You've reached the Virginia Cooperative Extension Newsletter Archive. These files cover more than ten years of newsletters posted on our old website (through April/May 2009), and are provided for historical purposes only. As such, they may contain out-of-date references and broken links.
To see our latest newsletters and current information, visit our website at http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/.
Newsletter Archive index: http://sites.ext.vt.edu/newsletter-archive/
Wytheville BCIA Bull Sale Results
Livestock Update, May 1997
Ike Eller, Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech
The 18th Annual Virginia Beef Cattle Improvement Association Performance Tested Bull Sale was held at the Southwest Bull Test Station near Wytheville on Saturday, March 22, 1997. The weather was warm and sunny and the capacity crowd in a good mood as they bid enthusiastically on a large consignment of bulls offered. The 145 bulls sold grossed $236,125 to average $1,628. Individual breed averages were as follows: 28 Simmental, $1,813; 5 Gelbvieh, $1,580; 98 Angus, $1,632; 10 Charolais $1,410; and 4 Polled Hereford, $863. Thirty eight senior age bulls averaged $1,764 and 107 junior age bulls averaged $1,580. There were no extreme high price bulls but the sale was considered very solid.
The top selling bull in the sale was an Angus bull, Lot 47, consigned by James P. McKenzie at Rural Retreat, VA, and the buyer was Boyd Sult at Wytheville. The price was $3,100. This excellent son of Westwind Rito 8503 DJH 019 had a weaning weight of 708 pounds, ratio 114; test ADG 3.43, ratio 112; adjusted yearling weight 1,191, ratio 107. His EPDs were birth weight 1.8, weaning weight 31, maternal milk 19 and yearling weight 55. Three other Angus bulls sold for $3,000 each. Lot 94 consigned by Holly Hill Farm at Mt. Sidney, VA, was purchased by Donnie D. Baker of Galax. This Minerts Fortune 2000 son was a top performer with a weaning weight of 813 pounds, ratio 112; test ADG 3.5, ratio 115; yearling weight 1,334, ratio 120. His EPDs were birth weight 4.0, weaning weight 39, maternal milk 20 and yearling weight 61. Lot 21, consigned by James W. Willis of Rocky Mount, VA, sold to Boyd D. Sult at Wytheville. He is a DHD Traveler 6807 son with EPDs of birth weight 2.3, weaning weight 30, maternal milk 14, and yearling weight 61. Lot 3, a GT Maximum son consigned by Justafew Angus at Austinville, VA, sold to Richard Frizzell at Blacksburg, VA. His EPDs were birth weight 3.7, weaning weight 42, maternal milk 10 and yearling weight 73.
The top selling Simmental bull was Lot 418, consigned by Tom & Ruth Clark at Wytheville, VA, and sold at $2,400 to Gillespie Farm at Tazewell, VA. This son of YC Belvue Bud X75 had a weaning weight of 766 pounds, ratio 107; test ADG of 3.04, ratio 102, yearling weight 1,264, ratio 111 and had EPDs of birth weight -1.2, weaning weight 21, maternal milk 1 and yearling weight 33. The second high selling Simmental was Lot 430, a black 7/8ths son of Circle S Leachman 600U consigned by McDonald Farms at Blacksburg, VA, and sold at $2,100 to Rodney Y. Wagner of Abingdon, VA. He was the top performing Simmental in the sale with a weaning weight of 751 pounds, ratio 115 and test ADG of 3.57, ratio 120, a yearling weight of 1,329, ratio 116 and had EPDs of birth weight 0, weaning weight 15, maternal milk -3 and yearling weight 28.
The top selling Charolais was Lot 304, a son of HBR Performer 181P that topped the senior test and was consigned by Leo and Annette Muncy at Lerona, WV. He brought $1,800 and was purchased by Burton Eller at Marion, VA. He had a weaning weight of 737 pounds, a test ADG of 3.71, ratio 109, yearling weight of 1,121, ratio 103. His EPDs were birth weight 2.3, weaning weight 25, maternal milk 6 and yearling weight 38.
Two bulls in the Gelbvieh group brought $1,700 and both were consigned by C. H. Morris & Sons at Appomattox, VA. Both were black. Lot 602 was purchased by James H. Durham at Tazewell and Lot 603 by Samuel C. Bowen at Wytheville, VA. Both of these bulls were sired by JNS MR PM 27A ET.
Two Polled Hereford bulls each brought $950. Lot 203 was consigned by Diamond W Farm at Abingdon and sold to James R. Huddle at Ceres, VA. Lot 204 was consigned by Jack & Shirley Buchanan at Tazewell, VA, and sold to t. M. Jackson at Austinville.
Bulls from the sale went into 25 Virginia counties and 3 states other than Virginia, including Tennessee, West Virginia, and North Carolina.
The 145 bulls which sold in the sale represented the top performing two-thirds of the 215 bulls tested at the Southwest Bull Test Station owned and operated by E. D. Umberger and family. All breeders consigning bulls are members of the Virginia Beef Cattle Improvement Association, headquartered at the Animal and Poultry Science Department at Virginia Tech at Blacksburg. The sale was managed by Mike Gothard, VA Sale Services at Staunton, VA, and the auctioneer was Mike Jones from Georgia.