13th Annual Bull Test Sale
13th Annual Florida Bull Test Sale
The University of Florida’s 13th Annual Florida Bull Test Sale is Saturday, Jan. 19 at the North Florida Research and Education Center Beef Cattle Unit located at 3925 Hwy. 71 in Marianna. The Florida Bull Test provides the commercial cow and calf producer a source of bulls that have been gain tested, thoroughly evaluated at the same location, and have passed stringent health requirements.
The 13th Florida Bull Test was conducted at the University of Florida North Florida Research and Education center in Marianna. There were 93 consignments from 33 consignors from Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Bulls included 38 Angus, 3 Braford, 2 Brahman, 1 Brangus, 2 Hereford, 28 SimAngus, and 11 Simmental consignments born between August and December of 2011. Bulls were delivered in late July and initiated their 112-day test on Aug. 21, 2012. The last day of test was Dec. 12, 2012. In addition, a hallmark of the Florida Bull Test is that individual feed intake is assessed to establish feed efficiency. At completion of the test the entire group of bulls averaged 3.63 pounds of gain per day, but ranged from 2.62 to 5.42 pounds per day.
Only bulls meeting specific benchmarks are eligible for the sale. Bulls are also inspected for structural soundness and disposition and must pass a breeding soundness exam to qualify for the sale. Additional information, such as actual performance data, expected progeny differences, and carcass ultrasound data is available for bull buyers to aid in the selection of excellent quality bulls to purchase. For more information on the Florida Bull Test, including pictures of all bulls, visit http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/fl_bull_test or call (850) 394-9124. Catalogs for the sale are available by request.
With the support of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association and the University of Florida, the Florida Bull Test was initiated in 2000. The primary purpose of the Florida Bull Test is to serve as an educational aid for the improvement of beef cattle. The test standardizes environmental conditions for evaluating post weaning performance. In doing so, it provides useful records for bull consignors to better evaluate breeding programs and creates a local source of performance-tested bulls.
