Cattlemen gather next week for Midland Bull Test

Cattlemen from across the country will gather next week in Columbus, Mont., for one of the beef industry’s premier events of the year, the Midland Bull Test. Besides the sale of 800 bulls from 10 breeds over a three-day period, Midland offers educational seminars and the opportunity for seedstock producers and cattlemen to congregate at one location for the event. The Montana Gelbvieh Association has also planned a membership meeting.

Leading off the bull sales is the Gelbvieh breed on Wednesday, April 6 at 12:00 noon. A total of 41 Gelbvieh and Balancer® bulls have been consigned by seven breeders from six states. At the completion of the test the Gelbvieh and Balancer bulls posted the final performance averages: BW 86; WW 781; ADG 3.14; WDA 3.31; 365 WT 1,205.

Middle Creek Farms, Bozeman, Mont., owns the two bulls that top the test, each with a Midland Bull Test index of 109. Bull #1224 is a January 2010, 88-percentage, black Gelbvieh son of MCF Bruce Almighty 35PET. He posted the following final performance numbers: ADG 3.28; WDA 3.44; 365 WT 1,246; and RFI -4.32, and MBT IND 109. This bull is the best RFI performing bull of the Gelbvieh and Balancer offering. Bull #1235 is a January 2010, purebred, black Gelbvieh son of MCFG The Man 113U. His final numbers are: ADG 3.60; WDA 3.73; 365 WT 1,373; RFI 1.46 and MBT IND 109.

The bull with the highest ADG is a February 2010 Balancer son of Bon View New Design 1407 and has a tag number of #1202. Entered by Mahogany Hollow, Delta, Utah, this bull’s final numbers are: ADG 3.74; WDA 3.33; 365 WT 1,161; RFI -1.24; and MBT IND 106.

Middle Creek Farms also had the high WDA bull with a January 2010 black purebred son of JBOB Carolina, tag #1242, and final numbers of: ADG 3.67; WDA 3.91; 365 WT 1,432; RFI 0.94; and MBT IND 112.

In addition to the bull sale, Midland has several other events scheduled. On Tuesday, April 5, Dr. John Paterson will be speaking on “What’s Happening in the Cattle Industry.” The evening starts at 6:00 p.m. with a social, the steak fry follows at 6:30. These events are repeated Wednesday night. The Thursday evening activities include a social at 6:00, steak fry at 6:30 and entertainment of the Bent Willows-John Campbell and Neil Hamilton featuring Adessa Campbell, sponsored by Stockman Bank. All evening activities take place at the Little Metra in Columbus, Mont.

The Montana Gelbvieh Association will hold a membership meeting on Wednesday, April 6 after the Gelbvieh bull sale at approximately 3:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Fire Hall in Columbus. For more information regarding the meeting contact Kathy Rankin at 406-937-4815 or krankin@northerntel.net.

The complete Midland Bull Test sale catalog can be viewed at www.midlandbulltest.com. Visit frontierstockyards.com for videos of the bulls and online bidding the day of the sale. For more information about the Gelbvieh bulls in the sale contact Don Danell, American Gelbvieh Association western area coordinator at 406-538-5622 or dond@gelbvieh.org.

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