red Angus began early, as her parents raised commercial Red Angus cattle. Influences from family friends such as Melvin and Luella Leland, combined with her early career as a county extension agent, deepened her involvement with the breed. In the early 90s, she and her husband, Chuck, established Heart River with her parents.
“I am very humbled to receive this award,” Steffan said. “I look at the people who have received it in the past, and I’m not sure I can even come close to walking in their shoes.”
While she values the cattle, Steffan said it is the people who have been most impactful in her journey.
“It has always amazed me how a breed of cattle can bring together such great people,” she said. “The cattle are the common denominator, but it’s the passion of the people that has advanced this breed.”
Steffan also draws inspiration from the foresight of the breed’s founders. She wrote and produced “Standing the Test of Time: 60 Years of the North Dakota Red Angus Association,” a short film that captured their vision and passion. The project, she said, reinforced her pride in the breed and the values it represents.
“Although Red Angus are Angus, the red color allows us to stand out and be innovative and progressive,” Steffan said. “This breed was developed by visionary cattlemen who knew what it took to make cattle work in many different environments, and I am proud of how far we’ve come.”
Her approach to advocacy is intentional and proactive. Steffan said she works to understand what different audiences, from cattle producers to consumers, are seeking, and then engages them in meaningful conversations about the advantages of Red Angus.
“Don’t wait for people to come to you,” she said. “Be proactive, find out what drives them, and then have those conversations. When people feel they have a stake in the discussion, that’s when progress is made.”
Looking forward, Steffan plans to highlight Junior Red Angus members in her next film while also continuing her photography and work as a brand inspector with the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association.
“I hope I can be a positive example for people,” she said. “Try new ideas, and if they don’t work, go back to the drawing board and try again. Just keep making steps forward, and respect what was, what is and what will be.”
The Red Angus Association of America serves the beef industry by enhancing and promoting the measurable advantages of Red Angus and Red Angus-influenced cattle. RAAA provides commercial producers with objectively described cattle by implementing new technologies and using scientifically sound principles that quantify traits of economic importance to beef producers in all segments of the beef industry. For more information, visit www.RedAngus.org.
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Suggested Cutline: Annette Steffan of Belfield, North Dakota, was named the 2025 Red Angus Advocate of the Year during the 72nd Annual National Red Angus Convention in Loveland, Colorado.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 26, 2025
For more information, contact:
Maclaine Shults-Mauney, RAAA editor & written content specialist
