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Show-Me-Select heifer sale averages $1,286 per headOut-of-state bidders add action at Fruitland, Mo. Missouri Out-of-state bidders helped raise the average price paid for Show-Me-Select replacement heifers to $1,286 on 95 head. The sale, Dec. 6, was the third sale of the fall. Six buyers from Illinois, Arkansas and Kentucky bought 26 of the heifers at the Fruitland Livestock Auction in Cape Girardeau County, said sale coordinator Roger Eakins, University of Missouri Extension livestock specialist at Jackson, Mo. More out-of-state bidders are showing up at the five bred-heifer sales held this fall to buy quality animals for their beef cow herds, said David Patterson, MU Extension state beef specialist. Lawson Burgfeld of Burgfeld Club Calves, Jackson, Mo., sold two heifers at an average of $1,412 to top the sale. The second-highest average price of $1,377 on 13 heifers was from Willis Koenig of Perryville, Mo. He offered Angus and Angus crossbreds with Simmental and Charolais breeding. The third-highest average of $1,367 on 13 head was consigned by Mike Kasten, Millersville, Mo. All were Angus, with nine being registered stock. Fourth highest average of $1,359 on 11 head of Angus was from Glen Birk Farms, Jackson, Mo. "With the economy the way it is, the sale was better than I expected," Birk said. Most consignors have been with the Show-Me-Select sale for all 10 years of the program, Eakins said. The Show-Me-Select heifer development program started in Missouri in 1997 when David Patterson came to the University of Missouri from Kentucky. The program is available statewide. The year-round program emphasizes superior genetics and calving ease. "The calving ease keeps the repeat buyers coming back," Eakins said. Top buyer at the sale was Benjamin Ellis Jr., Marble Hill, Mo., who took home 18 heifers at an average price of $1,249. Gary O'Dell, Pollard, Ark., was second-largest buyer with eight head averaging $1,322. Donald Tarter, Dunnville, Ky., bought seven head for an average of $1,379 to be third-largest buyer. O'Dell also bought the highest-priced heifer at $1,750 for a registered Angus consigned by Mike Kasten. "We had 87 buyers registered at the sale," Eakins said. "This shows the acceptance of the program as a source of quality replacements." Over the years, most heifers in the development program have stayed at the home farm herds, with surplus heifers sold at fall or spring auctions. Farmer participants in the program plan and run the local sales. "Heifers in this sale were sorted out of 680 at the start of the season," Eakins said. "The heifers are sold guaranteed to be bred at the sale and up to 30 days afterward." With the longtime consignors, the heifers represent six or seven generations of stacked genetics, Eakins said. They keep getting better. The consignors use artificial insemination to breed about 60 percent of the heifers consigned. With AI, they can use the best proven, high-accuracy bulls in the breed in their herds. Some consignors also sell their steer calves, siblings of the Show-Me heifers, at U.S. Premium Beef to obtain carcass cutout data to guide their breeding programs. "Some of those steers get a carcass premium of $268 on each steer," Eakins said. "For herd owners wanting to upgrade the genetics in their herds, they can benefit from up to 20 years of selection on some of these consignments." The Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Development Program now offers Tier Two heifers sired by proven, high-accuracy AI sires with even higher accuracies than those used in the regular program. The Tier Two heifers have requirements on calving ease, yearling weight, maternal calving ease, carcass weight and marbling. "These should make that heifer more consistent and add value to her offspring," Eakins said. The last sale of the fall will be held Saturday, Dec. 13, at 12:30 p.m. at F&T Livestock Market, Palmyra, Mo. Al Kennett, MU Extension livestock specialist at New London, Mo., 573-985-3911, can provide catalog information. Livestock graders from the Missouri Department of Agriculture inspect each heifer upon arrival at the auction barn. Those not meeting body-condition scores or program requirements are sent home. Detailed catalogs including genetics and calving dates are printed and distributed on sale days. Herd owners interested in participating in the heifer development program can obtain additional information from extension regional livestock specialists their local University of Missouri Extension center. 12/29/08 Date: 12/24/08 Advertisement
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