Posted April 15, 2025
By Nate Smith, Top Dollar Angus General Manager
Recently, you may have seen that Top Dollar Angus and Legacy Beef Co-op have formed a strategic partnership to provide a unique advantage to Top Dollar Angus cattle producers by connecting genetic verification with premium marketing and feeding opportunities. The collaboration’s primary focus is best broken down into segments to better identify value points.
From the Top Dollar Angus perspective, the extension of access to the Legacy Co-op feedlot network for Top Dollar Angus customers carries the greatest added value of the partnership. The Legacy feedlot network, with a one-time capacity of nearly 500,000 head, is unique as it is composed of small to moderately sized feeders—think family-owned farms and feedlots. These producers take pride in the quality of cattle they feed and the relationships they foster within the industry.
The ability of commercial cow-calf operations to join the Legacy Beef Co-op, if they choose, gives producers access to group purchasing power equivalent to that of a 500,000-head feedyard. Members can benefit from lower input costs.
This partnership aims to drive better returns for producers while improving beef quality across the supply chain.
How does this new partnership affect Red Angus cattle and producers?
Since Top Dollar Angus is the only program that verifies both Angus and Red Angus genetics, Legacy Co-op trusts the genetic quality of animals verified by Top Dollar Angus rather than assessing value by hide color. This partnership gives Red Angus cattle with qualifying genetics a new, more direct pipeline to premium feeders that have guaranteed pricing floors—improving their market appeal.
It creates stronger market differentiation. The collaboration supports the value-added marketing of Red Angus cattle that meet Top Dollar Angus genetic benchmarks. These verified calves can now tap into Legacy’s system, giving them an edge over unverified Red Angus cattle.
It can create broader recognition of Red Angus performance. As more feedyards and buyers interact with Top Dollar-verified Red Angus calves, the breed could gain more consistent visibility, value recognition, and an emboldened reputation for quality.
Bottom Line:
This partnership strengthens the link between genetic merit and financial return. For Red Angus producers, it opens the door to more consistent premiums, wider feeder demand, and greater market influence—especially for those already committed to carcass performance-driven breeding programs.
