How to Submit Registrations at Holstein Canada

There are 4 easy ways to register an animal:

1. Online: Sign-up for a Holstein Canada account and submit an e-registration.
2. Electronic Registration Application (ERA): Use your existing records prepared from your on-farm software to register animals.
3. Accredited Filing Business: Submit registrations through CanWest DHI and Valacta who offer these services to submit registrations on your behalf. If you are submitting your registrations electronically online, ERA or through an accredited filing business, you will require an electronic registration filing agreement (ERFA).
4. Hardcopy: You can mail or fax hardcopy register forms to Holstein Canada. Need more hardcopy registration forms, click here to order .

What information do you need to register an animal? Here are 4 quick steps to follow:

• Step 1: Record the following pieces of information on the animal:
  • service date and animal serviced
  • sire ID in herd breeding records.
    *Review the Record-Keeping guidelines to ensure you keep appropriate records.
  • Date of birth, sex, and birth type (ie.twinning and colour)
• Step 2: Tag newborn calves with NLID/ATQ tags upon birth of animal.
• Step 3: Submit your application for registry by one of the above 4 ways.
• Step 4: Verify accuracy of birth information with herd records upon receipt of Certificate of Registry

Additional Registration Information:

Adding a Photo or Sketch

During the registration process, you have the option of adding a photo or sketch of your Holstein animal. The photo or sketch will be added to the Certificate of Registry of your Holstein animal.

Please note that a $2 administrative fee will be charged for adding a photo or sketch after the registration has been processed.

The addition of photos and sketches are a helpful identification tool. Should your animal lose their NLID/ATQ ear tags, the photo can act as a secondary source of ID confirmation.

Requirements for Submitting Photo or Sketch with Electronic Registration Application

If you would like to submit an image with an animal registration, the image file should satisfy the specifications listed below. Images will be saved on Holstein Association of Canada’s database and automatically resized to fit the designated print area on the certificate of registry.

Image Specifications:

• Only one image file can be submitted for each application.
• The image can be a scanned picture or sketch or a picture taken by a digital camera.
• Take digital pictures at draft or low quality.
• Scan photos and sketches at less than 100 dpi (dots per inch).
• The image should be a minimum of 5 x 5 cm OR 200 x 200 pixels OR 2 x 2 in.
• If the image file includes photo or sketch of both sides of the animal, the minimum image size becomes 5 x 10 cm OR 200 x 400 pixel OR 2 x 4in. Note: Must be submitted as one image file.
• The size of the image file should be less than 20MB. Reducing the file size to less than 5MB will decrease the probability of a time-out error during transmission via the web.
• Each animal's image must be saved as a separate file. The image file name must be unique within the ERA file. Naming the image file the same as the EZE-IR/ATQ number is recommended (ie. 8123456.jpg).
• The image file must be saved as .jpg format.

Photo Recommendations:

• Location: Breeders are encouraged to routinely use a designated location specifically set up for photographing animals. To avoid shadows or glare, the light source should be in back of the photographer.
• Animal ID: Inclusion of the calf number in photograph is ideal and prevents mix-ups.
• Background: The animal should be photographed in front of contrasting absorbent background. Four straw bales (2 on edge side, and 2 high) or a clean sheet of natural plywood provide an ideal contrasting background.
• Photographer: The photographer should be positioned 3-5 meters from the animal in order to obtain photographs of calves with proper dimensions.