I grew up hearing my grandfather saying that a commercial producer should be prepared to spend equivalent of 5 weaned steers or 8 finished steers for his next herd bull. He always said that this should also be the minimum base for a purebred breeder. That was then, and times have changed substantially. Using his formula, there would be some pretty decent bull sales around. What he said, is probably close to being true even today, however, all the costs in this business are out of whack as are the prices we get for our product.
When I was in Scotland last June, I was amazed at what they sold their commercial bulls at. I stayed with a friend who raises Shorthorns and Angus. He had a small pasture with about 8-10 yearling bulls of each breed being developed on grass. They were what I would call good commercial bulls... they were not show stoppers... however, he told me he would sell almost all of them privately off the farm before the fall was completed. I asked him what bulls like these would sell for and he said that they were priced from 5000 pounds and up.... or in dollars this was $10,000 and up.
The spring bull sale season is well under way in Western Canada, and I am a bit surprised how good they are going. Simmental sales are going wild, with several averaging over $4000. One averaged $5700 on 65 yearling bulls with 70% going to commercial producers. Consignment sales are struggling, with only the top end selling well. It seems the top bulls are selling for considerably more than normal and the more ordinary bulls are extremely hard to move. I think this will be a continuing trend.
As to what you can justify to spend on a bull, it all depends on what you plan to do with the bull. A good bull can influence your herd for your entire lifetime.If semen sales are an option, that may affect how much you wish to invest. If the bull is good enough quality, you can oftentimes sell him for a good price to another breeder once you are done with him. There seems to be a growing market for good proven bulls. In recent years, I have been able to sell a couple herd bulls for more than I paid for them originally, at 5 and 6 years old. One bull I used and resold is still going strong at 14 years of age( that is where structural soundness pays major dividends).
Doc, if you are looking for an outcross herd bull, our Sun Country group will be offering 60 bulls on April 18th. I think there are some excellent bulls in this group, and from a variety of sires. The lady who did our ultrasounding told us that this group had some of the best data she had collected over all breeds this year. We will have some pictures and data on our website in the next few days.
www.horseshoecreekfarms.com
