Total Herd Reporting - Let's Make it Easy

TOTAL HERD REPORTING Let’s Make it Easy

by Darrell Wilkes, Ph.D., IBBA Executive Vice President

Total Herd Reporting (THR) season is right around the corner. This article is intended to help you go through the THR process with as much understanding and as little hassle as possible.

THR fees are paid annually on the active cows and bulls in each herd. A single annual THR fee replaces a whole list of nickel-and-dime fees that non-THR breed associations charge for their services. After 13 years on the THR system, we still get calls in the IBBA office complaining about THR. The common complaints fall into three categories: 1) it’s too expensive, 2) it requires too much recordkeeping, and 3) I don’t have time to do it. This article will address all of these concerns.

Is THR expensive?

The annual THR fee for each active parent animal is $21. Once this is paid, there is no registration fee charged on calves; there is no charge for the first transfer of a female under 24 months of age or a bull under 30 months of age; there is no charge for processing weaning, yearling, or ultra-sound data; there is no charge for handling DNA data or correcting a parentage error based on DNA tests; nor is there a charge to send a registration certificate to a new owner.

All of the items listed above are things that are routinely charged by breed associations that do not utilize some form of total herd reporting. Below are some examples of piecemeal pricing of services offered by other associations.

• Registration fees: $7 to $27 depending on the age of the animal when registered • Added registration fee for ET calves: $10 • Fee for processing birth and weaning data: $3 • Transfer fees: $5 to $12 beginning with the very first transfer of an animal • Fee to mail registration certificate to new owner: $3 • AI service certificate: $10 • Parentage correction based on DNA results: $5 4500 For most breeders, the once-per- 4000 year THR fee of $21 on each parent 3500 animal adds up to less than the costs 3000 of paying for the services listed above. 2500 Does THR require more recordkeeping?

The simple answer is no. If you’re in the seedstock business, your recordkeeping requirements are higher than those of a commercial producer. That is a simple fact that

will never change. What differentiates seedstock from commercial stock is documentation of genetics and performance on an individual animal basis. Whether IBBA uses THR or a piecemeal approach on service fees, certain records are required in order to successfully operate a seedstock enterprise.

There is only one area where THR requires more official recordkeeping than non-THR systems. THR requires that a reason be given for a cow being disposed.

In virtually every case, this is a record that every good herd manager would have anyway. People usually have a reason for getting rid of a cow and they have it recorded somewhere. THR actually makes it easy because you have a perpetual record of the disposal and the reason for it.

I don’t have the time to do it!

When the initial THR mailing from IBBA goes into the mail once per year, it generally creates a flurry of activity and members feel crunched for time to get it done. It does not have to be this way. The key to an easy THR experience is keeping your records current in the IBBA registry day-to-day and month-to-month.

Of course, this is easier said than done. But if you can muster the discipline to record disposals and transfers on a regular basis, the initial THR inventory report that you receive to begin the official THR reconciliation will be current and you will have very little work to do in order to complete your THR. You can log into Regstr and record disposals as they happen throughout the year. This will keep your inventory current and THR reconciliation will be hassle-free.

Think “Cow Year.”

In 2018 the IBBA board voted to move from twiceper-year THR reporting to once-per-year. Initially, the date for THR reconciliation and billing was set for

Brangus Birth Dates by Month

2000 1500 1000 500 0

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

2017

2018

Aug

Sep

Oct

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Dec

March, but in 2019 the board moved it to July 1. On page 8 is a chart showing the calving distribution of the Brangus population for calendar years 2017 and 2018.

This is the information used by the board to drive the decision to make July 1 the trigger date for the annual THR reconciliation. A THR “cow year” is from July 1 through the following June 30. When you confirm your July 1 inventory of assessed cows and pay your THR fees for those cows, they are covered for the next 12 months, up through the following June 30. This means that the calves they have during this period are covered - there is no registration fee for the calves, no fee for processing weights and ultrasound, no fee for DNA-based parentage verification or parentage correction, no fee for the first transfer if under 24 months of age, etc.

It helps to think of a THR cow year in a circular way (like a clock). Once THR is paid on the July 1 cow inventory, it covers the calf that a cow will have any time during the following 12 months. Whether the calf is born in October or April, it makes no difference. If you don’t get around to registering a March calf, for instance, until the cow has entered the next cow year, that’s okay too, since the cow was active when the calf was born. That is the key factor. If the cow was active when the calf was born, the calf is covered and will receive all the services itemized earlier. We use the word “active” to describe a cow whose THR has been paid.

young cow retro-active for the year in which she calved.

Now consider another common scenario. Assume you do not register her first calf until August. As soon as you do that, you will be charged a THR-equivalent fee.

At the same time, you will be in possession of an invoice from IBBA for her next cow year. It might seem like you’re paying for the same cow twice, but you are still just paying one THR fee for each year in which she has a calf.

The IBBA computer will always assume that you are keeping every single heifer calf and turning them all into cows. If you do not dispose of them earlier, they will be assessed on the first July 1 date following their second birthday. A common complaint about THR is that the assumed inventory to be assessed includes a lot of young females that have turned two-years old, which are still in your computer inventory but are not in your physical inventory because you sold them long ago –but did not dispose of them in the computer system. If you transfer a heifer to another member, the computer knows that and will adjust your inventory accordingly, the heifer will come out of your inventory and into the buyer’s inventory. But if you cull a heifer, or if she dies, and you do not officially dispose of her, the IBBA computer must assume that she is still in your inventory. You can save yourself a lot of hassle at “THR time” if you will timely update your disposal records. You don’t need to wait until IBBA sends the pre-assessment inventory list.

It will be easier this year.

Those of you who reconciled your THR inventory online last year were quick to point out that the process was slow and inefficient simply because of the way the Regstr system forced to you to re-load a new page after each disposal. The IBBA staff referred to the process as “running laps.” The next round of THR will feature a simple-to-read table which lists all assessment eligible animals along with easy-to-use drop down boxes with disposal codes.

CLOCKWISE FROM JULY 1 There are dozens of what-if scenarios that can be played out, but just consider a common one related to first-calf heifers. Suppose a heifer was born in March of 2019. You decide to keep her as a replacement, and you breed her to calve in the spring of 2021 as a two-year old.

On July 1, 2020 she is not yet two-years old, so she will not be assessed for THR even though she is expected to calve within the next cow year. At that point, the IBBA computer will not know that you are keeping her as a replacement. It won’t know that until you record the birth of her first calf.

If she calves in March 2021, she is now a dam but still has not been assessed THR fees. As soon as you register her calf, IBBA will charge a THR–equivalent fee for the calf registration which essentially makes that

July 1, 2020 is the date to remember.

July 1, 2020 is the first day of the next “cow year” for THR. Your THR invoice will be based on the active, assessment-eligible animals in your inventory on that date. This will include all females that are two-years old or older that have NOT been disposed, and all bulls that are 30-months or older which have never been disposed in your records.

On or around June 1, you will be sent a list of all assessment-eligible animals that IBBA believes are in your herd. This exact list will be available on-line if you prefer not to have the paper.

Please register EVERY calf – even the culls.

The fundamental objective of using a THR system rather than a piecemeal process is to encourage more complete data capture and, very importantly, to discourage selective reporting of performance data.

Selective reporting is an age-old problem in all breed registries. Everybody knows it happens, but some organizations - like IBBA - have created a system that encourages complete reporting and it is critical to

improvement of the breed. We are in the GENETICS BUSINESS. The key to genetic improvement is, always has been, and always will be DATA….accurate and complete data.

It is important that you register every calf, even if it died at birth or it lands in the cull pen. It costs nothing to register a calf that is born to an active cow. Data on the under-performing animals is just as important as data on the best ones.

ET calves pay their share, too.

Many breeders use commercial recipient cows to support their ET programs. Such cows are noted in the IBBA registry, but they are not active registered cows and are not charged THR fees. When ET calves are registered, they are charged a “THR-equivalent” fee of $21. However, if a breeder uses active THR cows as recipients, and pays the THR fees on those dams, their ET calf is covered by the THR fee paid on the cow.

Disposal codes are important.

When you remove cows from your herd, you always have a reason. In some cases, a cow has two strikes against her, and you therefore have more than one reason (i.e. she has a bad attitude AND she’s a latecalver). It is central to the concept of THR to collect specific reasons why a cow is being disposed. If you have more than one reason, pick the one that finally motivated you to dispose of a cow. Much of this information can be used in genetic evaluation, particularly for critical maternal traits such as Stayability or the Fertility Index.

Attached is a list of the new disposal codes that will be used with this round of THR. They are slightly different than those used in the past and we believe they will be more informative. In the past, there was a code for “moved to commercial herd”. Unfortunately, though not intended, this code became the “easy button” and was used for over two-thirds of the disposals; we need to be more specific. If a cow really is removed from your seedstock herd and placed in your commercial herd, it is because she is not judged by you to be good enough to remain in the seedstock herd. In this case, the disposal code should provide some insight as to why you believe the disposed cow is not good enough to remain a seedstock cow. This is very important information. As it accumulates over time across many herds, it becomes very useful information. For instance, if a certain sire has a low Stayability EPD, it is important to know why. Why do his daughters leave herds prematurely? Is it because they tend to be late-calvers or have a higher percent opens? Is it because they don’t take good care of their calves and lack maternal instinct? Is it because they are aggressive or high-headed?

As you complete your THR this year, please make use of these disposal codes. The codes listed are for cows. Slightly different codes exist for breeding bulls and for calves. Reach out to the IBBA staff if you still have questions with THR, we’re here to help.

COW DISPOSAL CODES 10 GENERAL REMOVAL 11 Removed – injury 12 Removed – illness 13 Removed – age 14 Died 20 QUALITY OF PROGENY 21 Undesirable progeny phenotype 22 Progeny inconsistent in quality 23 Progeny unthrifty / poor performance 30 PHENOTYPE 31 Unacceptable underline 32 Light muscled 33 Bad feet / legs 34 Light-boned / frail 35 Poor overall appearance 33 Off-color 34 Scurs 35 Poor hair shedding 40 MATERNAL / FERTILITY 41 Lacks fleshing ability / unthrifty 42 Poor calving interval – late calver 43 Open at pregnancy check 44 Poor udder – bad suspension 45 Poor udder – balloon teats 46 Poor udder – dry quarters 47 Low milk production 48 Poor maternal instincts 49 Prolapse / dystocia 50 TEMPERAMENT / BEHAVIOR 51 Jumpy / flighty / nervous 52 Aggressive 53 Extremely aggressive / unprovoked