Oct. 12, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Michael Hall
805-756-2685
Cal Poly Bull Test Sales Are Highest On Record
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Cal Poly's tested bull sale earlier this month brought in the highest sale average on record: nearly $3,200 per head.
The College of Agriculture offered 157 bulls for sale at auction during the 49th Annual Cal Poly All-Breed Performance Tested Bull Sale Oct. 2 at the university's Livestock Judging Pavilion. The sale drew cattle buyers from across California.
Cattle breeds auctioned included Charolais, Low Birth Weight Angus, Limousin, Red Angus, Multi-Trait Angus, Brangus, Angus, Hereford, Continental Composite, and Simmental.
This year's average sale price was $3,190 per bull. High price leaders were two bulls which sold for $8,000 each: a Cal Poly-bred Angus and a Fresno State-bred Charolais. A Cal Poly-bred bull also held the second-highest sale tag at $6,500.
The bull test is a breeder-financed program set up to identify and improve the quality of beef cattle, explained Cal Poly Animal Science Professor Mike Hall, a beef cattle specialist.
This year's Bull Test began with 323 bulls brought to Cal Poly. As always, the bulls were kept in hillside corrals where they had to travel steep inclines for feed and water, and were fed a high-fiber, low-energy diet. Cal Poly students and faculty evaluated the bulls over a 100-day period, monitoring their performance and structural and reproductive soundness before the auction.
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