More Than 170 Heifers Offered At May 21 Show-Me-Select Sale

VIENNA, MO.

   The Central Missouri Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program will hold its second annual spring sale at the South Central Regional Stockyards in Vienna at 6 p.m. Friday, May 21.

   More than 170 heifers will be available for viewing in their respective sale lots after 4 p.m. Online bidding will be available through DVAuction.com.

   University of Missouri Extension’s Show-Me-Select heifer program is a nationally recognized educational program that helps producers develop and market productive females that can remain in the herd for years, says Anita Ellis, extension livestock specialist and Central Region SMS coordinator.

   “Under the supervision of producers, veterinarians and University of Missouri Extension livestock specialists, each heifer goes through a strict health and reproductive protocol to help reduce calving difficulty, providing a legitimate guarantee,” Ellis says.

   This sale offers a variety of heifers including black Angus, black- whiteface Angus cross, Charolais cross, Limousin and Lim-flex crossbreeds, she says.

   For more information or to receive a catalog, contact Ellis at 573-642-0755 or snella@missouri.edu.

   For sale details and videos of the incoming heifers, visit facebook.com/SMSCentralMO.

   Ellis says last year’s sale – the first in the region in many years – saw a large turnout and active bidding. Sale receipts for the 145 heifers topped $251,575, and online bidding was a popular option. “We had about a 75 percent increase in producer participation in this area in the first year,” she says. “And this year it continues to grow. 

   We have an additional nine new producers to add to this year’s sale.”

  All heifers in the Show-Me-Select program are pregnancy-tested by a veterinarian within 90 days of breeding to determine expected calving date. The use of ultrasound helps improve calving-date accuracy.

   During the development period, the heifers undergo an extensive health program and receive vaccinations at weaning, pre-breeding and pregnancy examination. MU Extension livestock specialists and USDA graders treat heifers several times for internal and external parasites and screen them for blemishes, condition, muscling and structural soundness. ∆