Post

Selecting genetics to maximize profitability

With profits expected to continue in the beef industry, many beef producers are putting more emphasis on genetics.

Travis Meteer, University of Illinois extension beef educator says that is one of the reasons the Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale has been so successful for the past 47 years.  “The goal of the sale is to offer commercial producers in the Midwest a bull market where they could buy performance tested bulls that had an array of figures and a lot of data on them,” he says.  “Those producers can then purchase bulls that could offer profit to their operation.”

Meteer tells Brownfield the sale offers some of the best genetics based on performance standards utilized in the beef industry.  “They’re kind of the best options for producers to make those decisions to evaluate a trait’s potential profits,” he says.  “For example, weaning weight.  A lot of cow/calf producers sell their calves at weaning and if we can select bulls that can add weaning weight to our herd – it can directly impact the profitability to our herd.”

There are 70 bulls from multiple breeds available.  The IPT Bull Sale is held in conjunction with the Illinois Beef Expo and is this Thursday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.  The auction begins at 11:00am Central time.