Registering Cattle with Angus Australia - Overview

Angus Australia provides a number of cattle Registers designed to improve the breeding quality and market value of Angus and Angus infused cattle. The registers have different purposes but the registration process for most is similar. All Full and Junior members of Angus Australia may use the Registers. This guide aims to explain the different Registers, the Herd Inventory process, the registration process and performance recording using Angus GROUP BREEDPLAN.

The Registers

Angus Australia currently operates six different registers. You may have different sections of your herd registered in one or more of these registers at any one time. Each animal can only be registered in one register at a time. It is possible to change an animal from one register to another depending on circumstances. A calf will automatically be registered in the register where its mother is recorded provided the sire status is compatible.

The current registers are:

HBR - Herd Book Register
RAR- Red Angus Register
APR - Angus Performance Register
MBR - Multi Breed Register
ACR - Angus Commercial Register
PTR - Progeny Test Register

Herd Book Register (HBR)

The Herd Book Register is the original Herd Book or Stud Register of Angus Australia and has the highest quality requirements of all the registers. It is a closed Herd Book, which means that animals can only be registered in the HBR if both their parents are already enrolled in that register. No outside animals are eligible and animals cannot be upgraded from other registers into the HBR unless their parents qualify. Strict Regulations cover registration in the HBR. An update of the Regulations is printed annually and changes to the Regulations are notified to members in the Angus Bulletin three times each year. The major differences between the HBR and other registers are:

Only animals with both parents registered in the HBR are eligible for registration. Animals registered in approved overseas registers are eligible for registration in the Australian HBR.

Individual animal identification requirements are clearly laid out and are inspected for animals entered in Royal shows and special sales.

From 1/1/2003 all calves entered in the HBR must have their sire DNA Typed; and if from embryo transfer then the donor dam must be DNA Typed if flushed after that date to enable reliable parent varification.

At least one calf in every 1000 registrations is DNA typed and parent verified at Angus Australia's expense.

Mannosidosis freedom. All animals in the HBR are direct descendants of animals which were tested and culled for the genetic recessive Alpha Mannosidosis.

See Herd Book Register (HBR) for more information.

The Red Angus Register (RAR)

This register was set up to allow herds moving cattle from the Red Angus Society of Australia to Angus Australia. Where animals are not eligible for registration in the HBR, they can be registered in the RAR if they meet the following requirements:

A three generation certificate from an approved register (eg Red Angus Society of Australia) must be provided.

Animals must be red in colour and their stud name shall include the word "Red" in the name or in brackets at the end of their name.

RAR animals have been recommended to be eligible to compete at shows in Angus classes.

See Red Angus Register (RAR) for more information.

The Angus Performance Register (APR)

The APR allows non-HBR straightbred Angus cattle to be pedigree and performance recorded for seedstock purposes. Animals can enter the register by:

Being recorded as a base APR animal with no prior history with Angus Australia

As the progeny of a female who is registered HBR, RAR or APR and an HBR, RAR or APR sire

Being downgraded from HBR or RAR

See Angus Performance Register (APR) for more information.

The Multi Breed Register (MBR)

The Multi Breed Register is a seedstock register for non-straightbred Angus. Recording pedigree information in the MBR allows herds breeding Angus influenced seedstock to participate in Angus GROUP BREEDPLAN. For example, a breeder producing Charolais-Angus bulls would be able to record their herd in the MBR and obtain EBVs. In time and with sufficient AGBU research those EBVs are expected to become comparable to the Angus EBV base.

See Multi Breed Register (MBR) for more information.

The Angus Commercial Register (ACR)

The Angus Commercial Register is a non-seedstock register and is strictly for the production of commercial steers and heifers. It is designed to performance record commercial Angus and Angus influenced crossbred animals for inclusion in Angus GROUP BREEDPLAN to:

improve commercial female herds;

assist in marketing commercial heifers using the EBVs;

enable commercial breeders to record and measure their herd's performance against the seedstock herds;

assist seedstock herds to increase their sire accuracy. Commercial Angus information is contributed to the Angus GROUP BREEDPLAN database and used in the analysis of sires used in the commercial herds.
Carcase data from commercial steers grown out and slaughtered together is particularly useful in the ACR.

Cattle may enter the ACR in a number of ways: as base animals with no previous history; as the progeny of ACR females; being downgraded from HBR, RAR or APR registers; or as the progeny of ACR females and sires from the seedstock registers.

See Angus Commercial Register (ACR) for more information.

The Progeny Test Register (PTR)

The Progeny Test Register is designed to improve the EBV accuracies of Angus bulls recorded in other Angus seedstock registers. It is provided for the recording steer and heifer data from approved Progeny Test Programs. Unlike the other registers, there is no Herd Inventory and no females recorded - only the progeny of registered bulls are recorded. Straightbred and crossbred progeny are eligible and EBVs are not provided on the progeny. PTR data for Angus GROUP BREEDPLAN analysis contributes to the sire EBV and accuracy figures only.

See Progeny Test Register (PTR) for more information.