The Gelbvieh and Balancer® Pen Show took place at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado, on Sunday, January 12, 2020. A total of 22 pens entered in this year’s show and included 15 pens of bulls and seven pens of heifers. Jack Ward, Plattsburg, Missouri, judged both the pen bull and pen heifer shows.

Prairie Hills Gelbvieh, Gladstone, North Dakota, exhibited the grand champion pen of three Gelbvieh heifers. The champion pen consisted of three March 2019 calves. The average weight among the pen was 826 pounds with an average weight per day of age of 2.73 pounds. All heifers entering the pen shows are ultrasound scanned at the time of check-in, which took place on Thursday, January 9, 2020. The champion pen had an average ribeye area of 11.63 square inches, 2.2% IMF, and 0.33 inches of back fat.

The reserve grand champion pen of three Gelbvieh heifers was exhibited by Plus One Cattle Company, Hugoton, Kansas. All three females in this pen were September 2018 calves with an average weight of 886 pounds with an average weight per day of age at 1.85 pounds. This pen’s ultrasound data averaged a ribeye area of 12.51 square inches, 3.99% IMF, and 0.23 inches of back fat.

Taubenheim Gelbvieh, Amherst, Nebraska, exhibited the grand champion pen of three Balancer heifers. The champion pen consisted of three January 2018 calves. The average weight among the pen was 1,247 pounds with an average weight per day of age of 1.73 pounds. The champion pen had an average ribeye area of 14.45 square inches, 4.68% IMF, and 0.38 inches of back fat.

The reserve grand champion pen of three Balancer heifers was exhibited by Beastrom Ranch, Pierre, South Dakota. All three females in this pen were March 2019 calves with an average weight of 775 pounds with an average weight per day of age at 2.5 pounds. This pen’s ultrasound data averaged a ribeye area of 12.41 square inches, 3.06% IMF, and 0.21 inches of back fat.

The grand champion pen of five Balancer heifers was exhibited by Warner Beef Genetics, Arapahoe, Nebraska. The pen consisted of five February 2019 heifers. Average weight for this pen was 874 pounds with an average weight per day of age of 2.68 pounds. The ultrasound data revealed an average ribeye area of 11.96 square inches, 4.65% IMF, and 0.34 inches of back fat.

Judd Ranch Inc., Pomona, Kansas, exhibited the grand champion pen of three Gelbvieh bulls. The champion pen consisted of three mid-January to mid-February 2019 born bulls. This pen had an average weight of 1,222 pounds and an average weight per day of age of 3.53 pounds. All pen bulls are ultrasound scanned at the time of check-in. This pen’s ultrasound scan data averaged a ribeye area of 15.12 square inches, 3.32% IMF, and 0.22 inches of back fat.

The reserve champion pen of three Gelbvieh bulls was also exhibited by Judd Ranch Inc., Pomona, Kansas. This pen consisted of one January 2019 bull and two February 2019 bulls and had an average weight of 1,043 pounds with an average weight per day of age of 3.11 pounds. This set of bulls had average ultrasound scan data of 14.53 square inches for ribeye, 3.29% IMF, and 0.18 inches of back fat.

Judd Ranch Inc., Pomona, Kansas, also exhibited the grand champion pen of five Gelbvieh bulls. This pen consisted of one January 2019 bulls, two February 2019 bulls, and two March 2019 bulls. The pen had an average weight of 1,054 pounds and an average weight per day of age of 3.23 pounds. This set of bulls had average ultrasound scan data of 13.61 square inches of ribeye, 3.47% IMF, and 0.20 inches of back fat.

The reserve champion pen of five Gelbvieh bulls was exhibited by Bar Arrow Cattle Co., Phillipsburg, Kansas. This pen consisted of five calves born in March 2019 and had an average weight of 1,047 with an average weight per day of age of 3.48 pounds. This set of bulls had average ultrasound data of 14.69 square inches of ribeye, 3.83% IMF, and 0.33 inches of back fat.
In the Balancer pen show, Taubenheim Gelbvieh, Amherst, Nebraska, exhibited the grand champion pen of three Balancer bulls. This pen consisted of three January 2019 born bulls that averaged 1,192 pounds with an average weight per day of age of 3.44 pounds. The pen’s average ultrasound scan data is as follows: ribeye area of 12.78 square inches, 4.01% IMF and 0.27 inches of back fat.

The reserve champion pen of three Balancer bulls was exhibited by Judd Ranch Inc., Pomona, Kansas. Their pen consisted of one January 2019 bull and two February 2019 bulls averaging a weight of 1,231 pounds and 3.62 pounds weight per day of age. This pen averaged 15.31 square inches for ribeye area, 4.07% IMF and 0.30 inches of back fat with their ultrasound scan data.

Judd Ranch Inc., Pomona, Kansas, exhibited the grand champion pen of five Balancer bulls. This pen included three January-born and two February 2019 born bulls. This champion pen had an average weight of 1,115 pounds and an average weight per day of age of 3.25 pounds. The pen’s average ultrasound scan data was 14.3 square inches for ribeye area, 3.64% IMF, and 0.27 inches of back fat.

Warner Beef Genetics, Arapahoe, Nebraska, exhibited the reserve champion pen of five Balancer bulls. This pen included five February 2019 bulls. This pen averaged a weight of 1,138 pounds and had an average weight per day of age of 3.46 pounds. This set of bulls had average ultrasound scan data of 14.87 square inches for ribeye area, 3.73% IMF, and .26 inches of back fat.