CALF_News_April_May_2019

30 CALF News • April | May 2019 • www.calfnews.net The American Hereford Association (AHA) held a formal press conference in conjunction with the Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans this past January. Juniors AHA Executive Jack Ward led off the session with news on American Junior Hereford Association (AJHA) activi- ties. Long known for its outstanding junior program, the AHA distributed $170,000 in scholarship money to junior members in 2018. Making room for all aspects of beef production, the AJHA annually spon- sors a Fed Steer Shootout, which involves webinars, tours, record books and, most important, an on-feed steer test. In November, junior members deliver their steers to Gregory Feedlot at Tabor, Iowa. Pen-of-three classes as well as individual steer divisions are offered for both purebred and commercial steers. The top five junior entrants at the end of the test go to the National Junior Hereford Expo, where they are given exams and live interviews to determine the eventual winners. Final awards are distributed at the AHA Annual meeting, held in Kansas City in the fall. 2019 is the third year for the Fed Steer Shootout, and it saw a 38 percent increase in junior member participation, with 67 youth representing 15 states. BioZyme, Inc., is adding $30,000 to enhance the Fed Steer Shootout pro- gram in 2019. VitaFerm is also instru- mental in providing support as part of their Feed the Future program. The steer test is underway now, with 206 head currently on feed at the Iowa facility. The Fed Steer Shootout is designed as a holistic educational program that does not include the show ring. Breed improvement Shane Bedwell, AHA COO and director of breed improvement, gave updates on the ever-changing and grow- ing topic of genetic evaluation. A fully automated “genetic pipeline” is making transparency and availability of current EPDS available to the general public. Simply by going to the AHA web- site and entering a given animal’s registra- tion number, we can see the latest genetic data gathered on any registered Hereford. The new system is entitled“Hereford on Demand.” Over 900 AHA members took advantage of the program on its opening day, Jan. 30. Hereford Publications, Inc., is in charge of the new platform. New EPDs are run weekly, and fresh data is available every Monday morn- ing. It can be accessed on nearly every internet-based product. This is a far cry from the not-so-distant past, when the largest breed associations came out with a printed report twice annually. Because EPDs in printed sale catalogs are always going to be outdated by sale time, this new system will allow poten- tial Hereford buyers to pull up the latest data shortly before any given production sale, an especially important convenience for seedstock producers needing accu- racy on many traits. Bedwell said the most important element is current EPDs that are available and accurate. Access to these numbers improves the integrity of the breed. The National Sire Reference Pro- gram (NSRP) used seven accredited test herds and more than 3,500 exposed females to evaluate Hereford bulls in 2018. Test herds generate calves that are monitored from birth through harvest in an unbiased, third-party form. Perfor- mance data and genetic evaluation in this commercial setting adds valuable accuracy to Hereford EPDs and genetic evaluations. Large contemporary groups add accuracy, as well. More than 375 Hereford sires have been tested through the NSRP since its inception. It was noted that quality grade in Hereford test Hereford representatives pause for a moment during the Cattle Industry Convention. Shane Bedwell, Kaylen Alexander and Trey Befort. HEREFORD ASSOCIATION Growing with the Times By Patti Wilson Contributing Editor