Cows, sires and members recognized for outstanding performance.

Since the Pathfinder® program started in 1978, Angus females who excel based on their Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR®) have been recognized.

“The program places emphasis on early puberty, breeding and early calving, while maintaining a regular calving interval and above-average performing calves,” says Esther McCabe, director of performance programs at the American Angus Association. “It pays tribute to those females that are able to not only breed early and calve in a regular interval, but to do so while raising above-average performing calves and recognizes the bulls that sired females meeting these standards.”

Animals that qualify as Pathfinders are denoted with a permanent fixture, a pound sign (#) in front of their registration number. The denotation will never be removed. In addition to pinpointing specific animals, the Pathfinder program also recognizes breeders and herds that participate in the AHIR program.

The 2022 Pathfinder counts are as follows:

Pathfinder cows: 7,636 (LY: 8,164)

Pathfinder sires: 266 (LY: 264)

Total members with Pathfinder cows: 1,644 (LY: 1,794)

Eligible dams with weaning weights examined to determine status: 2,741,619 (LY: 2,672,645) with 9,206,143 (LY: 8,965,106)

To view the 2022 Pathfinder report or to learn more, visit https://www.angus.org/performance/PathFinderInformation.