Following is some information that you might consider recording at calving for a commercial cow/calf operation. If you are a seedstock producer, contact the breed organization to find out what information they need you to record to meet the breed's specific requirements for data to be used in calculation of Expected Progeny Differences (EPD).
1. Dam ID
2. Calf ID
3. Sire ID (or IDs if from multisire breeding group)
4. Birth Date
5. Sex of Calf
6. Calving Ease Score
7. Calf Birth Weight
8. Birth management code, contemporary group ID, or pasture
9. Horned/Polled Status
10. Coat color or any special markings on the calf
11. Dam information such as whether she claimed and mothered the calf; disposition, udder quality, etc.
See the Beef Improvement suggestions and guidelines for standardized record collection procedures for beef cattle at:
www.beefimprovement.org/library/06guidelines.pdf
The National Beef Cattle Evaluation Consortium provides a chapter on “Data Collection and Interpretation” in the Beef Sire Selection Manual available at:
www.nbcec.org/nbcec/sire_selection/sire_selection_manual.html.
