Thorbardin Ranch High Performance Bull Test

Thorbardin Ranch is pleased to announce its 5th Annual Performance Bull Test to be conducted in Laramie, Wyoming. The bull test is geared primarily for Highland breeders to allow them to compare their genetics in a harsh high altitude-testing program against other Highland breeders from around North America. A major plus is that the testing is also open to any other breeds. This allows the Highland breeder to compare their genetic performance against some of the top commercial bulls used today in the cattle business.

The bulls that are put in a testing environment have shown potential up to this point in their respective programs being on the cow out in the pasture or on the range. These young bulls need a performance test against other similar aged animals in a constant environment with similar feed to see which bulls truly belong as bulls and which are better as steers.

There are a number of changes in the program that Thorbardin Ranch believes will aid breeders in selecting their future bulls. We are implementing a volume bull pricing program. Single bull entries will cost $550 per animal, two animals will cost $525 per animal and three or more bulls entered will only cost $500 per animal. We are structuring this pricing to encourage breeders to place multiple bulls into the program.

To encourage junior members to participate, Thorbardin Ranch will delay charging for the entry fee until the end of the test. This will allow junior members to participate in the testing program with no money down. The fee will be collected when the animal is sold in the spring or brought back home.

Bulls must be born between January 1 and May 31 of 2004. They do not have to be halter broken. Bulls should be weaned at least 30-days prior to delivery and given all their usual vaccinations.

Cody Talbott and his crew will again be in charge of the day-to-day management and feeding of the bulls. Quality bulls are expected to gain in sub-zero temperatures and through blizzards.

There will be minimum pricing on all bull sold this year. There will be no live auction. Registered Highland bulls that do well in the test will have a minimum price of $2200 per animal. Commercial bulls regardless of breed or composition will have minimum pricing of $1800 per animal.

Minimum pricing for each animal will be posted starting in mid-March, if there is more than one person interested in a particular animal, then there will be a mini-bidding process via phone or email that Thorbardin Ranch will conduct on behalf of the breeder. The top bidder of course will acquire the animal.

Photos of all the bulls will be posted by mid-March on the website.

Bidding will close on April 25, 2005 with the pickup of bulls on the weekend April 30 and May 1, 2005.

Bulls not bid on will be returned to their owners at their expense or Thorbardin Ranch will buy them based on Cattle-Fax pricing for steers in the MT-WY area. Bulls still in Thorbardin Ranch’s care after May 1 will be charged $2.00/day fee for feeding and yardage.

Other important notes, Thorbardin Ranch will be entering all its replacement quality bulls into the test. At this time, Thorbardin Ranch expects the number of its own entries to be between 30-50 Highland and Highland composite bulls this fall.

The ration will be different this year as brewer pellets are no longer available. The ration will most likely consist of ground grass hay mixed with oats.

There will be no pickup at the International Show in Cambridge, OH this year by Thorbardin Ranch.

Because of the larger volume of bulls being entered by Thorbardin Ranch this year, this may reduce the number of bulls being sold by other breeders based on performance.

If there are more questions, don’t hesitate to call toll free 877-684-5633 or email: thorbard@vcn.com

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