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Four Corner Farms in Fort Deposit has joined the membership of the American Angus Association.

The four-generation Calhoun community farm is owned and operated by Maurlan Dickerson, who began focusing on raising registered Angus, Simmental, and SimAngus cattle in 2021.

“That farm has been in my family for four generations,” Dickerson said. “My great grandfather purchased that property. He and my grandfather raised commercial cows and calves, and now I raise registered Angus, Simmental, and SimAngus cattle. We are striving to produce value-added, high-performance cattle that serve the everyday cattlemen of Alabama.”

Dickerson joined the American Angus Association in an effort to become more involved in the industry after he was nominated for the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program in 2022.

“Through that program, I’ve been kind of mentored to take more involvement in our industry,” Dickerson said. “Like any other area of politics, we can complain about rules and regulations in place, but if we don’t have involvement we really can’t complain. I joined the association to have a larger footprint in the industry.”

According to Mark McCully, CEO of the national breed organization headquartered in Saint Joseph, Missouri the association, with more than 22,000 active adult and junior members, is the largest beef breed association in the world. Its computerized records include detailed information on over 20 million registered Angus.

Frank Turner and Sons Farms, located in Hayneville, is also a member of the association. The multi-generational farm based out of Mobile, includes several hundred acres in Lucedale, Mississippi and several thousand acres in Lowndes County and hosts an annual bull sale in Hayneville each November.

“The Association records ancestral information and keeps production records and genomic data on individual animals to develop industry-leading selection tools for its members” said Holly Martin, the association’s director of communications. “The programs and services of the Association and its entities — Angus Genetics Inc., Angus Media, Certified Angus Beef LLC and the Angus Foundation — help members advance the beef cattle business by selecting the best animals for their herds and marketing quality genetics for the beef cattle industry and quality beef for consumers.” 

The American Angus Association is the nation’s largest beef breed organization, Martin said, and serves more than 22,000 members across the U.S., Canada, and several other countries. “It’s home to an extensive breed registry that grows by more than 300,000 animals each year,” Martin said. “The Association also provides programs and services to farmers, ranchers and others who rely on Angus to produce quality genetics for the beef industry and quality beef for consumers.’

For more information about Angus cattle and the American Angus Association, visit www.angus.org.