BY THE NUMBERS
by Esther McCabe, director of performance programs
Inventory Reporting
Consider utilizing Inventory Reporting to accurately reflect what is occurring in your herd.
Inventory Reporting, launched in fall 2020, has been a popular reporting option among Angus members for Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR®). More than 121,000 females were enrolled in the first year from nearly 1,000 members. Not sure what Inventory Reporting is or how to participate? Below are answers to some common questions.
Interested in Inventory Reporting?
The AHIR program has two options for members to report data: Individual Reporting or Inventory Reporting. Historically, the AHIR program was primarily based on data submitted from individual calves from a calf crop, or Individual Reporting. A slightly different approach is Inventory Reporting, based on reporting information for each cow in your herd. The Inventory Reporting option requires for every cow enrolled, reporting one of three things each year, including either a calf, a reason she did not have a calf or a disposal code for why a female left the herd. The November-January enrollment period is best suited for primarily spring-calving herds, while the May-July enrollment period is best suited for primarily fall-calving herds.
Calve in both seasons? Choose the time when you calve the majority of your herd. Members who enroll in Inventory Reporting can report data to meet the requirements throughout the year. For example, after calving, information on calving can be reported, and those females that did not calve can have a reason for no calf recorded. As females are culled from the herd, disposal reasons and dates can be recorded throughout the year. If records are reported throughout the year, annual reenrollment is simple for members to tie up loose ends on females that have not met requirements versus reporting all information for the year at time of reenrollment.
Benefits
The benefits of Inventory Reporting allow members to keep accurate records of their female inventory, including lifetime production of calves as well as when and why females leave the herd. Inventory Reporting also allows for complete information reported on calves, not only providing validity to the database but also insight to economically relevant traits that are more difficult to characterize, such as fertility and longevity. To have the insight for economically relevant traits, such as fertility and longevity, complete records on what happens to females each year are necessary. Without knowing complete calving records and why animals leave the herd, characterizing those traits becomes extremely difficult. By reporting through Inventory Reporting, ultimately you are giving full credit to the best calves because they are truly compared to the poorest calves, not just the calves chosen to be reported or registered. By only reporting the best calves, unintentional bias is introduced into the system, resulting in expected progeny differences (EPDs) that do not accurately reflect what is occurring in your herd.
What about MaternalPlus?
MaternalPlus® is an earned designation within Inventory Reporting as it requires a couple additional pieces of information to be reported. Members earning the MaternalPlus designation already record information on an inventory basis, report breeding records and are benefiting from those advantages such as receiving CED (calving ease direct), BW (birth weight) and WW (weaning weight) EPDs on unregistered calves. They also earn a designation found on EPD/Pedigree lookup, improving the accuracy of the heifer pregnancy (HP) EPD, and receive additional herd reports. For members interested the MaternalPlus designation, enrolling in Inventory Reporting is the first step.
Annual reenrollment
Annual reenrollment is required for Inventory Reporting. What this means is the required information must be submitted by your annual reenrollment date. You do not have to wait for reenrollment to open to submit records — get your calf records, disposals and breeding records submitted and the reenrollment will go more smoothly. Records submitted throughout the year works toward meeting requirements for reenrollment.
For those members who enrolled from Nov. 2020 to Jan. 2021, your reenrollment period will be available from Nov. 1, 2021, through Jan. 15, 2022. The requirements for reenrollment for Inventory Reporting are to report a calf, a reason for no calf or a disposal code if the female left the herd. All females 12 months or older should be included in your inventory. The $2 fee for each inventoried female covers the cost of reporting AHIR information on the calf. Once all females have met requirements, checkout the updated inventory to complete reenrollment.
Are you reenrolling and interested in earning the MaternalPlus designation? The same information is required as Inventory Reporting, plus recording heifer breeding records, a weaning weight for the calf, or a disposal code or reason code for no calf at weaning. By providing this additional information, you can then earn the benefits of MaternalPlus. For members who enrolled in July, now is a good time to submit those fall calving records, report cows that did not calve and cows that have been culled from the herd. For those enrolled in MaternalPlus, members who want to earn that designation or members who want to better characterize fertility in their herds, remember to enter the heifer breeding records, including artificial insemination (AI) and bull exposure.
Learn More about AHIR and Inventory Reporting by visiting here: https://www.angus.org/Performance
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Holly Martin
Director of Communications
816.383.5143
hmartin@angus.org