If you want more than a good-looking bull, check out the Indiana Beef Evaluation Program sale happening Thursday evening, April 14. The auction features 110 bulls coming off of winter test at the Purdue University Feldun-Purdue farm at Bedford.

Located a couple miles outside Bedford, Feldun-Purdue has been home to the Indiana Bull Test Evaluation program since it moved from the Lynwood Farm at Carmel when that land went into development. Two groups of bulls are tested each year. The winter group usually is the largest.

BEST BULLS SELL: Bulls coming off the winter test at IBEP at Feldun-Purdue go up for auction April 14. If you need a bull or just like auctions, show up, visit a remote site or view it live from her office online.

What you get buying bulls from the test station is data to back up how the bulls look, notes Dave Redmond, Lawrence County Extension ag educator. He typically helps on weigh days at IBEP.

Weighing is automated, and results are recorded by computer. Only the top-ranking bulls in each breed are allowed to sell. Bulls which rank too low comparatively based on data don’t go through the sale.

Data collected on the bulls includes rate of gain, but it also includes ultrasound data. The results are online, and you can also request a catalog online. For more information visit ansc.purdue.edu/ibep/.

Selling in this auction are 110 bulls, including 85 Angus bulls, 2 Charolais bulls, 6 Herefords, 1 Lim-flex, 1 Red Angus, 4 Simmental and 11 SimAngus.

The sale will actually be held at the Springville feeder calf Auction, not at the Feldun-Purdue farm. The sale begins at 6 p.m. EDT.

You also have other options to bid and buy if you can’t make it to Springville, notes Donna Lofgren, who assists with the program. Potential buyers can gather to watch video at two remote locations - the Tippecanoe County Extension office in Lafayette, or the Fulton County Fairgrounds in Rochester.

The auction is broadcast live over DV Auction. You can actually sit at home and bid from your computer if you register through DV Auction, Lofgren says. “The only difference is that if you buy at one of the remote sites, bulls will be delivered to those areas. If you buy directly online you will need to arrange transportation. We have had people buy directly online in the past.”

Thanks to Janet Armstrong, Springville, for letting us know about the upcoming auction, so we could let you know!