Select at least one digit, which reflects the animal’s birth year. An additional four digits may be used to complete the animal’s assigned herd ID. Example: 1001 represents the first calf born in 2010. 1002 represents the second calf born in 2010, etc.
Use a letter of the alphabet to identify the calf’s birth year. The letter X would be included in the herd ID to designate a calf born in 2010. Example: X01 represents the first calf born in 2010. X02 represents the second calf born in 2010, etc. Using an ear tag to identify a newborn calf is effective form of ID until a more permanent method, such as tattooing or freeze-branding, can be administered.
A 2013 B 2014 C 2015 D 2016 E 2017 F 2018 G 2019 H 2020 J 2021 K 2022 L 2023 M 2024 N 2025 P 2026 R 2027 S 2028 T 2029 U 2030 W 2031 X 2032 Y 2033 Z 2034
The system does not use letters I, O, V or Q.