URBANA, Ill. - Commercial cow-calf producers and seedstock breeders interested in purchasing a total performance-tested bull will want to attend the 2015 Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 19, at 11 a.m. at the Livestock Center on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.
The sale will be the lead-off event for the Illinois Beef Expo. There are 69 bulls cataloged including 15 longer-aged 2013 mature bulls and 54 yearlings. A breakdown of the breeds includes 32 Angus, 32 Simmental and SimAngus, and 5 Polled Hereford.
The 2015 edition will be the 47th annual sale that has featured 4,576 bulls valued at over 7.9 million dollars sold at previous sales, according to Travis Meteer, IPT Bull Sale manager. Meteer explained that the sale order will be based on a “power score” system that utilizes the economic indexes provided by the breed associations. The power score will be calculated on the percentile rank for these values. The economic indexes are $W and $B for Angus, API and TI for Simmental, and BMI and CHB for Hereford.
Along with strict requirements for superior EPDs (expected progeny differences), bulls must meet some of the most rigorous requirements in the industry. “These bulls don’t just have to pass the test, they have to pass every test,” Meteer said.
All bulls must meet a stringent minimum scrotal circumference for their age. Mothers of the bulls are required to test negative for Johne’s Disease or come from a Level 1 or higher herd of the Voluntary Johne’s Certification Program. Bulls also must be tested free of bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) using the persistently infected (PI) ear-notch screening system. All senior and January yearlings must be fertility tested. All bulls must meet weight, frame, and functional soundness evaluations prior to the sale.
The 2015 IPT Bull Sale offers some of the most elite bulls found anywhere in the United States as verified by their power scores, Meteer said. “Highlighting the 2015 sale will be several genetic powerhouse bulls that have light birth weight, high growth, and carcass desirability. Proven breed leaders, AI sires, and legendary breed icons fill the pedigrees of the bulls. There are truly unique combinations of performance, pedigree, and phenotype offered through the sale,” he added.
The IPT Bull Sale catalog along with supporting information can be found online at http://www.iptbullsale.com/. The website contains all pedigree information, adjusted weights, power scores, and EPDs on seven different traits and two-dollar value indexes. In addition, there is a list of registration numbers for all bulls that allow prospective buyers to print a “performance pedigree” from the breed associations. The website also provides more complete information on how the power score is calculated, as well as a summary of the past 46 IPT Bull Sales.
Online bidding will be offered through DV Auction.
Meteer added that several of the bulls will sell with genomic-enhanced EPDs, which increases the accuracy and reliability of the EPD values. All of this year’s consignors have consigned bulls to previous sales and represent some of the elite seedstock suppliers in the state of Illinois and the Midwest. “The bulls that will sell on Feb. 19 are a direct result of generations of planned matings,” he added.
The sale is supported by University of Illinois Extension, U of I Department of Animal Sciences, Illinois Angus Association, Illinois Simmental Association, Vita-Ferm, Merial, Zoetis 50K, and ABS.
Source: UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS