Now in its 20th year, the National Reference Sire Program (NRSP) is a program that allows Hereford breeders to test young sires in real-world commercial settings. Not only does this allow breeders to obtain high accuracy expected progeny differences (EPDs) and performance data, but it also allows them to test sires next to the top Hereford genetics in the breed. To date, the NRSP has tested more than 375 bulls for economically relevant traits of interest.

Simplot Livestock Co., Grand View, Idaho, has made their breeding decisions for the 2019 breeding season, making this the ninth consecutive year of their participation in the NRSP.

Simplot selected 43852012– UPS 2504 Sensation 7616, 43889973 – C 4038 Bell Air 8108 ET, 43672237 – LOEWEN Direction 57C and 43636764 – BEHM 100W Cuda 504C, as well as 43092364 – CHURCHILL Sensation 028X, who will be used as a reference sire.

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.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the NRSP.