Advancements in the Live Animal,
Carcass and End Point
Factors Affecting Sale Price of Bulls
by Troy Smith for Angus Productions Inc.
HOUSTON, Texas (April 20, 2012) — Virginia, like a number of other states, maintains an active and relevant bull test program. Marketing of test bulls shows substantial differences in values assigned by buyers. Virginia Tech University animal scientist Scott Greiner wondered what analysis of 10 year’s worth of bull test and sale data might reveal about what drives commercial cattlemen’s bull-buying decisions. During the 2012 Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Annual Meeting in Houston, Greiner reported findings to the Live Animal, Carcass and End Point Committee.
Scott Greiner
According to Greiner, survey results suggested the “average” bull test buyer is 59 years old and owns 96 beef cows. Commercial herds are nearly evenly split between spring and fall calving seasons. The average bull buyer sells commercial calves at weaning and retains homegrown heifers as herd replacements.
The test and sale data represented Angus, Simmental and SimAngus bulls, for which sale order was determined by an index combining the bulls’ individual performance, on test, with their respective expected progeny difference (EPD) profiles. Very few bulls possessed genomic test information. When such tests had been performed, resulting information was included in genomic-enhanced EPDs. Greiner said analysis of sale prices during the 10-year period suggested bull ranking, by sale order, was strongly relevant.
Results suggest buyers emphasize growth traits and calving ease when assigning value to bulls. Running a distant third is consideration of carcass merit. Greiner said there is some indication that buyers have adopted use of selection indexes in more recent years, but they also continue to place substantial value on individual performance data.
“The old rule-of-thumb indicating a bull should be worth three to five times the value of a weaned steer calf seems to hold up,” said Greiner. “According to our data, that’s what has happened.”
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