Effective January 1, 2001, AHA has chosen to implement a Whole Herd TPR
TM Reporting system for breeders choosing to maintain performance registry records. Whole Herd TPR
TM Reporting is a system of registration and performance tracking whereby every participating breeder updates his/her cowherd inventory annually and is charged for performance data on a per cow basis as opposed to a per calf basis. The system is positively endorsed by the Beef Improvement Federation, a North American umbrella organization of beef breed associations, beef producers, researchers and the academic community. With this system, AHA will be able to measure economically relevant beef production traits such as fertility, longevity and reproductive efficiency. Furthermore, the greater volume of data reported from each herd for measured growth and carcass traits will enhance the accuracy of Hereford EPD’s.
Participation in Whole Herd TPR
TM is voluntary and breeders may choose to maintain pedigree records without recording performance information if they wish. With this option, known as Pedigree Registry, breeders will not see EPD’s or other performance information printed on their registry certificates nor will it otherwise be available after December 31, 2001. Breeders participating in the pedigree registry option will no longer receive herd inventories and will be required to use the eight digit registry number rather than a herd ID to register an animal.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN WHOLE HERD TPRTM
1. Performance breeders of record as of December 1, 2000 received a copy of their current herd inventory as of that date with instructions for continuing with the new program. New participants should request a current dam inventory for their account from AHA.
2. Complete the form for all cows and breeding age heifers (as well as herd sires if you choose the option of a sire inventory) expected to be represented by a calf during the next 12 months.
3. For each animal inventoried, provide the herd ID number, registration number, name and date calved.
4. Designate each female as either fall or spring calving.
5. Mail the completed inventory form to the AHA. Retain a copy for your records. Your account will be billed $5 per female per year or $2.50 for first calf heifers.
HERD ID NUMBERS ARE IMPORTANT
Some important points to remember about herd ID numbers are:
WHOLE HERD TPRTM HERD INVENTORY RECORD
A Whole Herd TPRTM Herd Inventory Record form will be printed and sent to each breeder listing all animals currently active in their breeder account. Breeders should keep their Herd Inventory Record complete and current. The dam must be listed on the breeder’s most current Herd Inventory in order to process their offspring’s registration and performance data through Whole Herd TPR
TM .
Breeders will be asked to designate whether the female should be listed for the spring or fall calving season. Prior to a breeder’s designated calving season(s), AHA will generate a herd inventory report and ask that it be updated by a pre-determined date. All breeding age females on a breeder’s previous inventory not otherwise deleted, all reported additions and all current breeding age heifers previously recorded by the producer will appear on the inventory. At that time breeders will be expected to update the inventory with necessary corrections, additions or removals and return it to AHA. AHA will issue a Dam Productivity Summary Report and a Birth Information Worksheet (Form 1) and assess the appropriate inventory fees for that calving season.
Although your initial inventory mailing in December of 2000 contained all active females currently in your inventory, once you have designated each as either spring or fall season, subsequent inventories will contain only those females in the seasonal inventory being updated. For instance, if yours are all fall calvers you will only see requests for inventory updates each July 1 and will not be asked for an update on December 1. Likewise, herds containing only spring calvers will only receive inventory update requests each December 1.
All females on an inventory other than first calf heifers will be charged an annual fee of $5 per head. First calvers will be charged $2.50 per head. Breeding age heifers reported as not exposed to a bull and having no calf reported for them in the first year of enrollment will be allowed to be enrolled the following year at the same $2.50 per head fee.
If you have received your initial pre-printed Whole Herd TPR
TM inventory from AHA incorrectly listing inventoried females as spring or fall, you will be allowed to re-designate them to the appropriate season this first time at no charge. Young heifers initially added to the inventory can also be moved the first time at no cost. Once the breeder has designated a female to a particular calving season, all subsequent moves to a different season will incur a charge of $2.50 per move.
Breeders wanting to remove animals from their Herd Inventory should enter the appropriate disposal code and date in the comment column and mail the form to AHA. If a female remains in your herd she should remain on your inventory even if a calf will not be reported for her this year or if she is an ET donor dam not being regularly bred for a natural calf. Do not remove a disposed female from your inventory record before you have reported the last of her produce that you plan to report, otherwise the re-activation fee will apply.
Once a cow is removed from a breeder’s inventory, a $30 reactivation fee, in addition to the normal annual inventory fee of $5 from that point forward, is imposed to re-enroll the same cow in the same breeder account’s Whole Herd TPR
TM inventory. Likewise, if a performance registry breeder chooses to become a pedigree registry breeder and then at some later time decides to re-enter the performance registry system, all females in that breeders current account which were previously inventoried in the same breeder account will be charged a $30 per head re-activation fee in addition to the $5 annual fee for the current, active year of inventory. Breeders are encouraged not to attempt avoiding individual animal fees for one or more seasons by deactivating a female likely to return to active status at a later date. Doing so will trigger the re-activation fee.
Birth Information/Registry Application Form 1 and a Dam Production Summary record will be mailed to Whole Herd TPR
TM participants once herd inventory forms are returned and processed at AHA. The breeder will have the option of selecting a box on the herd inventory update forms designating whether they wish pre-printed Birth Information Worksheets (Form 1) listing all inventoried dams in herd ID order or they may wish to leave the box unmarked and receive a blank Form 1 so they can enter calving information in the order they desire.
Whole Herd TPR
TM participants are encouraged but not required to maintain all active sires on their inventory as well. Doing so speeds and eases the breeder’s reporting process by allowing use of shorter sire codes rather than using the full eight digit registry number. Sires should be updated annually, are not subject to a re-activation fee and are charged only $1 per sire annually. If you wish to use herd ID numbers rather than registry numbers for sires when reporting your calves, you must maintain an active bull inventory.
COSTSThe fee for maintaining each animal on the herd inventory is an annual charge of $5 for producing females, $2.50 for a bred heifer and $1 for each herd sire listed (herd sire listing is optional).
As is the current policy, all fees for Whole Herd TPR
TM inventory must be paid in full before registry or performance work is released. Likewise, monies received from breeders will be applied first to their longest outstanding balances on items charged. MasterCard and Visa are acceptable means of payment, particularly if a breeder wishes to insure that none of his work is held for payment of funds.
DAM PRODUCTIVITY SUMMARY REPORT
Once a breeder has returned to AHA their annual (or seasonal as the case may be) inventory update AHA will return a Dam Productivity Summary Report in addition to a statement for inventory fees and the breeder’s Form 1 worksheets.
The Dam Productivity Summary Report will list each female in the breeder’s upcoming calving group, either spring or fall. The summary contains a wealth of information on each inventoried female including herd ID and registry numbers, her age, the number of bull calves and heifer calves she has produced, her average calving ease score and her calving interval. Additionally, her progeny will be summarized with regard to average birth, weaning and yearling ratios. Finally, all of her latest EPDs and accuracy values for all traits will also be reported.
COW HERD BREEDING AND CALVING RECORD BOOK
A shirt pocket sized Cow Herd Breeding and Calving Record Book is available for breeders to use in keeping pasture records. Those records are easily transferred to Form 1, Registration Application/Birth Information Worksheet. This book can be ordered from the regular AHA order form.
USE OF MASTER ACCOUNTS TO MANAGE COMINGLED HERD’S DATA
If your herd is comprised of animals in the ownership of multiple accounts (i.e. a ranch account and various additional family member accounts for children, partners, etc.) and you would like to have all of the performance data processed as if they were a single herd entity, you may request or download
Form 11, Member Account Relationship Development Form, from the AHA to designate a Master Account. The ownership of the animals within each account will not be changed and there is no charge for this activity. The account that is designated as the Master Account will receive all future Herd Inventory mailings and general correspondence from the association regarding the accounts.
Download Form 11