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Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale sets records

Record prices in the cattle market are carrying over to the bull market.         

Travis Meteer, University of Illinois Extension beef specialist, says the 2025 Illinois Performance Tested Bull (IPT) Sale was a record setter.

“We actually set an all-time record for the average bull price this year.”  He says, “We were able to sell 33 bulls at an average of $7,096.  So, I can’t say it wasn’t expected that we thought we’d sell these bulls higher this year.”

He tells Brownfield the annual sale offers the “best of the best” in bull genetics, but all aspects of the beef industry are benefiting from historically low cattle herd numbers.

“All classes of cattle are elevated in terms of price right now.”  He says, “It’s where we’re at in the cycle.  We know that our feeder calf markets, our fed cattle markets, have moved up over the last year and so it’s expected that on the genetics and breeding stock side, we’d see that as well and we sure enough did.”

Despite the elevated prices, Meteer says this year’s IPT bull sale saw active bidding, and high crowd numbers, so he remains optimistic about the industry’ s 2025 outlook.

Meteer says the high selling bull was a yearling Angus bull, selling for $13,500. The bull, Kramer Farms Goalkeeper 2348, was sold by Keith and Brady Kramer, Farina, IL, to Crosby Farms, Roachdale, IN. The high selling senior Simmental bull consigned by Haven Hill Simmentals, Milan, IL was sold for $11,000 to Kevin Hildebrand, Ohio, IL. The high selling senior Angus bull was consigned by Joe Curtin Cattle Company, Stonington, IL and sold for $9,000. The high selling yearling Simmental bull was consigned by Rincker Simmentals, Shelbyville, IL and sold for $10,500. The high selling Polled Hereford bull was consigned by Lowderman Cattle Company and sold for $6,500.

Brownfield spoke with Meteer at the 2025 Illinois Beef Expo in Springfield.

AUDIO: Travis Meteer – U of I Extension