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STOCKTON, Mo. — “Producers looking to rebuild or expand their cow herds can choose from 200 high-quality spring-calving replacements, due from late January through April 30,” says Patrick Davis, University of Missouri Extension livestock field specialist.
The heifers come from 12 consignors who participate in the Missouri Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program (SMS), which teaches management, reproductive and genetic practices for developing quality replacements. The program’s fall southwestern Missouri sale is 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, at Joplin Regional Stockyards, 10131 Cimarron Road, Carthage.
“The sale includes purebred and crossbred commercial heifers,” says Davis. Breeds represented include Angus, Beefmaster, Gelbvieh, Hereford, Red Angus and Simmental, along with composites of these breeds. Color patterns include black, black whiteface, red and red whiteface. Some heifers are crossbred and benefit from hybrid vigor, which can improve longevity; on average, crossbreds produce one more calf than purebreds.
“These heifers have been carefully mated with attention paid to expected progeny difference (EPD) information,” says Davis. EPDs are predictions of relative genetic merit expressed as the expected difference in performance between one animal’s progeny when compared to another, and are based upon individual, progeny and ancestral performance, ancestral relationships and genomic data. Heifers are mated to bulls that have met strict calving ease EPD requirements. Some were bred by artificial insemination to high-accuracy EPD sires, providing greater confidence in progeny performance. Others were bred to genomically tested natural-service sires, strengthening confidence in expected performance. These matings should promote easy calving, and calves from some sires may excel in growth and carcass traits.
“Animal health is a priority for the program and its consignors,” says Davis. Consignors worked closely with veterinarians to ensure the heifers are in optimal health at sale time. All heifers also tested negative for persistent infection of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVD-PI), helping buyers protect their herds from this problem.
“We work to make pregnancy detection and estimated calving dates as accurate as possible,” says Davis. A veterinarian checks each heifer for pregnancy within 90 days after the breeding season begins and again within 30 days before the sale. Calving dates remain estimates, however; experience shows that females may calve two weeks or more before or after the projected date, even when inseminated on the same day.
For more information about the program, visit the Show-Me-Select website or contact one of these MU Extension livestock field specialists:
- Patrick Davis, 417-276-3313 or davismp@missouri.edu
- Andy McCorkill, 417-345-7551 or mccorkilla@missouri.edu
- Ian McGregor 417-466-3102 or ian.mcgregor@missouri.edu
Details about consignors and sale heifers are available in the catalog.
Online bidding will be available through DVAuction. For online bidding information or help registering as a new in-person bidder, contact Joplin Regional Stockyards at 417-548-2333.