The American Hereford Association (AHA) National Reference Sire Program (NRSP) is a program that allows Hereford breeders to test young sires in real-world commercial settings.
Obtaining high accuracy carcass expected progeny differences (EPDs)
Obtaining performance data compared to other sires tested in herd contemporaries
Opportunity to market semen as a reference sire in the NRSP after nominated and selected
Opportunity to test sires next to the top Hereford genetics in the breed.
Responsibilities of bull owner
Nominate bulls for test sire.
Nominate bulls to AHA by March 1 each year.
Furnish 75 straws of semen and pay shipping cost to test herds.
Pay fees as required.
Bull Owner Cost
Semen and shipment of semen.
Pay the test herd fee per bull tested when semen is shipped — contact Shane Bedwell for details.
Responsibilities of American Hereford Association
Receives data and reports all data back to bull owner and to test herd. There will be no cost to the test herd or the bull owner for the data reporting done by the AHA.
Responsibilities of Test Herd
Select from nominated bulls.
Contact bull owner for semen shipping instructions.
Breed 70 cows at a random mating across genotypes.
Provide complete data on NRSP forms.
Breeding data: Cow ID, specific breed makeup (based on percent), age of cow at breeding time, date bred and sire used
Birth data: Calf ID, date of birth, weight and calving ease score
