Gelbvieh World: American Gelbvieh Association History, Content and Staff
Profile updated November 2026
Gelbvieh World is the official publication of the American Gelbvieh Association (AGA), which was formed in 1971, the same year the first Gelbvieh semen reached America from Germany. The magazine serves breeders of Gelbvieh and Balancer cattle with breed news, genetics, sale coverage and management features, and it once won a national award as the most improved livestock publication.
| Publisher | American Gelbvieh Association |
|---|---|
| Association founded | 1971 |
| Headquarters | 1001 S. 70th Street, Suite 215, Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Membership | About 1,000 members; registry of more than 1 million animals |
| Editor | Megan Underwood, Communications Coordinator, since May 2025 |
| Sister title | The Profit Picture, for commercial producers |
| Official website | Gelbvieh.org |
History of Gelbvieh World
Gelbvieh, German for yellow cattle, trace to systematic breeding in stud herds in Franconia, in Bavaria, from about 1850. Breed societies were founded in Nuremberg in 1897 and Wurzburg in 1899, and Red Danish blood was added to the herdbook in the 1960s to improve milk production.
Leness Hall of Carnation Genetics first saw Gelbvieh cattle in 1969. In 1971 about 43,000 units of Gelbvieh semen were imported to the United States, and the American Gelbvieh Association was formed the same year to record the resulting cattle. The registry now holds more than 1 million animals, with roughly 45,000 active Gelbvieh, Balancer and Gelbvieh-influenced cows.
The association later trademarked Balancer, its name for cattle bred from Gelbvieh and Angus or Red Angus that carry between 25 and 75 percent Gelbvieh. That hybrid program shapes much of what Gelbvieh World covers, since many members sell Balancer bulls to commercial ranches.
Gelbvieh World Today
Gelbvieh World continues as the AGA's member magazine, with digital editions posted online alongside the print issues. In May 2025 the association brought back Megan Underwood as communications coordinator and editor of both Gelbvieh World and The Profit Picture, its commercial-cattle publication. During her earlier AGA tenure, Underwood led the Gelbvieh World editorial work that earned the Livestock Publications Council's James Flanagan Award for most improved publication.
Underwood, who also worked for the American Hereford Association, wrote her Kansas State University master's thesis on how beef producers use breed association magazines. She lives on her family's Hereford seedstock and row crop operation in Campbellsville, Kentucky, and also helps lead the AGA's national advertising campaign.
What Gelbvieh World Is Publishing Now
Genetics and Balancer
EPD and genetic evaluation updates, Balancer marketing and crossbreeding results for commercial herds.
Breeder news and sales
Sale reports, herd profiles, show results and advertising from Gelbvieh and Balancer seedstock producers.
Association and youth
AGA board and staff news, junior association activities and national convention coverage.
Gelbvieh World Editors and Staff
American Gelbvieh Association announcements name:
- Megan Underwood - Editor, Gelbvieh World and The Profit Picture; Communications Coordinator
- Harold Bertz - Executive Director, American Gelbvieh Association
The association lists meganu@gelbvieh.org for the editor; its office phone is 303-465-2333.
Who Reads Gelbvieh World
Readers are AGA members, Balancer and Gelbvieh seedstock breeders, junior members and commercial cattlemen who use Gelbvieh genetics in crossbreeding. Beef cattle are the largest segment of U.S. livestock receipts, about 37 percent in 2021 according to USDA's Economic Research Service, and Nebraska, the AGA's home state, is one of the country's leading cattle states.
Gelbvieh breeders are used to explaining that their yellow cattle are often black these days, thanks to Balancer. For a lighter take on cattle-country life, farm.FM offers farm satire and farm humor in a deadpan rural voice, with ranch humor for anyone who has explained a hybrid program at the sale barn coffee counter. Its farm jokes are 100 percent purebred nonsense.
If the name is new to you, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site, with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers on the side. One of its regular writers keeps a whole archive of stories like that.
Gelbvieh World Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- American Gelbvieh Association: History - breed origins and the 1971 founding.
- AGA: Underwood returns - the 2025 editor appointment.
- BEEF: Underwood returns to the AGA - industry coverage of the appointment.
- USDA ERS: Animal product receipts - cattle as the largest livestock sector.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - cattle inventory data by state.
Gelbvieh World FAQ
Who publishes Gelbvieh World?
The American Gelbvieh Association, based in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Who edits Gelbvieh World?
Megan Underwood, the AGA's communications coordinator since May 2025.
When did Gelbvieh come to America?
Gelbvieh semen was first imported in 1971, the year the AGA was formed.
What is a Balancer?
An AGA-registered hybrid of Gelbvieh and Angus or Red Angus that is 25 to 75 percent Gelbvieh.
From Franconian stud herds to Balancer bulls on Plains ranches, Gelbvieh World tells the breed's American story to the people who raise it.