The_Ledger_Summer_2021

American Aberdeen Programs Create and Award Excellence

BY HANNAH GILL, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

T he American Aberdeen Association ® (AAA) con tinues to serve its members with useful programs that add value to their American Aberdeen cattle. The AAA offers traditional breed association services such as cattle registry, herdbook maintenance, breed promotion, member communication, breed events and junior programs, to name a few. The past few years have brought additional programs to American Aberdeen breeders, all of which serve to create and acknowledge excellence in the American Aberdeen breed.

Dam of Merit Criteria • Dams of Merit must have had a calf

before they are 2.3 years of age and calve within a 395-day calv ing interval. (This calving interval allows heifers to calve earlier than the main cow herd.) • Dams of Merit must have a mini mum of three natural (non-embryo) calves. • Dams of Merit must have at least two of the three quali fying progeny registered. • Dams of Merit must be owned by an American Aber deen dues-paying adult or junior member. • Once a cow is designated a Dam of Merit, she is always a Dam of Merit, even though she might not qualify for the listing each year. Sire of Merit Criteria • Sires of Merit must sire five or more Dams of Merit. This progeny information will be processed, and a list of Dams of Merit and Sires of Merit will be published in early summer of each year. Merit animals will be identified as such in the electronic herdbook as well as on appropriate registration papers. Non-registered progeny information should be submitted through regular registry channels and can be entered for the nominal fee of $2 per animal. If the non-registered animals are fullblood, parent verification is not required unless the animal is upgraded to registered. “The American Aberdeen Association encourages pro ducers to submit missing progeny from potential Dams of Merit,” says Craig Walker, AAA president. “As soon as a cow qualifies, it will be stamped on their pedigree and the registration papers that she is a Dam of Merit.” Until May 1, 2022, producers can go back through their entire herd and back-register calves so their older cows Dams of Merit and Sires of Merit will be identified in all future Ameri can Aberdeen pedigrees and regis tration papers. For the Merit designa tion, all progeny information must be submitted by May 1 of each year.

A new program in development is the American Aber deen Excellence Program (AAEP). This umbrella program includes a newly developed Dam of Merit and Sire of Merit designation for those registered American Aberdeen cattle that meet the AAEP merit criteria. The AAEP also includes the various American Aberdeen crossbreeding program designations, allowing producers to utilize fullblood, pure bred and percentage American Aberdeen cattle in their operations to the highest benefit. Additional designations and program enhancements to the AAEP will be added as deemed necessary and beneficial to American Aberdeen breeders and the AAA membership. American Aberdeen Dam of Merit and Sire of Merit Designation The American Aberdeen Merit designation was started to further solidify the importance of early puberty, fertility and productivity in the American Aberdeen cow herd and to reward those animals that continuously produce off spring worthy of registration. Ultimately, owners of these Dams of Merit and Sires of Merit benefit from the recogni tion that superior seedstock bring to each membership.

who qualify for the program can be included. American Aberdeen Breed Percentage Designations

Currently, the American Aberdeen Association provides four different programs to make it easy for commercial producers to achieve their cattle breeding goals and select the right tools for crossbreeding.

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