Thorstenson’s Lazy TV Ranch 36th Annual Bull Sale

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Saturday, March 4, 2017
At the Ranch, Selby, South Dakota
Auctioneers: Lynn and Seth Weishaar
Reported by Vaughn and Wendy Thorstenson

Sale Averages:
105 Yearling Balancer® $3,791
15 Yearling Gelbvieh-Influenced $3,490
38 Yearling Angus $3,921
18 Fall Balancers & Angus $3,804
176 Bulls $3,844

Warm spring weather and hospitality greeted the crowd on hand for Thorstenson’s Lazy TV Ranch 36th Annual Bull Sale at the ranch west of Selby on Saturday, March 4. Owners Vaughn and Wendy Thorstenson and Brian and DeDee Begeman offered a quality set of bulls.
A total of 176 Gelbvieh, Balancer® and Angus bulls averaged $3,844 and sold into eight states. Nearly 90 percent of the buyers were repeat customers and many bought in volume.

Commanding the top price at $13,000 was Lot 5 purchased by Bar Arrow Gelbvieh from Phillipsburg, Kansas. The homozygous black and homozygous polled Balancer yearling was sired by Connealy Revelation and out of one of the herd’s top cows, W413, who is a Dam of Merit and was also mother of the high-selling bull in the 2016 sale.

Larry Thompson of Glenham, South Dakota, a Lazy TV Ranch customer for more than 30 years, took home Lot 18 at a final bid of $8,500. The black Balancer yearling was sired by Tombstone 050 and posted calving, performance and carcass EPDs in the top third of the Gelbvieh breed.

Leading off the red Balancer offering was Lot 92 that sold to Dan Materi, Strasburg, North Dakota, for $8,500. Sired by IDRA Victory 0034, he indexed 123 for ADG and 117 for yearling weight.

Two more red Balancer Victory sons brought $8,000 including Lot 95 purchased by longtime customers Merle and Adrienne Hicks from Martin, South Dakota, and Lot 98 bought by Jim Houck of Akaska, South Dakota.

John Haefner of Mound City, South Dakota, nabbed the high-selling Angus bull, Lot 175, at $7,750. A son of Connealy Big Money, he posted a 118 ADG ratio and a 1445-lb. YW.

Skip Rau, another long-time customer, bought the high-selling fall-born Angus bull, Lot 165 at $6,250. He was sired by Woodhill Daybreak and indexed 125 on test.

Haefner struck again purchasing the two high-selling Gelbvieh-influenced bulls, Lot 134 and 138, both at $6,000. Both were black yearling sired by DLW Alumni 7513A, the 2014 Gelbvieh Futurity champion bull.