What are American breeds? They are bos indicus breeds of beef cattle, developed in the United States, that carry some amount of Brahman inheritance. Recognizing a need for a unified coalition to represent those who produce and market these cattle, the American Breeds Coalition (ABC) was formed.

The American Breeds Coalition held its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, February 8, 2011 in the Committeemen’s Room of the San Antonio Livestock Exposition.  The following were in attendance: Dr. Charles Graham, Ervin Kaatz, Chris Shivers, Dr. Tommy Perkins, Collin Osbourn, Jim Monaghan, Rodney Roberson , Scott Moore, John Ford, Tony Hinojosa, Wendell Schronk, E.C. Larkin and Beth Mercer.

Dr. Charles Graham called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM.  He started the meeting by thanking everyone for attending and discussed the success the ABC had experienced and congratulated the group on this success.

The next item was to review the minutes of the previous Annual Meeting.  Jim Monaghan made the motion to approve the minutes as distributed and this motion was seconded by Rodney Roberson.  The motion was passed unanimously.

Dr. Tommy Perkins then presented the financial statement.  He reported that the organization is financially sound.  It was reported that the dues were off slightly this year as compared to the past year but a follow up statement will be sent to those who have not paid as a reminder.  E.C. Larkin made the motion to approve the financial report and Jim Monaghan seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

E.C. Larkin then gave the Nominating Committee Report.  He reported that the committee had met and recommended the following to serve ABC as officers for the coming year:
President: Dr. Charles Graham
Vice President: Jim Monaghan
Secretary: Chris Shivers
Treasurer: Dr. Tommy Perkins 

It was also noted that each member breed would have two board seats (the Executive Officer + 1 other designated representative).   Rodney Roberson made a motion to accept the recommendations of the Nominating Committee. Ervin Kaatz seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.

The upcoming activities for 2011 were discussed.  Jim Monaghan volunteered to take the ABC booth down in the SALE International Room and he would bring it to the TSCRA Convention in San Antonio in April. 

Dr. Graham then discussed the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course with the group.  He said that the ABC had a great relationship with Texas A&M University and encouraged everyone to attend the Beef Cattle Short Course Planning Session in April in San Antonio.  The state of the TAMU Animal Science Department was discussed and it was agreed that everyone was satisfied with the direction of the department and the relationships that had been formed.   A discussion then followed regarding the other Brahman derivative breeds that might be interested in joining ABC.  Dr. Graham asked E.C. Larkin to assemble a letter to be sent to these organizations making them aware of what the organization does and inviting them to join.  The group then discussed its involvement with the TAMU Beef Cattle Short Course.  Rodney Roberson motioned to continue the $2,000 sponsorship and with this the ABC would receive a complimentary booth space.  John Ford seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. 

Chris Shivers then informed the group that the 2012 BIF Conference would be held in Houston, Texas, April 17-20.  It was agreed that the ABC needed to play a part in this event.  Dr. Graham asked John Ford, Chris Shivers and Scott Moore to work on something so ABC could be involved.  The floor was then opened for the discussion of ABC participating in any other activities.  The San Antonio Farm & Ranch Show was discussed.  Monaghan made the motion that ABC not participate in 2011.  Chris Shivers seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously.

Rodney Roberson suggested to the group that they might look into participating in the Sun Belt Ag Expo in Georgia.  Dr. Graham asked Roberson to assemble the information and bring it to the College Station meeting in August so the group could look at the feasibility of participating in the future.

Dr. Tommy Perkins made three announcements to the group.  He reported that MMI Genomics is going to Bankruptcy Court.  He suggested that anyone who has DNA samples with them might want to work on getting their records.  He then notified the group that BBU is no longer processing their work with ABRA.  He assured the group that they left with the agreement that with them pulling out that this would not affect the other four breeds still involved.  He then challenged the group to promote ABC and recruit association members to join.

Beth Mercer updated the group on a few of the things that Simbrah was working on. 

John Ford then gave an update on an issue of the Alabama Department of Agriculture singling out Brahman influenced cattle in their market report.  He asked that ABC write a letter to Mrs. Betty Kelso-Clough thanking her for addressing this issue in Alabama.  A letter that John prepared was passed around and signed by each member present. 

Jim Monaghan then gave a report from the Texas Beef Council. 

Rodney Roberson then asked the group if there was anything ABC needed to do to work on the export market.  Dr. Graham encouraged the group to develop a plan to work with Mexico.  He then asked Tony Hinojosa to help in devising this plan and for him to report back to the group with any ideas of how ABC and the Mexican Cattlemen could work together.

With no further business E.C. Larkin motioned to adjourn the meeting.  Jim Monaghan seconded the motion which passed unanimously and the meeting stood adjourned at 11:30.