Performance-tested bulls for sale

Published 10:09 pm Saturday, November 19, 2011

The 42nd annual Calhoun Bull Evaluation Center Bull Sale will be Friday, Dec. 9, at the Northwest Georgia Research and Education Center Livestock Pavilion in Calhoun. The sale starts at 12:30 p.m.

Approximately 105 performance tested bulls will be for sale with 10 breeds represented, including Angus, Charolais, Gelbvieh Balancer, Braunvieh, Hereford, SimAngus, Simmental, Lim-Flex, Limousin, and Red Angus.

The bulls in this sale have been tested for 112 days to evaluate their potential for growth. Only the bulls which rank in approximately the top two-thirds of each breed are allowed to sell (based on ADG-average daily gain and WDA-weight per day of age). These bulls have also passed a breeding soundness exam and are guaranteed as breeders. All known disposition and soundness problems have also been eliminated from the sale.

In addition to performance records, additional information includes Expected Progeny Differences (EPDs) and ultrasound measurements for backfat, ribeye area and percent fat in ribeye area (intramuscular fat).

Each of the bulls offered in the sale will have sound data to back up his performance. You are able to select bulls that best fit your beef herd by comparing EPDs. The EPDs tell us how the average calf crop, sired by a certain bull, will perform. For example, a bull with a weaning EPD of 40 pounds should sire calves that average 40 pounds more at weaning than a bull with a weaning EPD of 0.

The same is true for birth and yearling weights. The milk EPD refers to the added weaning weight of a bull’s daughter’s calves due to her increased milk production. Of course, there are also negative values for each trait as well.

The EPDs have been more accurate in predicting how a bull’s progeny will perform than the bull’s own performance. The most current information will be provided for you to make a sound decision when selecting your next herd sire.

The bulls are available for viewing at the Bull Evaluation Center located just off Ga. Highway 140 on Bells Ferry Road in Floyd County prior to the sale and will be on display at the Livestock Pavilion in Calhoun from Wednesday, Dec. 7, until sale time on Friday, Dec. 9. If you need additional information on the sale visit www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/animals/beef or contact Ted Dyer at (706) 624-1403. Sale catalogs should be available just before the Thanksgiving holidays; contact your local extension agent for a copy or view the catalog on-line.