Requirement for 2009-2010
West Virginia Bull Evaluation Program
Sponsors:
WVU Cooperative Extension Service
Division of Animal & Nutritional Sciences, WVU
West Virginia Department of Agriculture
West Virginia Cattlemen’s Association
LOCATION: WVU Reymann Memorial Farm, approximately two miles north of Wardensville on State Route 259.
PURPOSE:
1. Provide an opportunity for consignors to evaluate genetic merit of bulls produced in their herd and their breeding program.
2. Provide commercial producers with a large source of genetically superior bulls and provide them with the opportunity to evaluate differences in genetic merit.
3. Provide data and animals that can be used for educational programs conducted by West Virginia University.
HEALTH REQUIREMENTS:
1. All bulls of West Virginia origin must have a negative brucellosis test within 60 days prior to delivery, including bulls that are from certified herds. All bulls, except those from accredited herds, must also pass a negative TB test within 60 days prior to delivery.
2. No bull may enter from any herd under federal or state quarantine.
3. All bulls will be tested for both TB and brucellosis at the end of the test, within 30 days of the sale. All bulls must be negative to both TB and brucellosis to sell or leave the station regardless of destination unless to slaughter.
4. A “certificate of vaccination” signed by the producer is required verifying your bulls have been vaccinated with the following under the guidelines set forth:
a) Modified live IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV- two doses prior to delivery (the FP gives testicular protection to BVD).
b) Clostridial 7 or 8 way -two doses prior to delivery.
c) Pasturella – If you use one “shot”, do not give it at the same time as your first dose of the modified live IBR combination vaccine.
d) Leptospirosis including L Hardjo bovis
e) Warts (Recommended but at cooperator’s discretion) & Somnus at Cooperator’s discretion.
f) We recommend that you vaccinate calves for IBR, BVD, PI3 and BRSV three weeks before weaning with either a killed product such as Cattlemaster or a modified live product such as Bovi-Shield. You may only use the modified live vaccine on the calves prior to weaning if the cows are on a modified live vaccination program. Using a modified live vaccine outside of the protocol may cause abortion in cows.
g) Vaccinations should be completed 3-4 weeks prior to delivery to ensure adequate time for immunity. A tentative schedule would be to have boosters completed by September 29th.
h) Vaccine Handling: Give injections in cooler times of the day (outside Temperature should not exceed 86 degrees F). DO NOT GIVE ONE SHOT(Pfizer’s pasturella) at the same time as your first IBR shot (either modified live or killed).
i) A tentative vaccine schedule would be as follows: give IBR, BVD, PI3, BRSV first week in August. Give clostridial and lepto approximately 3 weeks before weaning.
At weaning (last week in August or first week in September) give modified live IBR, BVD, PI3, and BRSV, pasturella, and booster lepto.
Complete all needed boosters by September 29 th.
Cooperators that currently have not completed a Beef Quality Assurance training and certification program must do so prior to weaning their calves this fall. (Valid BQA certification is required.)
5. At least 60 days prior to weaning and until the bulls are delivered to Wardensville, a complete and balanced loose mineral must be fed free choice. A mineral formulated for 2 ounces consumption per head per day should contain these minimums:
Zinc (Zn) 2500 ppm
Copper (Cu) 1000 ppm
Selenium (SE) 30 ppm
6. All Health Papers Must Accompany Bulls Being Delivered To The Station. Health Papers Must Be Presented And Cleared Before Bulls Are Unloaded.
7. Bulls will be de-wormed at delivery. De-worming and insecticide application prior to delivery may be beneficial and are not discouraged. However, in order to minimize movement stress and prevent cumulative drug toxicity, DO NOT administer these treatments within seven (7) days of delivery to the test.
8. Bulls with active pinkeye, ringworm or warts should not be delivered to the test station. The station reserves the right to reject any such bull.
9. All horned bulls MUST be dehorned and healed before delivery to the station.
10. Bulls will be started on feed at the station as though they had not been on any concentrate, but they should be receiving at least .5% of their body weight in concentrate at delivery and not more than 1%.
ELIGIBILITY:
1. Cooperators must be a member of the West Virginia Cattlemen’s Association (Call 304/472-4020 for application).
2. Cooperators must be enrolled in their breed association performance test program (ie. AHIR, TPR, CHIP, SMILE, etc.). Bulls must have an actual birth weight and weaning weight recorded.
3. A maximum of 150 bulls, including a maximum of 130 Angus and 18 Hereford bulls, will be accepted for evaluation. Cooperators will be notified of the number of bulls accepted as soon as possible. Preference will be given to West Virginia cooperators from the previous year. However, new cooperators and out-of-state cooperators will be accepted if space is available with priority determined by the postmarked date on nomination forms.
4. At least 30% of your consignment must be sired by a bull with an accuracy of .60 or greater for birth weight.
5. Bulls should have a WDA at delivery of less than 3.3 lbs. A WDA of 2.8 to 3.0 is a good target. High WDA’s at delivery may result in bulls that are too fat at the end of the test.
6. Bulls must be raised by their natural mothers (calves raised on nurse cows and foster dams are not eligible for the sale) except ET calves may be consigned as long as there is a minimum of three full brothers consigned. ET calves must be raised by cows of same breed as breed of bull calf.
7. Bulls must be born on or after January 1, 2009 through March 31, 2009. Calves born after March 31 may be fed at the cooperators risk and cost if space is available, but are not eligible for the sale.
8. Bulls of any breed are eligible for the program. However all bulls of a recognized breed must be registered (NO electronic registrations) and registration numbers must be furnished. Composite bulls may be accepted but you must notify Wayne Wagner (304/293-6131, Ext.4205) of the composite makeup.
9. All calves must be weaned in contemporary groups of at least 5 head (ie. calves with no contemporaries or less than four other calves weighed at the same time are not eligible to be sold). Contemporary groups consist of calves of the same breed of both sexes weighed on the same date.
10. NO SINGLE CONSIGNMENTS ACCEPTED. For all breeds the minimum number that can beconsigned is three head and they must be contemporaries.
11. A. A cooperator will be required to consign at least every other year to the West Virginia Feedlot and Product Information Program (WVFPIP) or a program of equal value and merit (contact Wayne Wagner if you have a question as to what constitutes equal value and merit). Carcass data from a cooperator’s herd will assist the producer and potential buyers in making better, more informed decisions. The minimum requirements for participation in the WVFPIP is five head of steers and/or heifers and may be a combination of both. A cooperator is expected to consign to WVFPIP a number equal to or greater than the number of bulls enrolled from his herd. However, Wardensville cooperators will be allowed to consign the same number to WVFPIP as bulls if they enroll less than five head.
OR
B. You may elect to scan your heifer calf crop (at least 60% of heifers born the previous year) instead.
PROCEDURES FOR ENTRANCE:
1. Complete the enclosed nomination form and submit prior to September 11 (must be postmarked by September 11). Consignment Forms will be mailed for those accepted. These should be completed and delivered with the bulls on your delivery date.
2. Weigh your calves between 160 and 280 days and submit your data to your breed association. Angus calves can now be weighed as young as 120 days.
3. Bob tails so they stay cleaner and they will look better at the test.
4. Bulls will be received between 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on October 28. Bulls identified as potential carriers of deleterious recessives(AM & NH) must have tested free before delivery and a copy of the report must accompany bulls to the station. You may enter a bull for test only, if you plan to take them home after the off test data is collected but you must indicate that on your nomination form. Bulls for test only will not be accepted if nominations exceed space available.
COSTS:
1. $50 per bull, a nonreturnable nomination fee for those accepted (applied to station costs).
2. $110 per bull for labor and equipment. (You will receive a $10 credit per bull if you provide labor during a period in which labor is needed).
3. $10 per bull for repairs to facilities.
4. Feed cost.
5. Veterinary costs, including vaccines, pour-on, antibiotic treatments, etc.
6. Sale costs including BSE.
7. Costs associated with recording ultrasound data.
8. If a bull dies or is removed during the program, the cooperator will pay all costs accumulated to that date.
9. In addition to the $50.00 nomination fee previously paid, $200 per bull is due upon delivery to the station. Cooperator may be billed at other intervals to cover feed costs. No post-dated checks accepted. Checks payable to WVCA.
SALE REQUIREMENTS:
1. To be eligible for the sale, the following information must be provided by December 1,2009:
a. Original registration certificate for each bull enrolled in the program, signed by the owner for transfer purposes to Wayne Wagner (no copies excepted).
b. Copy of performance records to Wayne Wagner, including adjusted weights
and ratios for each bull enrolled in the program. There will be Zero Tollerance! All bulls must have a registration number by this date so current EPD’s can be requested from the Association office. Make sure you get all your paper work done well in advance. Any bull that does not have complete information at this time will be disqualified from the sale, but will not be released early from the test facility. There will be a $50.00 per bull drop fee charged for any disqualified or incomplete records!
2. Bulls in the following categories will not qualify for the sale:
a. The bottom 10% of the bulls within breed for adjusted scrotal circumference and/or less than 31 cm. Any bull 31.0 and above qualifies even if it falls in the bottom 10%.
b. Bulls with a USDA feeder calf grade for muscle less than 1.0
c. Bulls considered unsound and/or fail to pass the Breeding Soundness Evaluation.
d. Bulls with a frame score of less than 4.5 or greater than 7.0.
3. After culling on the above information (item #2 a, b, d), the balance of culling will be based upon the index. A minimum of two-thirds and up to three-fourths of the bulls in a breed will be eligible to sell. Sale management with input from cooperators will determine those numbers at our meeting at the Cattlemen’s Convention in January.
4. The
index will be used to determine sale order. The index will be calculated
as follows except for composites:
I = (.25 *(ADG Ratio-100)) +(.30 *(365d
Ratio-100)) - ( RFI ) - (Bulls BW EPD) + (Bulls Adj
IMF/2) + (Bulls REA/cwt *4) + 100 .
5. Registered bulls will not be sold without EPD’s for birth and weaning weight and milk. Furthermore, Angus bulls must have accuracies greater than pedigree estimate (>0.07) for birth and weaning, except in the case of bulls resulting from embryo transfer. To meet this requirement you must make sure that you collect weaning weights at the correct age, all bulls are in a proper contemporary group, and then submit these data immediately to the breed association for processing.
6. A floor price will be established for the sale based upon market conditions at the WVCA Convention. You must be present for your opinion to count. Any bull offered for sale but fails to bring the floor price will be the responsibility of the cooperator as soon as the bull leaves the sale ring.
7. Seller agrees to guarantee ability of bulls to breed and settle cows if properly cared for.
8. The sale committee reserves the right to disqualify any bull because of health, disposition or lack of identification, and/or if in the committee’s opinion, the bull appears to be misrepresented. As a cooperator, you agree to allow management to obtain blood samples for DNA testing/evaluation.
9. A consignor may retain a bull to take home or may retain an interest (in partial interest sales the buyer will get full possession) but in either case, Wayne Wagner must be notified of this decision within 48 hours of when the final data is posted to our web site: www.wvbeef.org .
10. If you so desire, you may provide us with your mission statement, a summary of the feedlot data on your cattle and/or ultrasound data on heifers, and any warranty information that exceeds that which is printed in the catalog to be included in the sale catalog, but this information must be submitted by January 9. The size of this can not exceed the space allocated to a bull in the catalog (7 ½ X 2 in).
OTHER:
1. Sale order will be determined by the sale manager and executive committee. They will have the flexibility to adjust sale order so some sire groups may be offered for sale.
2. Sale catalog will not include ratios for ADG, scrotal and 365d weight and will not include WDA.
3. Bulls will be fed in groups, according to breed and age, within facility limitations.
4. All bulls must remain on feed for the entire period unless given written permission.
5. Cooperators should have calves weaned at least 60 days prior to delivery and started on feed in order to minimize stress.
6. Announcements at the sale will come from the auctioneer’s box.
7. Non-sale bulls will be released following breeding soundness exams. They must be picked up before 8:00 a.m. on sale day. Cooperators are encouraged to send inferior bulls to slaughter.
8. Breeds represented by less than five head will be handled in the most appropriate manner possible as determined by the bull evaluation committee.
9. Auctioneer: Gary Vance
LIABILITY:
Bulls in the evaluation program will receive appropriate management. Veterinary services will be used when deemed necessary by the station management and/or the program chairman. The sponsors assume no liability for loss of bulls, property damage, personal injury, and accuracy of consignor information or data collected.
SCHEDULE:
Birth Dates Jan. 1, 2009-March 31, 2009
Vaccination Dates Depends on vaccine used
Nominations Due By September 11, 2009
Weaned By September 2, 2009
Delivery to Test October 28, 2009
On Test December 1 & 2, 2009
First Intermediate Weight Jan 12, 2010
Last Intermediate Weight February 9
Off Test February 24 & 25
BSE Week of March 1
Sale March 25, 2010 Noon
ASSISTANCE:
University labor resources have diminished over the past several years. Consequently, it will be helpful if cooperators provide labor during critical days. Following is a list of those needs. Please try to assist with the BSE or final off test weigh days. Your preference for a work day should be submitted to Jerry Yates.
Addresses and phone numbers for reference:
Wayne Wagner Jerry Yates Jim Bostic
PO Box 6108 Reymann Memorial Farm PO Box 668
Morgantown, WV 26506-6108 Rt. 2, Box 213 Buckhannon, WV 26201
304/293-6131, ext. 4205 Wardensville, WV 26851 304/472-4020
FAX: 304/293-6954 304/874-3561 FAX: 304/472-4021
wayne.wagner@mail.wvu.edu jyates4@wvu.edu wvca@wvbeef.org