Fall Calvers: Inventory Reporting Enrollment is Now Open

Cattlemen want longevity and fertility breeding tools, but they are only possible with the right data.

Angus breeders are encouraged to submit cow production records through the Angus Herd Improvement Records® (AHIR) Inventory Reporting, so they can use the information in their own herds and for the overall benefit of the breed.

  Enrollment is now open for the May-to-July-15 period, which is primarily for fall-calving herds. (Primarily spring-calving herds should enroll November-January 15.) Females must be reenrolled each year to remain in the program.  Keeping complete production records on the females takes time, but it has numerous benefits, says Esther Tarpoff, director of performance programs for the American Angus Association. Those benefits are:

• Early Access: Gain access to the research Functional Longevity EPD (expected progeny difference) when released. 

• Money Saved: Take advantage of the $2 AHIR rate for each female enrolled, which covers the cost of submitting a weight for her next calf (traditionally a $3 fee) 

• Identify Potential: Document fertility and functional longevity in your herd.

• Objectivity: Complete unbiased data reporting by keeping annual records for each cow in your herd. 

• Additional Reports: Receive additional herd management reports. 

Data submitted throughout the year contributes to each female meeting program requirements.  Enrolled cows need one of three things: 

• Reporting a calf. 

• A reason for why there was no calf.  

• A culling code and date if the female left the herd.

Making MaternalPlus Status 

Enrolling in Inventory Reporting is the first step to earning the MaternalPlus® status. At reenrollment, a herd will be eligible for MaternalPlus, which provides access to supplementary herd management reports, additional EPDs on calves prior to registration (calving ease direct, birth weight, and weaning weight), and the designation badge on EPD Pedigree Lookup. MaternalPlus requirements include:

• The same information as Cow Inventory.  

• Calf weaning weights. 

• Heifer breeding records. 

Currently enrolled? 

If you previously enrolled during the May-July period, it’s time to finish reporting records from the last year to reenroll in the program. Now is the time to clean up missing records and females culled from the herd with disposal information before submitting an inventory.    Those who enroll November-January can use this time to submit calving records, breeding information and culling notes on females that left this spring. This will give a head start before the next enrollment period, starting in late fall.

  To learn more about AHIR and Inventory Reporting, visit: www.angus.org/Performance.