ABS Global and Premium Gold Angus Beef Sign Agreement

ABS Global and Premium Gold Angus Beef Sign Agreement

DEFOREST, WISCONSIN – May 21, 2004– The World’s leading beef genetics supplier, ABS Global, Inc., and one of North America’s largest and oldest branded beef companies, Premium Gold Angus Beef (PGA) have agreed to work together to enhance the quality and consistency of cattle used for the PGA family of branded beef products.

Under the Agreement, ABS will identify and supply proven Angus genetics to the PGA cattle supplier network. ABS will tap into its vast customer base to locate calves, feeder cattle and fed cattle that meet the PGA specifications. Finally, to complement the use of proven A.I. sires by commercial cattle suppliers to PGA, ABS will identify bulls produced by its Seedstock customers that fit the PGA genetic specifications and encourage the movement of those bulls into commercial herds supplying cattle to PGA. Dr. Darrell Wilkes, ABS Global U.S. Beef Supply Systems Manager, will lead the implementation team for ABS

“The consumer is much more savvy than they used to be and demand a more consistent eating experience said Dwight Hartley, Angus breeder and PGA founder. Our program focuses on acquiring cattle of known Angus genetics. Through our alliance with ABS we look forward to sourcing larger numbers of high quality cattle to meet our growing demand.”

“As the beef industry continues to evolve into branded beef supply chains, and genetics are recognized as the most powerful quality control tool available, ABS is anxious to help PGA create the kind of genetically predictable cattle they need to satisfy their very discriminating beef customers,” said Jady Grad, ABS Global Vice President for North American Sales.

“For us the opportunity to work with ABS means we can move toward our goal of 100% source and genotypic verification that much faster,” said Hartley. “ABS is recognized worldwide as the leader in Angus genetics. Their sire line-up has no equal.”

Doug Frank, Beef Product Manager for ABS said, “With our focus on Pasture to Plate™ Genetics ABS has been quietly preparing for this opportunity for many years. We have sought out genetics that will work for all aspects of the beef industry and be profitable for them. This agreement allows our customers to capitalize on the genetics they have and make further improvements based on the feedback they will receive from PGA. ABS is also positioning itself to better identify genetics that will improve the profitability for producers who choose to participate in a value based program. Our unique progeny test program with the Angus Sire Alliance and Circle A Angus Ranch will allow us to test our bulls for all the traditional measures and take it a step further to things such as feed conversion and tenderness. To ABS this is the next logical step for Pasture to Plate™ Genetics, identifying and implementing those genetics into a value based system that will reward the improvements.”

Headquartered in DeForest, Wisconsin, ABS Global is the world-leading provider of bovine genetics, reproduction services and technologies. Marketing in more than 70 countries around the globe, ABS has been at the forefront of animal genetics and technology since its founding in 1941. ABS Global is part of Genus Breeding, a division of Genus plc. For more information on PGA log onto www.pgabeef.com.