WHOLE HERD REPORTING
The American Chianina Association Whole Herd Reporting system is designed to improve the collection of performance information on all active animals in the breed and to equally spread the costs of promoting the breed across all active animals in the breed. Rather than the traditional calf-based registration fee structure that discourages the reporting of complete contemporary group information, WHR uses an inventory-based fee structure or annual assessment charged on all reproductively mature females. WHR requires the reporting of annual production and performance records on all cattle within a herd, but the responsibility of selecting which calves are worthy of registration remains with the breeder. Under WHR members will pay a single, annual assessment on each animal of ‘assessment age’. Payment of the annual assessment on a cow entitles the cow owner (breeder) to register one calf born to the cow during that 12-month period and a single transfer of that calf to a new owner if the transfer occurs before the animal reaches 24 months of age.

Major benefits of WHR include:
Simplicity; one fee covers the most common breeder expenses, rather than multiple fees for routine transactions. Quality; complete reporting will improve the reliability of EPDs on all ACA cattle by removing the effects of reporting bias. Improved customer service; no extra fee for calf transfers will ensure more complete reporting of transfers. New selection tools; Whole Herd Reporting will make it possible to estimate fertility and survivability EPDs and to calculate herd-average reproduction and production management measures for within herd use. These calculations are meaningless with incomplete reporting.

I. Fee Structure and Registration Regulations

1. 1. Assessment age is defined as females that will calve in the current year. The Herd Assessment will apply to female that will be of breeding age during that year.
   2. Payment of the annual assessment makes that animal ‘active’ for the following 12 months. Progeny may only be registered to dams that are ‘active’ during the birth year of the progeny.
   3. Payment of the annual assessment on a female entitles the breeder to a) register one calf born to that female during that 12-month period; and b) transfer that calf to a new owner if the transfer occurs before the animal reaches 24 months of age.
   4. DNA test results must be on file at the ACA office by the time the assessments are paid for AI sires and ET donor dams not previously tested.
   5. The first transfer of an animal 24 months of age will not be charged a transfer fee. Any subsequent transfer of such an animal will be charged the transfer fee on the current fee schedule. Transfers of animal 24 months of age will be charged the transfer fee on the current fee schedule. Age at transfer will be determined by date received on mailed in work and by work order date for online work.
   6.  ACA registered females that are reactivated will be charged $40
   7. Any joint owner wishing to register and transfer progeny from a jointly owned female must maintain that female on his/her active inventory. In order to avoid a Reactivation Fee at least one owner must pay the annual assessment.
   8. Assessments on leased animals will be charged to the lessee owner.
   9. Embryo Transfer (ET) calves born to the same donor dam during the twelve-month period are charged equivalent fees. The assessment fee must be paid on each ET calf unless the recipient dam is ‘active’ (i.e., current year assessment already paid), in which case no additional assessment is due. If the annual assessment on the donor dam has been paid, the owner of the donor dam is allowed one natural calf registration.
   10. In the case of a multiple birth (twins, triplets, etc.) no additional assessment beyond the cow’s annual assessment will be incurred on the dam in order to register the resulting calves. Note: Breeders are encouraged to submit registration numbers and/or animal identification on all recipient and foster dams. Future enhancements to Nation

II. Reporting Requirements

1. During each 12-month period one of the following must be received for each ‘active’ female on inventory:
   • A calf record (regardless of whether or not the calf will be registered) with all required information,
   including weaning data or a pre-weaning disposal code for the calf.
   • A disposal code for the female indicating that she is dead or has otherwise been culled from ‘active’
   inventory
2. If a female is removed from a member’s inventory by a breeder designated disposal code, and subsequently reappears in a later year, the Reactivation Fee plus the current annual assessments will be required to reinstate the cow even if the animal is sold to a new owner. Cattle may also be deactivated by the Association if a member’s account becomes delinquent.
3. If the calf dies before weaning, the breeder is required to provide the appropriate calf disposal code plussire information, calf sex, birth date, mating, color, and horn status code.
4. Females from another breed association can be deactivated and reactivated without charge.
5. Commercial females (?) Commercial females may be kept on herd assessment from year to year but will be subject to additional fees.
6. Reports for adjusted weights, ratios, and EPD calculations are part of services received through the WHR
   program.

III. Breeding Herd Inventory and WHR Schedule

1. Herd Inventories will be available online beginning January 5 and must be evaluated and submitted by March 31. All females that will be of breeding age the current year should be included on the inventory.
2. Each breeder will identify by the use of disposal codes those animals to be removed from inventory, add new animals of breeding age not found on the inventory report (e.g., new purchases, leased animals, etc.), and return the completed inventory report to the national office prior to the Inventory Date. Disposal codes may also be submitted via the ACA DigitalBeef website prior to the inventory date. Transfers made prior to the inventory date will automatically remove and/or add animals to breeder inventories when the transfer is processed.
3.  IMPORTANT: On the Inventory Date for the appropriate herd, breeders will be invoiced for the WHR fee on all animals shown on inventory in that herd. No credit will be issued for animals disposed of after the Inventory Date, and a Reactivation Fee will be required on all previously removed animals that are returned to inventory after the Inventory Date.
4. If assessments are not paid within 30 days of the date of the invoice, no further services will be provided by ACA until the account is paid in full.