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  • Show-Me-Select heifers with their first calves on the ground. File photo.
    Show-Me-Select heifers with their first calves on the ground. File photo.

STOCKTON, Mo. – The Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program’s southwestern Missouri fall sale is 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, at Joplin Regional Stockyards near Carthage.

“If you are thinking of rebuilding or adding to your cow herd, this sale will offer 275 high-quality spring-calving (late January to April) replacements to do so,” says Patrick Davis, University of Missouri Extension livestock field specialist.

MU Extension’s Show-Me-Select program educates cattle producers on strategies in management, reproduction and genetics to develop quality replacement heifers.

“This sale offers purebreed and crossbreed commercial heifers,” says Davis. Breeds that make up these heifers include Angus, Akaushi, Beefmaster, Gelbvieh, Hereford, Red Angus, Simmental, Ultrablack and composites of these breeds. Color patterns include black, black/whiteface, red and red/whiteface.

“Close attention has been paid in mating these heifers,” says Davis. Heifers are mated to bulls that have met strict calving-ease requirements. Some heifers are mated to high accuracy sires through artificial insemination (AI) which provides an added confidence in progeny performance. Other heifers are mated to genomically tested natural service (NS) sires, which improves the confidence of progeny performance. Based on the matings, all these females should have calves with ease, and based on sire, progeny may excel in performance and carcass traits.

“Health is very important to the program and heifer consignors,” says Davis. Consignors have worked closely with their veterinarian to ensure that these heifers are optimum in health at sale time. All the heifers have tested negative for BVD-PI, which helps to keep this problem out of your cattle operation.

“We try to be as accurate as possible on pregnancy detection and estimating heifer calving date,” says Davis. Heifers are pregnancy checked by a veterinarian within 90 days of the beginning of the breeding season and within 30 days before the sale to help ensure this accuracy. However, the calving dates are approximate, as history has shown that females can range two weeks or more around the projected calving date even if heifers are artificially inseminated on the same day, he says.

For more information, visit the SMS webpage or contact one of these MU Extension field specialists:

For more information on consignors and sale heifers, view the online catalog.

This sale has online bidding options through DVAuction. Contact Joplin Regional Stockyard at 417-548-2333 for information on online bidding or if you are a new in-person bidder.

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