Stick To Your Plan.... Tips For Bull Sales
So it’s time to buy a bull, I’m Susan Allen and when Open Range returns I’ll share some bull buying tips from the experts. It’s a given that adding new genetics into a herd is critical for the success of a beef operation. Unlike past eras’ doing your homework before the sale now means spending hours on the computer and internet studying expected progeny differences known as EPD’s to insure that you add traits that will complement, better yet, enhance your cow herd and result in high value calves. It’s been predicted that the price for bulls could be $500 to$1000 more than last year and the higher costs are being attributed to increased development costs the seedstock producers are paying . Bob Weaver a cow –calf specialist from Kansas State recommends getting to know your seedstock supplier so they understand your goals well in advance of the sale. He encourages producers to “make a short list of six to twelve animals from the catalog and arrive early to inspect those bulls. Then you cut this list of candidates based on conformation, disposition and intuition.” The hard part then is to stay focused on the bulls you selected. Sit on your hands and stick to your plan. Weaver councils that “failure to plan is planning to fail.” Good advice and remember while the price of bulls have gone the price of the exceptional calves they produce will as well.
