Prime_Time_spring_2019

Akaushi Matters Loni Soefje | Assistant to the Director | lsoefje@akaushi.com AMERICAN AKAUSHI ASSOCIAT ION UPDATE H owdy! I would like to take a mo- ment to introduce Whole Herd Reporting

entitled to register one calf born to each female during that year, and a single trans- fer of ownership of the progeny before the progeny reaches 24 months of age if female and 30 months of age if male. The assessment on herd sires covers the registration of calves sired by the bull dur- ing the year of service. In other words, this assessment allows for purebred and full- blood Akaushi animals 24 months of age or older to be considered “active” for the follow- ing 12 months. Progeny are only allowed to be registered to dams that were considered “active” during the birth year of the progeny and sires that were “active” during the year the progeny was conceived. Why Do We Use Whole Herd Reporting? Since DNA is required on all Akaushi progeny, every animal is registered through the American Akaushi Association to ensure and maintain the purity of the breed. Rather than requiring a calf-based registration fee that discourages the reporting of com- plete contemporary group information and requires multiple fees for routine transac- tions, WHR simply requires a single, annual payment that covers most common breeder expenses. Other than this being a system designed to improve the reporting on all Akaushi animals, WHR equitably distributes the cost of running the association across the membership based on the ownership of purebred and fullblood animals. Spring Herd Assessment vs. Fall Herd Assessment The spring herd assessment includes full- blood and purebred cattle 24 months of age or older that were born between Jan. 1 and June 30. The fall herd assessment includes fullblood and purebred cattle 24 months of age or older that were born between July 1 and Dec. 31. Each breeder will receive a

myself. I’m Loni Soefje, the American Akaushi Association’s (AAA) new assistant to the director. I found a passion for the

beef cattle industry at a young age while growing up on a large cow-calf operation. I spent my free time working in the barns with show cattle and decided to continue my education at Texas A&M University, where I recently graduated with an animal science degree specializing in beef cattle. It is a wonderful opportunity to continue a career in the beef cattle industry with a breed association that has the same goal as I do – bettering the beef industry. Being in the association office gives me the opportunity to hear what programs or services bring confusion or frustration to our breeders. Now, if you are a lifetime member who has been with the association since the beginning, or someone who is still considering membership, I would like to ad- dress a topic that has caused a bit of confu- sion: whole herd reporting (WHR). Our job, as an association, is to promote the Akaushi breed and provide services to our members. In order for an association to stay in business, fees must be charged for the services provided, such as registrations and animal transfers. With the develop- ment of WHR, the assessment paid on the adult animals covers these fees for much less than the traditional calf-based fee structure. What is Whole Herd Reporting? Whole herd reporting is an annual as- sessment charged on all reproductively mature fullblood and purebred Akaushi animals that are 24 months of age or older. Through this assessment, a breeder is

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Akaushi Prime Time • Spring 2019

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