Guidelines for buying the right bulls
The purchased bulls, or semen for a herd artificial insemination program, need to provide the best value for the financial outlay. Regardless of the breeding program, the genetic value of a bull to your enterprise is based on how well it fits the breeding objective of your herd.
Relate the price you can ‘afford’ for a bull to the bull’s potential earning capacity. The most profitable bulls for your herd will be those with the greatest difference between predicted earning capacity and purchase price. These bulls may not always be those with the highest genetic merit.
Currently there are programs available to predict both a bull’s genetic value and how well this value is likely to relate to your breeding objective. For example, BreedObject can be used to calculate a dollar index value for all bulls you are considering as options to buy into the herd. Using this information you can select the bull with the highest genetic value for your herd’s breeding objective from those with the greatest difference between estimated earning capacity and purchase price. To avoid two common pitfalls when buying bulls:
1. Paying too much for the apparent ‘super bull’ when economically the second best bull is better value; and
2. Paying too much for the worst bull in a sale catalogue because he was ‘cheap’.
Also remember that the physical ability of bulls to sire many calves is a primary consideration. The management of bulls for maximum fertility and selection at mating based on structural soundness and libido.
What to measure and when
Whenever a new bull is being purchased or when designing mating groups, know the:
-Predicted value of bulls for improving enterprise profitability. These (index) values (calculated using software programs such as BreedObject) are expressed in dollars per cow joined.
-Estimated earning capacity of bulls based on the index value and the projected pattern of use (number of cows per year x number of years used).
-Predicted marginal return on investment in the bull.
