Breed Development — Elite Programs

Canadian Angus Elite Cow: has a minimum of five calves, four of which must be registered, to determine her regularity of calving and ability to consistently produce calves with a superior weaning weight year after year, display early puberty, breeding and early calving, followed by regularity of calving and high performance offspring. The Canadian Angus Elite Cow Report identifies superior cows in the Canadian Angus herdbook.

Canadian Angus Elite Sire: has sired six or more Elite Cows within the current listing. The Elite Sire Report recognizes and celebrates bulls in the Canadian Angus herdbook that have consistently produced superior daughters.

2010 Elite Cows

2010 Elite Sires

To Search for Elite Cows and/or Sires

Using the Animal Inquiry search option, based on a variety of criteria including colour, name, calving year, breeder location, you can search for the superior animal perfect for your breeding plan. Use the "select if" boxes to choose Elite Dam or Elite Sire. If you are an authorized user, you can access a list of your herd's Elite Sires and Dams under the Animal Inquiry menu. Log on as an authorized user, then using the Animal Inquiry search option, select "animals under your ownership or your female inventory”. Click here for further instructions.

Canadian Elite Cow Criteria

1.    The cow must be enrolled in the Canadian Angus Performance Program.

2.    The cow must have a calf with a 205-day weight recorded within the past 18 months.

3.    The cow's first calf must be born and weaned within 1,000 days.

4.    The cow must maintain a regular calving interval.
(regular is considered to be 365 + 30 days/number of calving intervals)

5.   The average of the cow's first four calves' weaning weight ratio (index) must be at least 105. If she fails to do this with her first four calves (i.e. produces twins or becomes donor dam), she can qualify later providing she has four calves with an average progeny weaning weight ratio (index) of 105, and she meets the other requirements.

6.   All of the cow's calves must be in contemporary groups with no less than 10 herd mates to determine the weaning weight ratio.

7.   The cow's progeny must be sired by a registered Angus bull.

Once a cow is designated an Elite Cow, she is always an Elite Cow, however she will not be published on the Canadian Angus Elite List in any year that she did not qualify. For this reason, the list available to authorized users through Animal Inquiry may be different than the online report. The list available to online users is for your entire herd and will include cows that may not have made the most recent list.