Starting a new stud can be daunting and in this section we will provide a basic guide to becoming a Registered Charolais stud. This is by means a complete guide to breeding Charolais and should be read in conjunction with the Society Regulations.
The tattoo and Herd ID are three characters or numerals that make a unique identifier for your herd. All cattle that you bred will be tattooed in the ear with this unique combination.
A unique name that prefixes all the animal names that you breed. Every registered animal in the Charolais herdbook has a unique name which may be in different formats but will always commence with a prefix if born in Australia. Eg if the herd prefix was White an example could be White Bruce or White B1E. Your prefix could be the name of your farm, company, surname etc.
YEAR LETTER:
All registered animals have a year letter that signifies the year they were born. This forms part of the animal identification. The letters I and O are not used due to their similarity to 0 & 1. The first animal born in 2018 will be P1 etc
2015 L
2016 M
2017 N
2018 P
2019 Q
2020 R
2021 S
ANIMAL NUMBER:
Each animal is given a number usually in the order of birth which is added to the tattoo, year letter and grade to form a unique code for each animal.
GRADE:
Australian quarantine regulations restricted the live imports of Charolais when the breed first entered Australia and many of our modern Charolais cattle are bred up over five generations to become an Australian Purebred. To indicate the grade of the animal a letter is added after the year letter and drop number to show the Charolais content in an animal. If an animal’s pedigree can be traced 100% to the French Herdbook it is deemed Full French.
The grades are
A = Half bred animal
B = Three quarter bred animal
C = Seven eighths bred animal
D = Australian Purebred
E = Australian Purebred
F = Full French
Grade Chart
| SIRE | Base | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| DAM | Base | A | A | A | ||||
| A | A | A | A | B | B | B | ||
| B | A | B | B | C | C | C | ||
| C | A | B | C | D | D | D | ||
| D | A | B | C | D | D | E | E | |
| E | A | B | C | D | E | E | E | |
| F | A | B | C | D | E | E | F |
HERD MAINTENANCE FEES (HMF)
(Also referred to as Herd Inventory)
The Charolais Society of Australia has an inventory system for fees. When a calf is registered it is given an active status. Each year every member will receive an HMF inventory list (Herd Maintenance List) which they can adjust the active status of animals in their herd. The Society generates an invoice for all active females over the age of 30 months on the 31st December of the billing year. This fee maintains the active status of the female and includes the registration of progeny for that year. Females made inactive can be reinstated back to active upon payment of a fee and written advice to the office.
All calves should be registered prior to turning 12 months of age.
TRANSFERS
When a member sells an animal to another registered breeder they are required to transfer ownership through the office. There is a fee for a female transfer and males are transferred free of charge.
DNA
All sires used in the Charolais Society Herdbook are required to have a DNA profile recorded on the database as outlined in the Regulations. Members are advised to read the regulations carefully for the DNA test required for their sires. If you have any questions please consult with the office staff.
