The program identifies Pathfinder Cows in herds actively involved in AHIR. First, the female must produce her first calf near the herd's average age for first calving. More specifically, the maximum age accepted for first calving of a Pathfinder Cow is the within-herd average for first calving plus 30 days. Females included in the within-herd average calculation must have their first calf by 2 years and 181 days of age. The within-herd average is determined separately for each herd on AHIR using records from all first calf heifers reported in the herd.

As a second criteria, the Pathfinder Cow must maintain a regular calving interval. The maximum calving interval is:

Next, to qualify initially, her first three calves must post a minimum average progeny weaning weight ratio of 105. Should she fail to do this on her first three calves, she can qualify later by achieving an average progeny weaning weight ratio of 105, provided she meets the other requirements. A minimum of 5 herdmates or contemporaries of the same sex must be evaluated together each year to determine the weight ratio. Additionally, her calves must be sired by registered Angus bulls. To continue to qualify each consecutive year, the cow must produce regularly and wean a calf that helps maintain the average weaning ratio of 105 or above. It is pointed out that once a cow is designated a Pathfinder, she is always a Pathfinder, even though she might not qualify for listing each year.

Pathfinder Report is published each spring online and printed copies are available upon request. Outstanding females and bulls are listed in the report and, more importantly, the breeders who are keeping AHIR records of performance are identified as owners of Pathfinder Cows and Pathfinder Sires.

Studying the Pathfinder Report is fairly simple. An effort has been made to list important information about the Pathfinder Cow, her owner and the performance information that has qualified her as a top female. The cows are listed by owner in alphabetical order. All qualifying cows in a herd are listed following the owner's name. At the end of the report is a list of bulls that have sired five or more Pathfinder Cows. A sire that qualifies with five or more daughters becomes a Pathfinder Sire.

Angus breeders who have qualifying cows in the report are listed in alphabetical order. All cows in a herd that qualify are reported following the owner's name.

The qualifying Pathfinder Cow is listed along with her registration number and the number of calves she has produced with the average weaning weight ratio of calves. In some situations, AHIR information from two or more herds are used in determining a Pathfinder status. This situation occurs when cows are transferred from one AHIR performance herd to another.