Whether you are just getting started in the cattle business, have been at it for decades, or are somewhere in between, you make daily decisions that affect the success of your herd. What can you do as an Angus breeder to ensure you are making the most informed decisions? 

No matter the size of your herd, keeping track of your females can be a challenge. Inventory Reporting is a program available to Angus breeders that can help producers keep up to date on records and ensure each female is accounted for. 

Fig. 1: Breakdown of herds enrolled in Inventory Reporting by number of females in herd

What is Inventory Reporting?

Inventory Reporting is the whole-herd reporting option in the Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR®) program. The overall goal of herds enrolled in Inventory Reporting is to establish and maintain an inventory of active females in their herd and to submit annual production records for them. The program has two levels: Cow Inventory and MaternalPlus®. 

Annual production records for active females include one of three things: a calf record, reason code explaining why a female did not have a calf, or disposal code if a female left the herd. Additionally, if members wish to earn the MaternalPlus distinction in Inventory Reporting, they will also be required to submit heifer breeding records and weaning data for their calf crop each year. 

Recording this information annually over the course of a female’s lifetime is essential to characterizing maternal productivity. 

Data submitted not only contributes to the development of genetic selection tools for maternal traits, such as the heifer pregnancy and functional longevity expected progeny differences (EPDs), but can be applicable at the individual herd level to help inform management and selection decisions.  

How does it help with decisions? 

Data collection has become a fundamental task for most operations, even though everyone has their own method of recording and managing their on-farm records. 

Whether you write down the records in a calving book, jot it down on a piece of scratch paper or use a smartphone to streamline the process, you have the data at your disposal. But are you making the best use of it? 

Inventory Reporting ensures comprehensive tracking of the productivity of the females in your herd. While this data is useful in characterizing maternal traits in the National Cattle Evaluation, it can also be insightful to how your herd is performing year after year. 

One benefit offered to herds enrolled in Inventory Reporting is the availability of additional management reports specific to their herd. These reports leverage data submitted to return a snapshot of how their herd may be doing in various performance metrics. 

While some reports are reserved for herds earning MaternalPlus, examples of the reports include the genetic trends of enrolled females, production performance, weaning sire summary and calf death loss summary. These reports are designed to provide Angus breeders with information that helps them make effective selection decisions. 

Beneficial no matter the size of your herd

Herds of all sizes have put their data to work for them by enrolling in Inventory Reporting. There are currently 900 herds enrolled with a total of 137,660 females. Figure 1 shows the breakdown of the percent of herds by number of females enrolled in Inventory Reporting. 

Of the enrolled herds, 50% enrolled fewer than 50 females, while 35% of herds enrolled 100 or more females.  Whether you have 10 females or more than 500, you can take advantage of the Inventory Reporting program to better track the performance of your herd. 

How to enroll your herd

There are two enrollment periods during which you can get involved in Inventory Reporting. The May-July enrollment period, which is currently open, is recommended for herds that are primarily fall-calving. Herds that are primarily spring-calving are recommended to enroll during the November-January enrollment period. The first enrollment in the program is as simple as cleaning up your inventory of females and determining those that are still active in the herd. Once enrolled in the program, you will accumulate and submit data on those females to fulfill their annual production records.  

Editor’s note: We are here to help if you have questions about getting enrolled. Contact the Member Services department at angus@angus.org or by calling 816-383-5100.