GENERAL INFORMATION
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: 1. All consignors must be members of the South Carolina Cattlemen’s Association. 2. Breeders’ herds must be enrolled in their respective breed association’s performance records program. 3. All bulls must be registered purebreds or registered hybrids (Balancer, Simangus, etc.). 4. Birth Dates: Senior bulls - September 1, 2023 to October 31, 2023 Junior bulls - November 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023
5. Embryo transplant calves will be accepted. 6. Actual birth weights are required for all bulls. 7. Minimum Adj. 205-Day Weaning Weight: British Breeds 625, Continental breed 625 lbs.
8. Minimum Adj. 205-Day Weaning Weight Ratio of 93. All bulls, except embryo transplants, must be raised by their genetic dams. 9. All bulls must have a negative blood tests for persistent BVD test within 30 days of delivery date and (out of state bulls) official state health papers (CVI) when delivered. 10. Pre-Delivery Health Requirements: a. Vaccinations - IBR, PI 3 , BVD, BRSV, 5-way Leptospirosis, 7-way Blackleg (Clostridials) and Pasteurella haemolytica b. Dewormed and treated for grub and lice control. SALE REQUIREMENTS: 1. Minimum performance requirements: a. Average Daily Gain Ratio - 85 b. Weight per Day of Age Ratio - 90 c. Adjusted 365-Day Yearling Weight Ratio - 90 2. Minimum Adjusted 365-Day Yearling Scrotal Circumference - 30.0 cm. 3. Sale eligible bulls must pass a Screening Committee’s evaluation of frame size, structural soundness, disposition and muscling. 4. All bulls must pass a comprehensive Breeding Soundness Exam. 5. All bulls sell under their respective breed association guarantees. 6. Sale order based on INDEX = (RFI Daily ratio – (RFI daily avg + RFI daily actual))/2 New index is structured to give merit to bulls that excel at performance and efficiency. It is an estimate and should be used as another tool in addition to other information provided when making selection decisions. Index, Sale Order, RFI, and videos are posted on: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/livestock/beef/bulltests-cubt/ HOW BULLS HAVE BEEN HANDLED: 1. August - Bulls were delivered to the test station, tagged, dewormed with Eprinex pour-on, treated with Probios and temperature recorded. The 14-day pre-test warm-up period began. 2. September - Bulls were weighed on-test and vaccinated with ( modified live IBR, PI 3 , BVD, BRSV, 5-way Leptospirosis), ( Pasteurella haemolyti- ca and Multocida) and (7-way Blackleg - Clostridials) vaccines. 3. October - Yearling scrotal circumference measurements were taken on the senior bulls. 4. November - All bulls were weighed off-test weight and yearling scrotal circumference measurements were taken on the junior bulls. 5. January - Bulls were given complete Breeding Soundness Exam. 6. Week Prior to Sale - All bulls were weighed and measured. FEED PROGRAM: The bulls were fed a commodity by-product based test ration containing Rumensin during the 2-week pre-test warm-up period, the test and post-test periods. The GrowSafe 6000 system was used to measure individual intake data for each bull. The new system utilizes more of an individual feeding system, meaning that one bull eats at a time, but any bull in the pen can eat out of any feeding bunk/node within that pen. The bulls are tagged with an RFID tag upon arrival to the test. Each feeding node is equipped with a separate bunk, which sits on a set of load bars and is wrapped with an EID tag reader. When a bull puts his head through the bars and be- gins to eat, the node records his EID tag number, weight of the bunk, date, and time for every second he is eating at the bunk. Each node is hardwired to a data acquisition panel located within 30’ of the feeding space. The data acquisition panel then wirelessly transmits the data back to the office computer for recording and data analysis. The system has certainly served in its role to calculate feed intake, but also has offered valuable information for test managers during the duration of the test. Data transmitted back to the computer is analyzed and presented on the computer in several different screens, but one of the most useful screens is the "reduced intake" screen. When a bull has a reduced intake meaning, decreased from the pen average or decreased 25% or more from his previous day’s intake, his number shows up on this screen. Reduced intake information is used on a daily basis to help identify bulls that may have health concerns. Residual feed intake is simply: actual feed intake - expected feed intake = residual feed intake. What does this number mean? A positive residual feed intake means the bull ate more feed than expected to achieve his actual performance, whereas a negative residual feed intake means the bull ate less feed than expected to achieve his actual performance. For example, if we have two bulls (start weights are the same) both gaining 2.5 lbs. per day over a 75-day period. We would expect them to eat approximately 1,500 lbs. of feed per bull over the test period. However, bull A ate 1,717 lbs. of feed and bull B ate 1,232 lbs. of feed. Bull A residual feed intake would be: 1,717 - 1,500 = 217 lbs., and bull B residual feed intake would be: 1,232 - 1,500 = -268. Overall, bull A ate 485 lbs. more feed over a 75-day test period to gain the same amount of weight as bull B. Therefore, in this scenario, bull B could be considered "more efficient" than bull A. Residual feed intakes are presented on one page in the back of the sale book. Please ask if you have any questions about the data or system.
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February 1, 2025
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