PENNSYLVANIA FURNACE, Pa. — The 35th annual Performance Tested Bull Sale, held March 28 at the Samuel E. Hayes Jr. Livestock Evaluation Center, sold a record 110 bulls for a total of $200,600, averaging $1,824 per bull.
The top-indexing Simmental, consigned by Kenley Myers of Dallastown, Pa., started the sale and sold for $4,000 to Gennaview Farms of Woodland, Pa. Myers was recognized by the Pennsylvania Cattleman’s Association for the highest-indexing bull sold overall.
The second-highest selling Simmental was a consignment from William Shoemaker of Manns Choice, Pa., which sold to Dr. Joe Young of Brownsville, Pa., for $3,200.
The 21 Simmentals in this year’s sale returned an average of $1,781.
Angus
The 66 Angus bulls sold for an average of $1,904.
The lead Angus, which was also the top-selling bull in the sale, was consigned by John Gundzik of Manchester, Md. This bull sold for $4,600 to Dave Eilenfeld of Lucas, Ohio.
Two Angus bulls were tied for the second-highest selling Angus. Russell and Judy Hollenback of Towanda, Pa., consigned a bull that sold to Kenneth Swartfager, of Knox, Pa., for $4,000.
James Kohr of York, Pa., consigned a calving ease Angus bull that sold to Brian McMullan of Ashville, Pa., for $4,000.
The two Limousin bulls posted the highest breed sale average at $1,925. The top-indexing Limousin bull, consigned by Nathan and James Baker of Commodore, Pa., was the highest-selling bull of the breed selling for $2,200 to Chester Knapp of Brookville, Pa.
The second-highest selling Limousin bull, also consigned by the Bakers, was sold to Allen G. Williams of Piles Grove, N.J.
A Lim-Flex bull, consigned by Jim Delaplaine of Three Springs, Pa., was sold for $1,500 to Chester Knapp of Brookville, Pa.
The cross-bred bull in the sale, consigned by Leon Tice of New Enterprise, Pa., was sold to Robert Mikesell Jr. of Port Royal, Pa., for $1,500.
The lone Charolais was consigned by John O. Myers of York, Pa., and was sold for $1,700 to James McDonald of Cherry Run Farm, McKean, Pa.
Herefords
Doug Howe of New Enterprise, Pa., consigned the top-selling Hereford bull, which sold for $3,000 to the Miller family of Womelsdorf, Pa. The second-highest selling Hereford, which was consigned by Zane Hausner of Thomasville, Pa., sold for $2,600 to Elwin K. Hess of Westfield, Pa.
The 11 Herefords in this year’s sale averaged $1,655.
The top-gaining bull over all breeds was a Red Angus, consigned by Wade Vonada of Mill Hall, Pa., which gained 6.02 pounds per day while on test. Vonada received a plaque from the Pennsylvania Cattlemen’s Association.
Kenneth Swartfager, of Knox, Pa., was the successful bidder for $3,000, making the bull the highest-selling Red Angus.
The second-highest indexing Red Angus, consigned by Dr. Oscar Stine of Shepherdstown, W.Va., was also the second-highest seller of the breed, being selected by Donald and Deb Kibbe, of Harrison Valley, Pa.
On test
Prior to the sale, all bulls completed a 112-day performance test at the Pennsylvania Livestock Evaluation Center. This test evaluates bulls on average daily gain, muscle growth and breeding soundness.
For the first time, all the bulls were filmed prior to the sale. Video footage of the bulls in the sale was made available online by John Comerford, Dr. Karen Vines and a number of other Penn State personnel.
A bidding site at Washington County Cooperative Extension Office was available to prospective buyers, and was spearheaded by Extension educator Walter Bumgarner.
For more information on the Livestock Evaluation Center, visit the center’s Web site at www.agriculture.state.pa.us/lec.
