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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Powerful set of Forty-Three Simmental Bulls
offered at IPT Bull Sale

Forty-three Simmental bulls were cataloged for the 2008 Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale scheduled for Thursday, February 21 at the Livestock Center on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. This is the largest number of Simmental bulls offered in recent years and includes two long-aged Senior Division bulls calved during January 2006, six Junior Division bulls calved between July and December 2006, and 35 Yearling Division bulls calved from January through March 2007.

Simmental bulls typically add more growth and muscle than British breed bulls and EPDs allow for a breeder to match genetic selection to his individual cow herd needs for calving ease, growth, milk and carcass traits.

The offering includes a combination of twenty-eight purebreds, five three-quarter blood composites and ten half-blood composites. Most all of the composite bulls are Angus based. Also, all of the bulls are black except for one red bull and all of the bulls are polled except for two that are polled/scurred. In addition, five of the bulls are eligible to be used on heifers in the Illinois Heifer Development Program (IHDP) because of exceeding the +11.2 EPD Calving Ease Direct for purebreds or -2.1 EPD Birth Weight for composites.

The IPT Bull Sale determines sale order based on a Power Score from the EPD Percentile Rankings for the six traits of birth weight, weaning weight, yearling weight, maternal milk, marbling and ribeye-area. The Simmental bulls offered in the 2008 sale are the highest ranking Power Scores ever offered. The breakdown of these Power Score rankings includes eight Elite, twenty-five Excellent, and ten Performance.

Headlining the Simmental offering will be Lot 99 from Haven Hill Simmentals in Milan. This Junior Division December 9, 2006 bull by GW Lucky Man 644N is a black, polled purebred that has an exceptional 15.5 EPD Power Score. The bull excels in the top three percent of the breed for weaning and yearling weight EPD along with being in the top two-percent for marbling. For several years Haven Hill has been one of the top Simmental consignors at the IPT Bull Sale.

Coming in closely behind in the Power Score ranking is Lot 112 from Rincker Simmental of Shelbyville. This January Yearling Division black, polled purebred bull is by Triple C Invasion, has a 18.8 Power Score and is one of the best carcass bulls offered in the Simmental sale ranking in the top two-percent of the breed for marbling and ribeye area. Also, close behind with a 19.7 Power Score is Lot 114 from Curtis Lipe of Coffeen. This February Yearling Division half-blood composite, black, polled bull is sired by one of the elite bulls in the Angus breed called Mytty in Focus. This balanced EPD trait bull has one of the lower birth weight EPDs in the sale and is eligible to be used on heifers for the Illinois Heifer Development Program (IHDP)

Following closely behind is another pair of half-blood, black, and polled Yearling Division Simmental bulls. The University of Illinois January entry is Lot 111 sired by the popular Angus bull Boyd New Day 8005 and has a Power Score of 23.0. This is a balanced EPD trait bull that excels in weaning and yearling weight EPD. This bull was raised at the Orr Research Farm near Perry and received many favorable comments during the farms September field day. The other bull is Lot 130 from Curtis Lipe with a 22.3 Power Score and sired by the popular Angus bull Mytty in Focus. This January yearling bull excels in weaning and yearling weight EPD and falls into the top one and two percent of the breed for these traits.

Rounding out the Elite bulls with a 24.5 Power Score are two purebred bulls that are black and polled. One is Lot 97, a November 2006 Junior Division sired by Nichols Legacy G151 from Haven Hill Simmentals and the other is Lot 119, a February 2006 Yearling Division sired by GW Lucky Man 644N from Rincker Simmental.

Buyers of Simmental bulls will also be provided with Economic Selection Indexes that are calculated by the Simmental Association and combine several traits and expressed as Dollar ($'s) differences between bulls. Producers interested in purchasing bulls where heifers are retained and the remaining progeny going into a feedlot and sold on a grade-yield basis will want to use the All Purpose Index (API-$). Those producers selecting genetics where all progeny (females and steers) are placed in the feedlot and sold grade-yield will want to use the Terminal Sire Index (TI-$).

The average API-$ value for Simmentals is $98 for purebreds and $97 for composites. Any figures above this value are additional dollars per sire's progeny as compared to the average of the Simmental breed. Several of the top API-$ indexing bulls include: $134 - Lot 98 from E&R Simmentals, Trilla; $129 - Lot 99 from Haven Hill; $127 - Lot 134 from Osborne Simmentals, Vandalia; $126 - Lot 105 from Haven Hill; and at $126 - Lot 121 from Fox Creek, Newton.

The average TI-$ value for Simmentals is $60 for both purebred and composites. Any figures above this value are additional dollars per sire's progeny as compared to the average of the breed. Several of the top TI-$ indexing bulls include: $76 - Lot 99 from Haven Hill; $74 - Lot 105 from Haven Hill; $73 - Lot 130 from Curtis Lipe; and tied with $72 are bulls from Rinker Simmental (Lot 119) and Curtis Lipe (Lot 114); and at $71 - Lot 128 from Steiner Simmentals of Buckley.

Interested bull buyers can obtain a copy of the sale catalog by contacting Dave Seibert, Sale Manager at 309-694-7501 Ext. 224; or via E-mail at dseibert@uiuc.edu; or by mail at 727 Sabrina Drive, East Peoria, IL 61611. A copy of the sale catalog is also available on the web at www.IPTBullSale.com. For any questions pertaining to the sale please contact Seibert at the phone number listed above.

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Source: Dave Seibert, University of Illinois Extension, East Peoria Extension Center - 309-694-7501.

Contact Dave Seibert with any IPT Bull Sale Questions.

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