We register any registerable offspring that is of breeding quality, those that can improve the breed or improve my herd. Fixed males are not registered unless the new owner wants them for showing or needed for movement.

Registered animals bring more than unregistered. (Of course the papers are only as honest as the breeder, that's a given). One must remember also that just because an animal is registered, does not mean it is worth the paper the registration was printed on. Register only those that meet the standard and improve the breed.

Registration papers offer some parentage information: for instance if you are breeding for spotted long haired whatchamacallits, you have the background to make an educated decision on your probabilities for offspring of those qualities. Registration can trace genetic issues, a perfect example is quarter horses. There is a genetic mutation that can be traced back to one single stud. Offspring of that stud are prone to that issue & buyers can avoid that bloodline, or be reasonably assured their purchase does not carry that bloodline.

Registration papers offer locale origin, and can be traced. Some diseases run rampant in certain areas, Tuburculosis & bluetongue come to mind. Also documented on some are the numer of offspring born, and the S*x, so you can make valuable decisions on the likelihood of similar results.

Pedigrees offer the longevity of proven characteristics that at some point would be lost without them. An example is purebred dogs being crossed with other purebred dogs. One thought is hip displacia-common in some breeds not so common in others-certainly the papered cross will succumb to the same issues? One way to avoid issues like this is to know the parentage, study the bloodline, and be aware of issues with your breed.

Papers also make the statement that the breeder manages a bit better, and they took the time to document and manage their herd: IMO correlates a bit above mutts/mixed breeds/herds.

Also the papers document the evolution of the breed, how they came to be, what breeders were striving for, improvements along the way, what combo's worked & what didn't, and oh I guess I'm rambling.

Without registration papers you are buying just the animal. No certificaiton from the breeder, only verbal. There will be no improvements based on known facts. What you see is what you get, double teats, dewclaws, parrotmouth, whathaveyou/whatbreedyou be lost.

I have no idea what breed you have, so one other consideration would be milk records and/or weight gain if a meat breed. Also if a meat breed choices for registration may differ slightly.

I hope this helps. If you are breeding you must have a goal, but eventually if you continue you will be selling offspring. Those offspring can have the option of being registered or not, based on the buyers requests. Just be aware there are registries out there that will take a persons word on the parentage, and slap your name on any ole cow claimed to come from your farm. Just be aware there are registries that will register animals in your name based on the applicants word. This is one way for people to get out of paying the higher price for a registered animal. Bottom line if it meets the standard, register it, but note if it is of "pet" quality only, and give papers if they pay, don't give them if they dont, animals in any registry cannot be double registerd in that registry.

Brendasue

I agree with Brendasue. I have no experience with cattle, but we register any goat that we sell for breeding. By breeding, I mean that the person we sell to intends to breed and sell the offspring for such. If it is going to be a companion animal for other livestock, or going as a "homestead" goat, when the doe will be freshened and the offspring sold for meat or eaten, we don't bother. As Brendasue has said, be picky about who you sell for breeding. If you sell good, registered stock, your reputation as a good place to buy good quality will spread; if someone feels they didn't get the quality they paid for, that will spread as well.

I do artificial insemenation for a living. I can say in all honesty that if corporations are pestering you it means you have a quality animal that they may want... could be big money.
If you have topnotch cows, then AI breed them to topnotch bulls and register the best calves. Any animals that are less than perfect should be bred to a bull of a different breed so that if you get a great calf you won't be tempted to pass it off as registered.

I've raised both regestered cows and sheep. When I was starting with my breeding stock I purchased the best that I could find. I had regestered sheep from Oregon, Maryland and all points in between. I had excellent animals. Unless you plan to show them or raise breeding stock to sell, it doesn't seem to be make a big difference. I sold only 2 breeding females for higher than market price during the entire time.
I'm a believer in keeping good records for your own needs, but, I'm not sure how much benefit regestering to an associatiion does. However, you may want to register your exceptional heifer calf from an exceptional cow. Another consideration that may want to look into is hybrid vigor.