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RECORD NUMBER OF BULLS SOLD AT
PENNSYLVANIA PERFORMANCE TESTED BULL SALE
Maryland Angus Tops Sale at $4,600
Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa. - The 35th Annual Performance Tested
Bull Sale, held March 28 at the Samuel E. Hayes Jr. Livestock Evaluation Center,
sold a record 110 bulls for a total of $200,600, averaging $1,824 per bull.
The top-indexing Simmental, consigned by Kenley Myers of Dallastown, Pa., started
the sale and sold for $4,000 to Gennaview Farms of Woodland, Pa. Myers was
recognized by the Pennsylvania Cattleman’s Association for the highest-indexing
bull sold overall. The second highest-selling Simmental was a consignment
from William Shoemaker of Manns Choice, Pa., which sold to Dr. Joe Young of Brownsville,
Pa., for $3,200. The 21 Simmentals in this year’s sale returned an average
of $1,781.
The 66 Angus bulls sold for an average of $1,904. The lead Angus, which was
also the top-selling bull in the sale, was consigned by John Gundzik of Manchester,
Md. This Bull sold for $4,600 to Dave Eilenfeld of Lucas, OH. Two Angus
bulls were tied for the second-highest selling Angus. Russell and Judy Hollenback
of Towanda, Pa., consigned a bull that sold to Kenneth Swartfager, of Knox, Pa.,
for $4,000. James Kohr of York, Pa., consigned a calving ease Angus bull that
sold to Brian McMullan of Ashville, Pa., for $4,000.
The two Limousin bulls posted the highest breed sale average at $1,925. The
top-indexing Limousin Bull, consigned by Nathan and James Baker of Commodore, Pa.,
was the highest-selling bull of the breed selling for $2,200 to Chester Knapp of
Brookville, Pa. The second highest-selling Limousin bull, also consigned by
the Bakers, was sold to Allen G. Williams of Piles Grove, N.J.
A Lim-Flex bull, consigned by Jim Delaplaine of Three Springs, Pa., was sold for
$1,500 to Chester Knapp of Brookville, Pa. The Cross-Bred bull in the sale,
consigned by Leon Tice of New Enterprise, Pa., was sold to Robert Mikesell, Jr.
of Port Royal, Pa., for $1,500.
The lone Charolais was consigned by John O. Myers of York, Pa., and was sold for
$1,700 to James McDonald of Cherry Run Farm, McKean, Pa.
Doug Howe of New Enterprise, Pa., consigned the top-selling Hereford bull, which
sold for $3,000 to The Miller Family of Womelsdorf, Pa. The second highest-selling
Hereford, which was consigned by Zane Hausner of Thomasville, Pa., sold for $2,600
to Elwin K. Hess of Westfield, Pa. The 11 Herefords in this year’s sale averaged
$1,655.
The top-gaining bull over all breeds was a Red Angus, consigned by Wade Vonada of
Mill Hall, Pa., which gained 6.02 pounds per day while on test. Vonada received
a plaque from the Pennsylvania Cattlemen’s Association. Kenneth Swartfager,
of Knox, Pa., was the successful bidder for $3,000, making the bull the highest
selling Red Angus. The second-highest indexing Red Angus, consigned by Dr.
Oscar Stine of Shepherdstown, W.V., was also the second-highest seller of the breed,
being selected by Donald & Deb Kibbe, of Harrison Valley, Pa.
Prior to the sale, all bulls completed a 112-day performance test at the Pennsylvania
Livestock Evaluation Center. This test evaluates bulls on average daily gain,
muscle growth and breeding soundness.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Livestock Evaluation Center serves
as a location for performance testing of quality livestock, as well as a facility
for livestock producers to hold professional meetings and conferences to advance
their industry.
Pennsylvania’s performance testing programs are a cooperative effort between the
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Penn State University and the respective
species organizations. Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff; Dr. Terry Etherton,
the head of the Department of Dairy and Animal Sciences; and Jody Inman, Beef Mobile
Wrangler, shared information on various programs with the crowd.
For the first time, all the bulls were filmed prior to the sale. Video footage
of the bulls in the sale was made available online by Dr. John Comerford, Dr. Karen
Vines and a number of other Penn State personnel.
A bidding site at Washington County Cooperative Extension Office was available
to prospective buyers, and was spearheaded by extension educator Walter Bumgarner.
For more information about Pennsylvania’s performance testing programs and sales,
contact Glenn Eberly at 814-238-2527 or geberly@state.pa.us
For more information on the Livestock Evaluation Center, visit the center’s Web
site at www.agriculture.state.pa.us/lec
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The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Samuel E. Hayes, Jr. Livestock Evaluation
Center measures genetic traits for cattle, swine, sheep, and meat goats for two
purposes: to benefit producers in evaluating economically important traits, and
to benefit consumers by providing wholesome, high quality products at an affordable
price.
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