The 2021 date for the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) ninth annual Replacement Female Sale will be Friday evening, November 26. The sale will be held at the Muskingum Livestock Auction Co. in Zanesville, Ohio and will begin at 6:00 p.m.
The 2021 OCA Replacement Female Sale will provide an opportunity for both buyers and sellers to meet the need for quality replacements in the state. Consignments may include cow-calf pairs, bred cows and bred heifers. Females must be under the age of five as of January 1, 2022 and may be of registered or commercial background. Bred females must be bred to a bull with known EPD’s and calves at side of cows must be sired by a bull with known EPD’s. Pregnancy status must be verified by an accredited veterinarian through traditional palpation, ultrasound or by blood testing through a professional laboratory. Analysis must be performed within 60 days of sale. Consignments will also be fulfilling of specific health requirements.
Why discuss a sale that is several months away? The middle of the 2021 breeding season is an excellent time to evaluate your herd and consider marketing decisions for the fall. Young, high quality cattle backed by solid genetics are in demand with potential buyers. Yearling heifers bred artificially to proven calving ease sires are very marketable. A shorter breeding season that results in a tighter calving window has also proven to be popular with potential buyers. As we think about that tight breeding season, consider those January to early May calving females as potential consignments and breeding pieces that will fit calving windows for many Ohio producers.
It is also a great time to evaluate the body condition of potential sale animals and make nutritional adjustments to the animal’s diet in anticipation of a late November sale date. Body Condition Scores in the 5-6 range on a 9-point scale at sale time is a good goal to strive to achieve. Additional considerations when evaluating females and making breed decisions include udder conformation and temperament/docility.
At the 2020 sale, buyers evaluated 83 lots of bred heifers, bred cows and a cow-calf pair at the auction. The sale included 50 lots of bred heifers that averaged $1,659, 21 lots of bred cows that averaged $2,129 and one cow-calf pair that sold for $1,950. The 83 total lots grossed $159,025 for an overall average of $1,844. The females sold to buyers from Ohio and West Virginia.
Source : osu.edu