Had a very good discussion yesterday with a group of cattleman about purchasing bulls. Opinions varied on what was "not up for discussion" or was considered "non-negotiable". Since the bull purchasing season is in full swing, or soon will be, I decided to inquire what everyone considers their "non-negotiable" when purchasing a bull.
Seems like there are bulls being promoted with a wide range of vaiables, such as low epd's, unknown pedigree, low percentile ranking, fertility issues, low individual performance, total outlier performance, and every combination of all the variables. There does not seem to be a breed bias when we discussed these.
Here are a few that were thrown out in the discussion: Performance/fertility of dam, individual performance, pedigree (certain bloodlines), attitude, breeder integrity, low percentile rank, poor epd's, disposition, color, unproven via AI or pedigree, cost.
Definition of non-negotiable - Something would cause you to walk away REGARDLESS of all other positive variables.
So, as I cattle breeder, what is YOUR non-negotiable when purchasing a bull? Why do you consider that a "non-negotiable" in your herd?
Seems like there are bulls being promoted with a wide range of vaiables, such as low epd's, unknown pedigree, low percentile ranking, fertility issues, low individual performance, total outlier performance, and every combination of all the variables. There does not seem to be a breed bias when we discussed these.
Here are a few that were thrown out in the discussion: Performance/fertility of dam, individual performance, pedigree (certain bloodlines), attitude, breeder integrity, low percentile rank, poor epd's, disposition, color, unproven via AI or pedigree, cost.
Definition of non-negotiable - Something would cause you to walk away REGARDLESS of all other positive variables.
So, as I cattle breeder, what is YOUR non-negotiable when purchasing a bull? Why do you consider that a "non-negotiable" in your herd?