Every Female. Every Time.

Your females go to work every day for you. Are you fully representing their work in the database?

By Esther Tarpoff, Director of Performance Programs

December 9, 2024

Your females go to work for you every day. Part of your responsibility is to make sure they are fully represented in the database for genetic selection tools. Are there females that get overlooked from a record perspective?

Maybe it’s the females that don’t calve, or recips, or is it the elite donors? Is there a way to ensure every female active on your farm gets a production record every year? Why does it matter that they do?

The why

Missing records on a female’s production record creates holes in her history. Whether it is a calf that was missed getting reported because it died after birth, a calf aborted early, or no calf was born because she was used as a donor, that information is incredibly important for the production history of the female.

Looking at an example of a donor female, likely she did not calve on time that year due to being flushed. While she is an elite female in your herd, her production record may not reflect why she has a gap in her calves reported. Did you report a reason code for being a donor that year for her when you submitted other records in your herd? Without being enrolled in Inventory Reporting, females like the donors are easy to miss and have a missing record in their production history.

What about the females that carry a calf to term and the calf is stillborn or dies between calving and weaning? The female still needs record of that calving — even for a dead calf — to have a complete production record.

A female that has a record every year, including a donor female, is better described in a trait like Functional Longevity because there is a data point to reference. Females that do not have a record because there was no history submitted will have missing data points in that evaluation. Your females are doing the work in your herd — make sure you represent them correctly in the database.

Table 1 provides an example of two females, one that is not enrolled in Inventory Reporting and the other that is. At 3 years of age, one female has a missing record, while the other has a record of being used as a donor. At 8 years of age, the female not enrolled has a missing record, while the other female was documented to have been open and missed her calving opportunity.

Table 1: Example comparing two female production records, one not enrolled in Inventory Reporting and one enrolled.

The how

Inventory Reporting keeps a list of all the females currently active in your herd. By having a list of these females, as data is submitted throughout the year, the program keeps record of which females have not been accounted for yet this year. It doesn’t get simpler than allowing the program to keep a list of your current females and checking that their data is accounted for each year.

Table 2 provides an example of the list of active females and if their requirements have been met for the year, meaning the female had a record recorded on her production record. These records could include a recent calf, a reason code like being a donor, or females can be culled from the herd. The females with a check mark have the necessary information recorded for their production record. Females that have “ + Calf Required” means their record is not complete and attention is needed.

Table 2. Example of list of active females enrolled in Inventory Reporting.

Members earning the designation of being a MaternalPlus® herd not only have production records for every female, but they also get weaning weights on each calf and submit breeding records on their heifers. While optional, many who enroll in the program enjoy the additional benefits of earning that status such as additional reports, a few EPDs (expected progeny differences) to help with early selection on calves, complete contemporary groups of calves, use of the logo for marketing, and many more.

The next steps

Herds participating in the program not only ensure each female has complete production records to be better described in the database and have complete reporting in their herd, but are also receiving additional herd management reports. Examples of these reports with detailed descriptions can be found on www.angus.org/ahir/reports/inventory-reporting-reports. These reports give additional insight into your herd based on the data you reported.

Currently, there are 940 herds ensuring each of their females are represented fully in the database to show the work their females are putting in. Enrollment for primarily spring calving herds is open until January 15. Are you willing to make the commitment to your females to do the same?