9th Annual Who's Your Daddy Shorthorn Bull Sale

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knabe

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Feb 7, 2007
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13,639
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Hollister, CA
Like lot 17, 10 and 2..

You are right, ramrod really rams his phenotype

I think you would have to pretty far to see a deeper made bull than 24
 

wiseguy

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Apr 17, 2011
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143
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Bethany,Illinois
Not so much in love with the photo of Lot 2, but I do like his video.  Lot 10 is my pick, to bad he has to stay in Western Canada. The U.S. NEEDS a bull like him.
 

scotland

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Sep 12, 2009
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214
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pilger saskatchewan
i concur Okotoks... good offering of stout made Shorthorn bulls. I will be at the sale, call me if you need some help buying some bulls!
 

wiseguy

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Apr 17, 2011
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143
Location
Bethany,Illinois
I have a few.

Lot 2 $5,800
Lot 7 $7,000 We bought
Lot 10 $6,750 1/2 interest
Lot 17 $ 10,250 Charlois Breeder
Lot 12 $ 6,500
Ramrod Semen $40/unit
Lot 47 $5,100
Lot 49 $7,750 Saskvalley purchase
Lot 50 $7,000
Lot 53 6,100 Dale Studer?
Lot 55 $7,900
Lot 56 $8,100

42 bulls avg $4500
 

justintime

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May 26, 2007
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4,346
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Saskatchewan Canada
It was a very strong sale. The lot 17 bull was a son of Saskvalley Pioneer and there were 3 commercial producers competing for him after $8000. It ended up being a bidding war between two of them, with the buyer putting him on Charolais cows. Coyote and his family averaged $5735  on 13 bulls. The top 11 averaged over $6300.Their top bull at $8100 also sold to a commercial producer( Lot 56- Muridale Johnny 22X) . Another at $7900 ( Lot 55 -Muridale Sonic 71X) also sold to a commercial buyer.Lot 49 sold at $7750 also to a commercial producer. There were several other bulls selling to commercial producers in the $5000-6000 range.

Another interesting fact ... the roan bulls averaged $5960.
 

vanridge

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Jan 26, 2011
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468
Location
Manitoba, Canada
Wow! That's awesome! It's great to see them go to commercial guys. Have you noticed an increase of shorthorn bulls going to commercial cattelmen in the last number of years? Saskatchewan seems to have a rising shorthorn market..... I'm just curious because my dad thinks that we should go "mainstream" and stick with angus or "something normal".  Thankfully, my hubby and I disagree with him  ;) .
 

justintime

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Saskatchewan Canada
vanridge said:
Wow! That's awesome! It's great to see them go to commercial guys. Have you noticed an increase of shorthorn bulls going to commercial cattelmen in the last number of years? Saskatchewan seems to have a rising shorthorn market..... I'm just curious because my dad thinks that we should go "mainstream" and stick with angus or "something normal".  Thankfully, my hubby and I disagree with him  ;) .


I would say that the interest in Shorthorn bulls here is the best I have seen in my lifetime. It isn't just a Saskatchewan thing, as many of the commercial buyers in this sale were from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Getting commercial producers to start using Shorthorn bulls is a slow steady process. It takes years to cultivate and promote and it is often hard discouraging work. You really have to believe 100% in the product you are producing and that it offers something good for the industry. There can be many set backs but the rewards are great when they are acheived. I think one of the high moments for me in many years was having an Angus breeder tell me, that one of his biggest bull buyers told him that he wasn't going to buy any Angus bulls this year. The commercial rancher told him that he had been trying a few Shorthorn bulls in the past few years, and he had decided he was buying all Shorthorn bulls this year. Hearing this, made all the hard work over the past many years seem more than worthwhile! This commercial man bought in the sale yesterday, and he bought 4 bulls at an average price of $5440. ... and he wants some more!  The Shorthorn breed is still a very small breed in the overall industry, and we are far from walking on easy street. We are slowly starting to get acceptance and we need to continue to add to our share of the market.

Another interesting thing is, in talking with some of these commercial guys who were buying Shorthorn bulls yesterday, they don't think Shorthorn bulls are hard calving. One guy said that the Shorthorns are calving as easy as the Angus bulls he has used and he is getting more pounds at weaning. I guess these guys just haven't got the memo yet ... about the BW issues with Shorthorns!!!These are guys who calve hundreds of cows on pasture and they are liking what the Shorthorns are giving them.

As I said earlier, gaining market share for Shorthorn bulls is not a quick fix situation. It has taken decades of time and effort. It involves raising sound structured cattle that cattlemen can relate too. They have no interest in frills and want thick meaty bulls. Here in Canada, we are seeing more commercial producers who feed their cattle to finish starting to use Shorthorns. While this breed is first and foremost a maternal breed, it also offers some very economical factors like feed efficiency, and large increases in marbling and REA over many other breeds.

Some people don't think Shorthorns can be both maternal and good carcass cattle. Well, we are proving this to be very true. In the case of our Sun Country sale bulls. we had them ultrasounded by one of leading ultraosound techs in Western Canada, who literally does thousands of animals each year. When we finished the ultrasound testing, he said that this group of bulls was one of the very best sets of bulls for REA and IMF that he had tested in a long time. Personally, I think another reason we are seeing increased commercial interest in Shorthorns here in Western Canada, is more than just producing good sound cattle. Another big factor is that we have a number of breeders who are dedicated to producing good cattle for the commerical industry. These outfits have struggled through much adversity over the years, but they have kept their eyes on the goal.

Another interesting fact.... I had a rancher from the interior of British Columbia, phone a few days ago, and he is interested in a Shorthorn bull. He lives in rugged ranch country... some of the most rugged in Canada. I asked him why he was interested in uusing a Shorthorn bull when his herd has been predominately Hereford breeding. He said that he had used a Shorthorn bull 15 years ago and still had a few daughters and granddaughters of him in his herd. He said they are the hardiest cows he has and that they can roughage for food and retain their condition for more days than his other cows. He said it was time to add more Shorthorn to his cow herd.
 

vanridge

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Jan 26, 2011
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468
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Manitoba, Canada
When I read what JIT wrote, it makes me think that we are doing the right thing. As a commercial farmer it is nice to see we aren't the only ones who are seeing the benefits of shorthorn in the herd. We have been VERY happy with the way our shorthorn bulls performed this year.  Hardy,thick,spunky, unassisted calves. Our brother in law used a new shorthorn bull as well and he loves the way that they were born unassisted and are nice thick calves. When we began shopping for a shorthorn bulls on the internet, we came across the Who's Your Daddy sale catalogue and the Sun Country sale catalogue. After seeing them we were very excited about purchasing a shorthorn bull because we had found the type of bull we were looking for. The only reason we didn't end up buying one from these two sales, is because we found some good bulls closer to home. All I can say is keep up the good work!  <party>
 
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