Contributed Report

UNIONTOWN – Following a spirited closing of the 10th Annual Fall Round Up Bull and Heifer Sale by auctioneer Col. Tommy Barnes, Michelle Elmore, Alabama Beef Cattle Improvement Association Manager, remarked, “This sale was a solid presentation of performance.”

The sale featured 56 performance-evaluated bulls and 18 open heifers from 26 of South’s finest breeders. Bulls sold represented four breeds: Angus, Chiangus, Hereford and Simmental. Open heifers sold were commercial stock or registered Charolais. All animals were tagged with electronic identification through a partnership with the Alabama Beef Connection.

The sale’s overall, top priced bull was purchased for $5,000 by Auburn University’s Upper Coastal Plains Research Center in Winfield. The 3-year-old, purebred, Homozygous black Simmental bull was a former herd sire and was consigned by Tim Minor of Sunshine Farms in Clanton.

The bull sale grossed $120,350 and had an average of $2,19 for each of the 56 bulls sold.

Of the 26 Angus bulls auctioned, the top priced Angus bull was consigned by Tom Lovell of Oak Bowery Farms in Opelika. The nearly 3-year-old bull was bought for $3,800 by Ken Dunn of the Alabama Correctional Industries Red Eagle Honor Farm in Montgomery. Angus bulls averaged $2,240 each and ranged in price from $1,300 to $3,800 per animal.

The top priced bull of six Chiangus offered went for $2,600 to Wayne Nickles of TLC Farms in Orrville. The 2-year-old bull was purchased from Chuck Madaris of Circle E Farms/ CK Cattle in Hope Hull. Chiangus bulls ranged $1,600 to $2,00 each and averaged $2,050 per animal.

Five bulls were sold in the Hereford portion of the sale. Dr. John P. Cottingham Jr. of 5-C Farms in Slidell, La., purchased the top priced Hereford bull for $2,900 from Tennessee River Music, Inc. in Fort Payne. The 2 and one half-year-old, polled animal had previously produced a calf crop with average birth weights of 78 pounds each. Hereford bulls ranged in price from $1,300 to $2,900 each and averaged $1,710 per animal.

A total of 19 Simmental bulls were auctioned at this sale. The Simmental bulls averaged $2,171 per animal and ranged in price from $1,100 to $5,000 per animal.

The heifer portion of the sale also had a strong showing. Heifers grossed $15,7000 and averaged $872 for each of the 18 animals sold.

The sale’s overall, top open heifer was purchased for $1,100 by Billy Smith of Prarie Bluff Cattle Company in Faunsdale. The 1-year-old commercial heifer, a daughter of famous Simmental bull Preferred Beef, was consigned by Jack Tatum III of Wilsonville. Commercial heifers averaged $867 each and ranged from $700 to $ 1,100 per animal.

A three-way tie for top priced registered Charolais open heifer occurred when Chris Holland of Ariton purchased all three Charolais animals offered for $900 each. The 1-year-old polled heifers were raised by Jim Akin of Akin Charolais in Lexington.

“The reputation of quality for this sale has continued to grow over the past 10 years,” said Elmore. “That reputation is reflective of the quality of bulls and heifers the BCIA members produce through this sale and the standards of the Alabama BCIA.”

The Alabama BCIA is a non-profit organization seeking to promote, educate and facilitate the use of performance testing, record keeping and marketing opportunities to improve the Alabama cattle industry. BCIA is composed of persons, firms, partnerships, and corporations in the State of Alabama who are engaged in the production and marketing of purebred and commercial beef cattle. Formed in 1964, BCIA cooperates with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System of Auburn University under a formal agreement and is guided under a 20member board consisting of producers, industry leaders, research personnel and extension professionals.