Two National Reference Sire Program (NRSP) herds have made their selections for the 2018 NRSP. The American Hereford Association (AHA) NRSP is a program that allows Hereford breeders to test young sires in real-world commercial settings.

The Sandrock Ranch runs a herd of 300 commercial Hereford cows and 130 registered Hereford females at their operation in Benton, Wisc. The Sandrock Ranch became a National Reference Sire Program (NRSP) test herd last year.

“We’ve been in the Hereford business a long time,” Kevin Bennet, owner of the Sandrock Ranch said. “My grandmother bought some registered Herefords in the early 50s and we’ve been with them ever since.”

As a part of the NRSP, the ranch was given a list of bulls to select from. They selected 43793602 – SHF Emporia 001A E189 and 43802006 – Churchill Rough Rider 719E. 43000470 – LJS MARK DOMINO 0945 will be used as a reference sire to link the NRSP projects together as his data has already been collected through the program. Each bull will be mated to a group of females this spring.

“Our goal is always trying to improve our genetics,” Bennet said. “Utilizing the selected bulls and data collected through the project, we will be able to improve our genetics at a faster rate.”

Breeding the test group of females is the first step to finding and collecting data on young sires through the NRSP.

The Simplot Livestock Co. test herd has also finished up breeding their test groups of females to selected NRSP bulls. This is the eighth year Simplot has participated in the program.

This year, Simplot selected 43595078 – KCF Bennett Sensation B711, 43802046 – Churchill Nightcap 7256E, 43744216 – MCR Flint Hills 10Y 5100 ET and 43408924 – GERBER Anodyne 001A.

Simplot is an extensive commercial program in the northwest and has been a valuable resource for growing the use of Hereford genetics in their area. Hereford bulls being used on a large cow calf operation like Simplot’s allows the breed to gain exposure within the industry and acquires invaluable data on cattle from birth to harvest, including feed intake data.

“We are excited about kicking off the 2018 NRSP with these two great programs that continue to push Hereford genetics forward,” said Shane Bedwell, director of breed improvement and chief operating officer for the AHA.