Before the sale: Steps 5 – 8
Meat & Livestock Australia September 28, 2021
5. Contact the stud to gain more information about the bulls and the stud’s breeding program.
If you’ve identified some bulls you’re interested in at a particular stud, it’s best to contact the stud directly to gain a clearer insight into their breeding objectives, the traits they’re recording, sire and dam history, joining periods and other management, including vaccination history and whether they meet your biosecurity requirements.
You should also ask whether sale bulls have a BULLCHECK certificate available.
6. Develop a primary list of potential bulls to purchase from the sale.
Choose your top bulls that meet your breeding objective. Use the relevant index first to rank and narrow down the available bulls in priority order, then use the breeding values identified in your breeding objective to create a shortlist of bulls to view on sale day.
7. Develop a secondary list of potential bulls.
Always have a second-tier group, in case the bulls on your primary shortlist aren’t structurally sound or sell above your budgeted price. This is especially important if you’re looking for more than one bull.
8. Decide on your budget.
Sale day may be competitive so decide how much you would like to spend when you’re at home, away from the sale and pressure of other bidders.
A high-performing bull will provide greater productivity to your herd so it is important to decide what that is worth. A dollar index indicates the net profit per female joined.
Doing your homework now and objectively selecting sires by their breeding values and indexes means you can focus on the bulls’ physical characteristics on sale day.