North American Limousin Foundation (NALF)

North American Limousin Foundation (NALF) Interface with CattleMax

As a registered plan CattleMax customer and member of the North American Limousin Foundation, you can save yourself time and effort by using the following features.  

• Import your breed association cattle records into CattleMax
• Sync the association data with your animals in CattleMax who have matching registration numbers
• Register your calves with the association after adding the calf to CattleMax

The Herd Inventory file or Herd Extract is a copy of your active registered cattle records, 3 generation pedigrees, current EPDs, and current performance information as previously submitted to the association. 

Important Items to Note:

• If importing records, please wait until the import process is complete before entering any records into your CattleMax Online account.
• Do not open any files from the association prior to importing them into CattleMax as this will likely lead to information being imported incorrectly.  If you have opened it, please re-download the file and start the process again with the re-downloaded file.
• If you are not able to see the option for entering a registration number on an individual animal, please update your account settings. (Customizing CattleMax / Account Settings - click here.)

How do I obtain the file from the Breed Association for import into CattleMax? 

The North American Limousin Foundation allows members to download their herd inventory file by logging into their account on the breed association’s website.

Please email alison@nalf.org attention Alison at the Breed Association with any questions or concerns. You may be charged $25 for this file download and an additional $25 if you later request an updated file.

To obtain the file you will log in to their Digital Beef account then navigate the red and green tabs to find Tools.
Expand Tools to click on Integration then click on Download.

From there, you will select CattleMax from the 3rd-Party Vendor and follow the steps. 

I have the unopened herd file. Now what?

1. Open your CattleMax account.
2. Click on the Cattle tab at the top > View All Groups and Interfaces.
3. Choose your breed association name from under the Breed Interfaces section or if you do not see it here then you need to set-up the respective breed interface in CattleMax. Enabling Breed Association Interfaces - click here.
4. Be sure to notice the file format. To import properly, your file must be in the format shown in CattleMax.
5. Click browse (in the Import Herd Inventory section) then select the file you saved to your computer (NOTE: Do not import a file that has been opened.)
6. When available, consider using the Sync feature by placing a checkmark next to Sync. (See details below regarding this feature.)
7. Click Import Animals to finish the task.
8. NOTE: If importing records, please wait until the import is complete before entering any records into your CattleMax Account. If you do happen to have cattle already in the account, be sure each of those registered animals has the correct registration number entered in CattleMax to match the import registration number.

I already have cattle in my CattleMax account. How do I use the Sync option?

The Sync option is available to allow adding new animal records to the CattleMax herd data or completing/updating current animal records (such as pedigree, performance, etc.). CattleMax will match registration numbers for the file to be imported, so it is important the registration numbers in your CattleMax herd file EXACTLY match your breed association records.

While your association may use letter prefixes as part of the animal registration number in their database, they may not consider that prefix part of the animal’s official registration number.  Therefore, the association may drop the letter prefix in their file for import into CattleMax. Be sure any animals you already have in your CattleMax account have their registration number entered accordingly prior to import to prevent duplication of animal records.

How do I submit a new calf registration file from CattleMax to the Breed Association?

The calves eligible for registration will be shown when you go to the Cattle tab > View All Groups and Interfaces > choose your breed association name.  Only calves that do not have any data in the Registration # line will appear for review on this form.

If there are errors (information missing from the calf record which the association requires), there will be an Error noted rather than the checkbox. To correct the Error(s), click Edit to be shown what is missing or in error on that record. Once the information is completed, the checkbox will then appear for your use.

You can select the calves you want to submit for registration by checking the box beside their ID, or if you want to submit all, check the box in the header.  Once everything is correct and you are ready to submit/upload to your breed association, click the Download Electronic Registration File of Selected Animals button at the bottom then save the file to your computer desktop for easy access. 

You will then attach this calf registration file to an email to be sent to the association through the following email address alison@nalf.org attention Alison.

I sent the new calf registration file to the Breed Association. Now what?

When you have used the CattleMax interface to submit registrations to your breed association, and you have been notified your registrations are complete, you will need to enter the registration numbers into CattleMax as there is not a direct import set up.

The easiest way to transfer the registration numbers is to perform a group update to “retag” your calves. The group update - retag cattle will allow you to view your newly registered calves identification information in a spreadsheet-style view.  You can then split your screen to view your electronic registration file received from the Breed Association and the Retag Cattle view in CattleMax at the same time. You will then copy the registration number for one calf and paste it in the Reg Num column for that calf.  Once all registration numbers have been copied/pasted into CattleMax click on Update Animals.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at howdy@cattlemax.com or 1-800-641-2343 for assistance.