Flying H Genetics Roughage N’ Ready Bull Sale

Arapahoe, Neb.
Reported by: Dick Helms

Black Balancer® Bulls      $5,878
Fusion Bulls        $5,813
Red Balancer Bulls           $5,304
Black Gelbvieh Bulls        $5,300
Black SimAngus Bulls      $5,126
94 Bulls Averaged            $5,557

Gelbvieh Females            $7,750
Balancer Females             $5,000
SmartCross® Breds/Pairs              $2,500
SmartCross Replacement Heifers             $1,500

On March 1, 2014, the Flying H Genetics 34^th annual sale was the coldest ever held, with temperatures of seven degrees, winds at 30 mph and light snow. But it was hot inside the sale facility where new and repeat customers from eight states fought to own some of the best industry relevant genetics available.

Topping the sale was Lot 2, a homozygous black, homozygous polled Balancer® son of Schiefelbein Effective. This balanced genetic package was a 3-star heifer bull and sold to longtime Colorado customers, Bledsoe Livestock, for $14,000. 

Lot 21 was valued at $9,000 by Kunkel Ranch who always buys one of the top bulls and their calf sales show it. He was sired by Flying H Genetics’ senior Balancer herd sire, Flying H Professor 22W. His genetics placed him in the top 25 percent of the breed across the board.

The second high selling group were the Fusion bulls, a composite of black or red Angus combined with Gelbvieh and Simmental into a very useful three breed composite. The Fusion bulls averaged $5,812 with the top one going to another longtime Nebraska customer, Kranau Ranch, for $9,000.

The red Balancer bulls were topped by a homozygous polled son of Flying H Professor 22W, sold to Jones Ranch in Alabama for $7,000, another longtime customer. This heavy muscled beef bull offered 5-star genetics across the board with a 1.7-114 birth to yearling EPD spread and a carcass value of $92.73.

Two bulls in the purebred Gelbvieh division sold for $8,000, both going to repeat customers in Nebraska, Bauer Gelbvieh and Kranau Ranch.

The SimAngus section was topped by a Beef Maker 102Y son at $6,500.

A special feature added this year was the female offering. A select group of young, donor potential, Balancer and Gelbvieh females were sold. Topping the offering was a red, polled purebred that combined phenotype, production and balanced genetic strength. This Flying H Landmark 51P daughter sold for $10,250 to Shifflet Ranch and will be placed in their donor program. The top Balancer, Lot 118, was a double homozygous daughter of Connealy Industry and sold to Bill and Marie Farr for $5,750.

The commercial Gelbvieh x Angus SmartCross® heifer pairs and yearling heifers were well received from $1,500 to $2,800.

Volume buyers were Dale Wanger, Oklahoma with 12 bulls; Kranau Ranch, Byron Pike, and Stan Farr with five bulls each. Mark Farr and Blake Steinkruger were volume buyers of the SmartCross females.

For the first time, Flying H Genetics had a bull customer reach the milestone of purchasing 100 bulls. Stan and Ann Farr of Farnam, Neb., purchased their 100^th bull from Flying H Genetics and were rewarded by being given their 100^th bull, Lot 74 which brought $6,000. Congratulations to the Farr family. Several other customers are approaching this milestone which is a testament to the longevity, quality, and service provided by the crew from Flying H Genetics.