URBANA, Ill. – Seedstock breeders and commercial cow-calf producers interested in purchasing a total-performance-tested bull will want to attend the 2019 Illinois Performance Tested Bull Sale. The sale will be the leadoff event of the Illinois Beef Expo.

This year’s sale includes 59 cataloged bulls, with 23 being longer-aged 2017 mature bulls and 36 yearlings. A breakdown of the breeds includes 31 Angus, 17 Simmental and SimAngus, and 11 Polled Hereford. The sale is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 21 at 11:00 a.m. and will be held in the Livestock Center on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.

“The 2019 edition will be the 51st annual sale, with 4,740 bulls sold over the past 50 years, totaling over $8.7 million,” says Travis Meteer, IPT Bull Sale Manager and beef cattle educator for University of Illinois Extension.

The sale order will be based on a Power Score system that utilizes the economic indexes provided by breed associations. The Power Score will be calculated on the “percentile rank” for these values. The economic indexes are $W and $B for Angus, API and TI for Simmental, and BMI and CHB for Hereford.

Along with strict requirements for superior EPDs (expected progeny differences), bulls must meet some of the most rigorous requirements in the industry. “These bulls don’t just have to pass the test… they have to pass every test,” Meteer says.

All the bulls must meet a stringent minimum scrotal circumference for their age. Mothers of the bulls are required to test negative for Johne’s Disease or come from a Level 1 or higher herd of the Voluntary Johne’s Certification Program. Bulls also must be tested free for Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) using the Persistently Infected (PI) ear notch screening system. All senior and January yearlings must be fertility tested. All bulls meet weight, frame, and functional soundness evaluations prior to the sale.

The 2019 IPT Bull Sale offers some of the most elite bulls found anywhere in the United States, as verified by their Power Scores.

“Highlighting the 2019 sale will be several genetic-powerhouse bulls that have light birth weight, high growth, and carcass desirability. Proven breed-leaders, AI sires, and legendary breed icons fill the pedigrees of the bulls,” Meteer says. “There are truly unique combinations of performance, pedigree, and phenotype offered through the sale.”

The IPT Bull Sale catalog, along with supporting information, can be found online at www.IPTBullSale.com. The website contains pedigree information, adjusted weights, Power Scores, and EPDs on seven traits and two-dollar value indexes. In addition, there is a list of registration numbers for the bulls that allow prospective buyers to print a “performance pedigree” from the breed associations. The web site also provides more complete information on how the “Power Score” is calculated, as well as a summary of the past 50 IPT Bull Sales. Online bidding will be offered through liveauctions.tv.

All bulls will sell with genomic-enhanced EPDs, which increases the accuracy and reliability of the EPD values. Most all of this year’s consignors have consigned bulls to previous sales and Meteer says they represent some of the elite seedstock suppliers in the state of Illinois and the Midwest. Bulls for sale on Feb 21^st are a direct result of generations of planned matings.

The sale is supported by University of Illinois Extension, University of Illinois Department of Animal Sciences, Illinois Angus Association, Illinois Simmental Association, Vita-Ferm, Boehringer-Ingleheim, Zoetis 50K, and ABS. For more information on the sale or bulls consigned, contact Travis Meteer at 217-430-7030 or email at wmeteer@gmail.com.