Steve Williams of J & W Simmentals receiving his plaque for their consignment J&W Mr Cruising that was the winner of the Florida Bull Test. Pictured (from L to R): Nick Comerford (NFREC Center Director), Steve Williams, and David Thomas (NFREC Beef Unit Supervisor).
The Florida Bull Test Sale was held on January 17, 2015 at the North Florida Research and Education Center in Marianna, FL. Of the 102 bulls originally consigned to the test, 56 bulls were auctioned off at the sale. Only bulls meeting specific benchmarks were eligible for the sale. In addition, bulls were inspected for structural soundness and disposition and passed a breeding soundness exam to qualify for the sale. Additional information, such as actual performance data, expected progeny differences (EPDs), and carcass ultrasound data was available for bull buyers to aid in the selection of excellent quality bulls to purchase.
56 bulls sold for a record average price of $4,586 per bull at the 2015 Florida Bull Test Sale.
The sale grossed $256,800 with an average of $4,586 per lot. Angus bulls averaged $4,515 on 27 lots; Hereford bulls averaged $5,100 on 2 lots; SimAngus bulls averaged $4,879 on 14 lots; and Simmental bulls averaged $4,338 on 13 lots. The high selling bull was lot 1, J&W Cruising, selling for $6,500. He was purchased by Phil Farris of Elba, AL. The consignor was J & W Simmentals of Headland, AL.
The Florida Bull Test focuses on testing bulls on a diet that includes a high proportion of forage, targeting an average daily gain (ADG) of 3.5 pounds of gain per day. In addition, bulls were placed in the University of Florida – NFREC Feed Efficiency Facility to obtain individual feed intake data and calculate feed efficiency. Overall ranking for the test is based on ADG and the weight per day of age (WDA) generating an index ratio. The top performing bull and top performing SimAngus bull, J&W Mr Cruising, was owned by J & W Simmentals of Headland, AL who indexed 129 with an ADG of 4.13 and WDA of 4.04 lb/day. The top Angus bull, Gray’s Impression 6262 301, owned by Grayhaven Farms of Monticello, FL was ranked 2nd overall and indexed 122 with an ADG of 4.46 and WDA of 3.23 lb/day. The top Charolais bull owned by Rogers Bar HR of was ranked 3th overall and indexed 120 with an ADG of 4.59 and WDA of 2.96 lb/day. The top Simmental bull, A-7, owned by R & K Farm of Elba, AL was ranked 9th overall and indexed 114 with an ADG of 4.37 and WDA of 2.80 lb/day. The top Hereford bull, JTN Revolution 911Y A19, owned by J Taylor Neighbors of Americus, GA was ranked 11th overall and indexed 113 with an ADG of 3.78 and WDA of 3.34 lb/day. The top Braford bull, 4056, owned by Running M Farm of Tallahassee, FL was ranked 38th overall and indexed 103 with an ADG of 3.44 and WDA of 3.06 lb/day. The top Brahman bull, 409, owned by Ford Farms of Malone, FL was ranked 62nd overall and indexed 98 with an ADG of 3.46 and WDA of 2.69 lb/day.
For those interested in consigning bulls for the 2015-2016 test, feel free to visit the web page at http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/fl_bull_test , for the most current information.
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