Tested Bull Sale – March 25
ELDON COLE
MT. VERNON, MO.
The 93rd Southwest Missouri All-Breed Performance Tested Bull Sale will be March 25, 7 pm at the Springfield Livestock Marketing Center. I wish I could say there was a good assortment of breeds but it’s 41 Angus, 4 Charolais and 1 Gelbvieh.
Each of the 46 bulls has met the strict expected progeny difference (EPD) requirements for the sale. We require that bulls must rank in the top 50th percentile on 3 of the following 6 traits: calving ease (CED); weaning weight; yearling weight; milk; intramuscular fat (marbling); ribeye area (REA). These requirements assure that the bull has some, above average traits and should help some herds.
Some breeds have 20 or more EPD’s or indexes to evaluate a bull on. Many of the bulls in our sale will have genomic data which improves the EPD accuracies. The genomic data often is obtained after the bulls are catalogued but it’s available sale day. Ask the consignors for it if you’re interested in a bull.
I tell bull buyers that in order to be a sharp, knowledgeable buyer of bulls you must know something about your cows and heifers. Performance on your cows is just as important as buying a bull’s performance genetics. The Missouri Steer Feedout provides an excellent means of finding out more about your herd’s strengths and possibly its weaknesses.
Let me know if I can help you understand the bull’s performance numbers. Oh, yes it’s important to evaluate the appearance and structural correctness of a bull before you start bidding but make sure you admire his “numbers” first and not just his looks.
The bull sale catalog will be available about March 1. Get one and study the data. Most extension centers should have catalogs or you can go online and print it off at: http://www.swmobcia.com ∆
ELDON COLE: Extension Livestock Specialist, University of Missouri