commercial vs registered

[Sir-Loin]

Could someone please explain to me the difference between a

commercial herd and a  registered herd?

SL

[buckfarmer]

I always thought a comercial herd was one that just owned cows. Many of the cattle we owned I couldn't even tell what breed they were. I think registered are documented with some breed association. Registered seem to be worth more on foot. Not sure they taste any different on the plate. I think some of the bulls dad owned could have been registered but we never took the time.

[Husker-J]

A registered animal has its lineage traced back a certain number of generations, and also has certain record keeping requirements that must be met. 
For example, a registered bull I got last year, comes with papers that say who its parents and grandparents were (and I think they all have to be registered, as well) along with other details such as birth weight, weight @ so many days old, weight at a year old, along with the expected performance of his offspring, in terms of birth weight, growth rate, milking ability (in a heifer) and so on.

A commercial herd, more or less, just consists of animals of a certain breed.

[pritchh]

in dairy registered is registered with a breed association, parents etc have to be registered. It is a way to document lineage.

Grade is non registered. For pure production, grade is fine, registered is necessary  if you plan to sell breeding stock. Milk is the SAME, registered may go for 20% more.