90 Bulls, Plus Bred Heifers to be Auctioned
SPRING HILL, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture will host the Bull Test Sale on Friday, January 10, 2020. More than 90 bulls will be sold at the public auction, which begins at 11 a.m. CST at the Middle Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center.
The bulls featured in the sale come from some of the top breeding programs in the state. All have recently passed UTIA’s performance test, which measures each bull’s weight gain, frame score, and reproductive soundness. The sale will feature primarily Angus bulls but will also include Simangus and Hereford.
All bulls in the sale have undergone DNA testing and have genomically-enhanced expected progeny differences (GE-EPDs). This testing greatly improves EPD accuracies for a number of traits and will qualify buyers for substantial savings through cost-share reimbursement from the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program (TAEP).
Several bred heifers from the UT Beef Heifer Development Center will also be sold. These heifers also qualify for TAEP cost share.
Complete test reports and sale catalogs can be found online at http://middle.tennessee.edu, or you can pick up a catalog at any UT Extension office. Catalogs will also be provided at the sale.
Since the sale will coincide with the Tennessee Cattlemen’s Convention and Trade Show in nearby Murfreesboro, Tennessee, convention attendees will have a chance to bid on UT bulls at the convention site. More information on the convention can be found at tncattle.org.
Prospective buyers can also stream the sale online at LiveAuctions.TV, or bid on bulls from a TeleVideo site located at the Greene County Extension office in Greeneville, Tennessee.
The 2019-20 High Gain Award goes to a consignment from Harris Brothers Cattle in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. This Angus finished the test with an average daily weight gain of 6.26 pounds. He scored an off-test weight of 1,543 pounds and a 6.6 frame score.
The purpose of the Bull Testing Station is to provide a standard, impartial post-weaning gain test that will furnish records that will be useful in breeding programs. The Station also provides a market for completely performance-tested bulls and serves as an educational tool for beef cattle improvement.
Through its land-grant mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu.