KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jerry Cassady, director of member services, and Chris Stallo, chief operating officer of the American Angus Association®, presented the Focusing on Longevity panel on Nov. 8 at the 137th Angus Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. The Focusing on Longevity discussion shared how commercial cattlemen are turning to seedstock producers for maternal traits that have been difficult to characterize. Cassady and Stallo believe that with the implementation of an inventory reporting option through the Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR) program, the Angus breed not only will collect more data but will also collect more useful data to better serve all sectors of the industry.
Inventory reporting is the new, simplified option within AHIR, which focuses on capturing hard-to-reach traits while keeping current inventory on your cow herd. A major advantage of inventory reporting is that it gives full credit to the high performers in a herd. The information gathered with inventory reporting, from disposal and reason codes while accounting for each calf born, is especially informative for the Association and the Angus breed’s end goal – the focus on longevity.
Inventory reporting is located on the member’s AAA Login homepage with a simplified, step-by-step guide to walk you through updating your cow herd. Enrollees are required to report calf information or a disposal code or reason code for the cow. Additionally, there are two enrollment periods with inventory reporting and the price is $2 per female over 12 months of age.
Little changes occur for the MaternalPlus program. For members already enrolled in MaternalPlus, they essentially are enrolled in inventory reporting. Enrollment dates for inventory reporting and MaternalPlus is available twice a year.
The most effective time to enroll your herd is after your current calf crop is weaned and before your next calf crop has started calving. Therefore, if your herd is mainly a spring calving herd, you are best to enroll your herd from November to January. If you are primarily a fall calving herd, it is best to enroll your herd from May to July.
Learn more about AHIR and inventory reporting by going to Angus.org or AAA Login to access the simplified, easy wizard that will walk you through the enrollment process.
–Whitney Whitaker, Angus Communications
For more articles concerning the Angus breed, click here.
