Members of the American Angus Association^® have built the largest single beef breed database through a commitment to data collection and participation in the Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR^®) program. The database supports the National Cattle Evaluation (NCE) run weekly by Angus Genetics, Inc. (AGI^®) and used by Angus producers across the world to make selection decisions. Continuing to contribute new phenotypes to this database ensures the NCE’s Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) and Indexes continue to describe the Angus population as accurately as possible. 

“We rely on our members to submit good data; it benefits every breeder, so we wanted to find a way to recognize those breeders that go above and beyond,” explained Smitty Lamb, chair of the Association’s Board of Director’s Breed Improvement Committee. 

Board members have spent several years discussing ways to recognize breeders for their commitment to data submission. As a result of those discussions, in August 2025, AHIR^® launched the Data Driven Herd recognition program which recognizes herds who contribute a set of phenotypes on multiple traits of their choosing each year. 

“Some of these phenotypes are hard to measure; we know it’s time consuming, we know it’s expensive, but our database and selection tools would not be what they are today without these submissions,” said Lamb. “This recognition program highlights the herds who have made the commitment; gives them some visibility and just really it is a way of saying thank you for submitting the data.” 

Qualifying herds will be recognized annually at Angus Convention at one of three levels: bronze, silver, or gold, and will have access to that year’s logo to use for marketing. The complete list of Data Driven Herds will also be available on Angus.org for reference throughout the year. Levels will be determined based on the number of traits submitted on a percentage of the individual herd’s population.  

“We are fortunate to have herds of all sizes that are committed to submitting records to AHIR so we wanted to make sure that members could take part in this program no matter the size of their operation,” said Esther Tarpoff, director of the American Angus Association’s Performance Programs. “When setting minimum percentages required for each trait, we considered what would be realistic for an operation to collect in a perfect scenario and then adjusted to allow room in that number for differing production practices.” 

For example, scrotal requires a minimum of 20%. For a herd with 100 cows enrolled, at least 20 yearling scrotal measures are required. Twenty percent is required for scrotal as we consider approximately 50% of a calf crop will be bulls, and not all those bulls will remain in the herd until yearling age.  

How do herds qualify?  

The first step to qualify is for a herd to be actively enrolled in AHIR’s Inventory Reporting program with at least five cows enrolled. The whole-herd reporting program allows AHIR^® to determine a base population and minimum required phenotypes for each trait. 

In addition, a herd’s registration during the award year must equal at least 50% of the active cow herd inventory. For example, if a herd has 50 cows enrolled in Inventory Reporting, there must have been at least 25 animals registered during the award year. 

Bronze Level: To qualify for the Bronze level, a herd must also submit at least 8 traits, meeting the minimum number required for the individual herd, which is based on the number of cows enrolled in Inventory Reporting. 

Silver Level: To earn Silver level recognition, a herd must report at least 10 traits, meeting the minimum number required for the individual herd. 

Gold Level: To earn the top recognition level, Gold, a herd must also be earning Inventory Reporting’s MaternalPlus^® status, and submit at least 12 traits, meeting the minimum number of required phenotypes for each trait. 

Association members can track their current status and progress towards the Data Driven Herd award levels in their AAA Login account. Members should look for the green button “New AHIR Data Driven Herd Recognition Program” located in the AHIR^® section on the home page to access their personalized dashboard. 

The award year runs October 1 – September 30 to align with the Association’s fiscal year. The first set of Data Driven Herds will be recognized at the 2025 Angus Convention in Kansas City, Missouri, Oct. 31 – Nov. 2 and will be based on data submitted between Oct. 1, 2024 and Sept. 30, 2025. Learn more about the Data Driven Herd recognition program here.