Author: Kevin Bullock
Planning Unit: Animal and Food Sciences
Major Program: Beef
Outcome: Initial Outcome
The Bull Value Assessment Program is a new program designed to assist farmers in determining what bull is right for their needs and what is an economical price to pay for the bull. In addition, the producers were exposed to a mock auction that simulated the real experience without them risking their own money to practice a real-world situation. This program was conducted in five locations across the state and required a commitment of two evenings from the participants. The first evening session involved classroom style education on how to determine what bull is appropriate for their individual needs and how to care for the bull after purchasing. At the completion of this session farmers were allowed to pick one of 6 scenarios that best fit their home situation and received a sales catalog with the information on the bulls that would be available in the mock auction. Their assignment was to study the bulls, both the information in the catalog and videos of the bulls online, and determine which bulls would best fit their scenario. The following week the session was the mock auction. The goal for each producer was to buy the best valued bull for their scenario. An experienced livestock auctioneer was used, and videos of each bull are shown while they are being sold to make the experience as real as possible. At the completion of the sale we reviewed each scenario and discussed what type of bull fits each scenario and identified the best bulls for each situation. A prize was given to the farmer that bought the best valued bull for each scenario. A survey was sent to all participants to determine the effectiveness of the program. Of the 150 farmers that were sent surveys, 88 returned a completed survey for a return rate of 59%. The participants ranked the value of the program at 4.6 on a scale of 1-5. Ninety-five percent indicated the program would “Likely” or “Absolutely” impact their next bull purchase. These results indicate this program was very effective in educating farms on the best management practice of value bull buying to improve farm income.
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