STOCKTON, Mo. – “The 105th Southwest Missouri All Breeds Performance Tested Bull Sale is scheduled for March 31,” says Patrick Davis, University of Missouri Extension livestock field specialist. The offering consists of 37 bulls, and the breed breakdown includes 34 Angus bulls, two Gelbvieh bulls and one Balancer bull. This long-running sale put on by the Southwest Missouri Beef Cattle Improvement Association will be held 7 p.m. at the Springfield Livestock Marketing Center in Springfield.

“This sale pays close attention to genomics and performance measurements when developing the offering of bulls,” says Davis. An expected progeny difference (EPD) is a representation of how the bull’s progeny will perform, which represents genetic merit of that bull. Bulls consigned to this sale meet performance and EPD standards. Sale bulls must have EPDs that are above-average for their breed in three of six categories. The six categories include calving ease direct, weaning weight, yearling weight, milk, marbling and ribeye area. These bulls also are required to be genomic tested, which improves the confidence in their genetic merit. Davis suggests that based on the screening process of these bulls, buyers can be confident that they are buying bulls that excel in performance and genetic merit, which is important when selecting the next herd sire.

“MU Extension plans to have an educational session and answer questions related to using EPD’s when buying bulls,” says Davis. This session, titled “Buying Bulls by the Numbers,” will take place at prior to the sale at 5:30 p.m. in the sale arena.

For more information on sale bull, view the catalog at https://tinyurl.com/mrpzwzx3. For online bidding, visit https://livewireauction.com. For all other questions, contact sale manager Chase Hultgren at 417-880-4479.