Performance Tested Bull Sale

54 Performance Tested Yearling Bulls Friday, March 16th 2012 Lunch @ 11:30 am, Sale @ 1 pm ** Sale Catalog Now Available ** Although drought conditions still persist throughout many areas of the state and the Southwest, New Mexico cattle producers are optimistically looking forward to rebuilding their cowherds with higher quality genetics from regionally adapted registered cowherds. For cattle producers in the Southwest, the 51st annual bull sale at the Tucumcari Bull Test is a source of quality and proven genetics from regionally adapted cowherds. Since 1961, progressive seedstock producers from throughout the Southern High Plains have sent bulls to the Tucumcari Bull Test to evaluate sires and individual bulls for economically important post weaning growth traits, such as average daily gain and feed efficiency. Fifty years ago, performance testing bulls was a novel idea by a few regionalized seedstock producers to learn more about the post-weaning performance of their in-herdsires. Today, the performance-tested data is essential for seedstock producers selling registered bulls, and a valuable selection tool for commercial cow-calf producers.

2012 Sale Sponsors

This data can be used as an additional selection tool to compliment other selection tools such as expected progeny differences, which is commonly used to select bulls. While EPDs estimate how a bull should perform, a performance-tested bull actuallytells how well an individual performed amongst a group of bulls that are the same breed and relative age.

This year's Tucumcari Bull Test Sale will kick off Thursday March 15, at 6 p.m. with the annual Buyer's Bull Session, Social and Supper at the Tucumcari Convention Center. This event will include award presentations for top performing bulls at this year's test and also include a remote presentation by Lee Leachman of Leachman Cattle of Colorado entitled "Don't Waste 10 More Years of Genetic Selection!"

On sale day, Friday, March 16, bull viewing will begin at 9 a.m. A lunch will be served by Cargill Animal Nutrition at 11:30 a.m., and the live sale will begin promptly at 1 p.m. with auctioneer Jack Blandford.

• 2012 TBT Ad (PDF)
  

Manny Encinias
Bull Test Director
Clayton Livestock Research Center
15 NMSU Lane
Clayton, NM 88415
Phone: (575) 374-2566
Cell: (505) 927-7935
Email: bulltest@nmsu.edu

The Tucumcari Bull Test and Heifer Development Program is jointly sponsored by the New Mexico Beef Cattle Performance Association (NMBCPA), the Cooperative Extension Service, and the Agricultural Experiment Station of New Mexico State University.