New AHIR program recognizes herds committed to data collection

Members of the American Angus Association (AAA) have built the largest single beef breed database through a commitment to data collection and participation in the Angus Herd Improvement Records (AHIR) program. 

The database supports the National Cattle Evaluation (NCE), run weekly by Angus Genetics, Inc., and used by Angus producers across the world to make selection decisions.

Continuing to contribute new phenotypes to this database ensures the NCE’s expected progeny differences and indexes continue to describe the Angus population as accurately as possible.

“We rely on our members to submit good data. It benefits every breeder, so we wanted to find a way to recognize breeders who go above and beyond,” explained Smitty Lamb, chair of the association’s Board of Director’s Breed Improvement Committee.

How does the program work?

Board members have spent several years discussing ways to recognize breeders for their commitment to data submission. As a result of those discussions, in August 2025, AHIR launched the Data Driven Herd Recognition Program which recognizes herds who contribute a set of phenotypes on multiple traits of their choosing each year.

“Some of these phenotypes are hard to measure. We know it’s time consuming, we know it’s expensive, but our database and selection tools would not be what they are today without these submissions,” said Lamb. “This recognition program highlights herds that have made the commitment, gives them some visibility and is a way of saying thank you for submitting the data.”

Qualifying herds will be recognized annually at Angus Convention at one of three levels – bronze, silver or gold – and will have access to that year’s logo to use for marketing. 

The complete list of Data Driven Herds will also be available on angus.org for reference throughout the year. 

Levels will be determined based on the number of traits submitted on a percentage of the individual herd’s population.

“We are fortunate to have herds of all sizes committed to submitting records to AHIR, so we wanted to make sure members could take part in the program no matter the size of their operation,” said Esther Tarpoff, director of AAA’s performance programs. “When setting minimum percentages required for each trait, we considered what would be realistic for an operation to collect in a perfect scenario and then adjusted to allow room in the number for differing production practices.”

For example, scrotal requires a minimum of 20 percent. For a herd with 100 cows enrolled, at least 20 yearling scrotal measures are required. Twenty percent is required for scrotal as it is considered approximately 50 percent of a calf crop will be bulls, and not all bulls will remain in the herd until yearling age.

How do herds qualify?

The first step to qualify is for a herd to be actively enrolled in AHIR’s Inventory Reporting program with at least five cows enrolled. The whole-herd reporting program allows AHIR to determine a base population and minimum required phenotypes for each trait.

In addition, a herd’s registration during the award year must equal at least 50 percent of the active cow herd inventory. For example, if a herd has 50 cows enrolled in Inventory Reporting, there must have been at least 25 animals registered during the award year.

To qualify for the bronze level, a herd must also submit at least eight traits, meeting the minimum number required for the individual herd, which is based on the number of cows enrolled in Inventory Reporting.

To earn silver-level recognition, a herd must report at least 10 traits, meeting the minimum number required for the individual herd.

To earn the top recognition level, gold, a herd must also be earning Inventory Reporting’s MaternalPlus status and submit at least 12 traits, meeting the minimum number of required phenotypes for each trait.

Association members can track their current status and progress towards the Data Driven Herd award levels in their AAA login account. Members should look for the green button “New AHIR Data Driven Herd Recognition Program” located in the AHIR section on the home page to access their personalized dashboard.

The award year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30 to align with the association’s fiscal year. The first set of Data Driven Herds will be recognized at the 2025 Angus Convention in Kansas City, Mo., held Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 and will be based on data submitted between Oct. 1, 2024 and Sept. 30. 

Jessica Hartman is a communications specialist for AAA and can be reached by visiting angus.org. This article was originally published by Angus Journal on Aug. 7.