Impact of Performance Parameters on Sale Price of Bulls at the Southwest Virginia Bull Test Sale

Abstract Agriculture is the largest private industry in Virginia, generating around $82 billion annually and making up almost 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of the state. Within the agriculture sector, cattle and calves are the second most economically important commodity. The extension-supervised bull tests provide a partnership in the state that allows producers the opportunity to gather financially important management information while providing large amounts of production data for research and summary purposes. The Southwest Virginia Bull Test in Wytheville, VA has been in operation for 44 consecutive years. To qualify for entry, registered bulls must meet minimum EPD requirements (top 70%) for yearling weight or terminal indices of their breeds, have recorded EPDs within a breed association, and be certified healthy and free of genetic defects. The top 2/3 of each breed on test is sold at the end of the 112-d test period. To sell, all bulls must pass a breeding soundness exam (BSE) and have a minimum scrotal circumference of 32 cm for bulls less than 15 months and 33 cm for bulls 15 to 18 months of age. Genetic data including black coat color and polled/horned are also evaluated. Post-weaning data including age, weight, average daily gain, weight per day of age, hip height, frame score, BSE metrics, claw score, foot score, scrotal circumference, and others are collected while at the test station. A retrospective study was performed to establish what has a significant (P < 0.05) effect on sale price. Statistical analysis was performed on sale data from 2018-2022 using SAS. Over this time, 265 senior bulls (birth dates from September 1st-December 31st) were sold with an average sale price of $3,377. Variables significantly related to sale price included calving ease EPD percentile rank (P = 0.0077, r =-0.16), birth weight EPD percentile rank (P = 0.0049, r =-0.17), weaning weight EPD percentile rank (P = < 0.0043, r= -0.17), and yearling weight EPD percentile rank (P = 0.0060, r = -0.17) along with test average daily gain (P = 0.0013, r = 0.198), WDA (P < 0.0001, r = 0.50), and final scrotal circumference (P < 0.0001, r = 0.28). These results may be used to better understand selection priorities among bull buyers and to assist in the design and delivery of educational programs for beef producers.