From the Field
Bull buying; Decisions Today, An Impact for
Generations
By Nathan Smith, NALF regional manager
With a successful 2019 National Western
Stock Show in the rearview, spring
bull sales are quickly approaching and
with them comes genetic decisions
that influence generations. Whether
you’re a seedstock provider assisting a
customer or a commercial bull buyer,
many of us anticipate this season
with excitement. The exhilarating
decision of selecting a sire carries an
impact that is felt by a program and
its profitability for years to come.
The importance of being well
prepared, informed and educated is
paramount going into the bull buying
season. Analysis of your program
54 | FEBRUARY 2019
to gain an understanding of which
traits should take priority is critical
to improving efficiencies in both
seedstock and commercial programs
alike. Acknowledging not only your
strengths but more importantly where
improvements can be made based on
customer feedback is a reliable way
to ensure that progression is made.
Combining this information with
other tools, data and traits, a producer
can begin the task of identifying
the best fitting genetic package.
So, where to start? The volume of data
and array of tools available to breeders
and commercial producers today is
unmatched. Due to this, finding a
starting point can be daunting, so let’s
start with visual appraisal. Analyzing
the structural soundness of a bull
ensures a solid foundation to build
a case for selection. Toe shape, foot
size and composition heavily impact
the most economically relevant trait
in a beef production enterprise; the
productive lifespan of that animal.
After establishing this base, we can
begin to select traits that are relevant to
that producers’ operation. Performance
data such as birth weight, weaning
weight, and yearling weight are
individual traits that provide an effective