The Ohio Cattlemen’s Association Best of the Buckeye committee will be hosting an online sale for Ohio Breeders with Best of the Buckeye Program eligible registered steer & heifer consignments. This unique opportunity will provide an avenue for Ohio breeders offering smaller numbers to be a part of a high-traffic, widely-advertised sale through Breeders’ World Online Sales.

Online sale consignments wanted for eligible cattle

The BOTB program is heading into its’ 4th year and is experiencing tremendous growth with program nominations increasing 10-15 percent each year. Prior to the program’s start, breed numbers were decreasing. Since BOTB started, nearly every breed has doubled and some have tripled in size! Average show sizes have been up across the board and Ohio State Fair breed divisions are seeing the highest numbers in nearly a decade.

Designed to provide additional marketing opportunities for Ohio’s seedstock breeders and a focused initiative to provide added incentive for Ohio showmen to purchase registered cattle from an in-state breeder, the BOTB committee encourages breeders and sellers to market their quality cattle through this new sale. Requirements include:

Separate Steer and Heifer Sale
•Steer Sale – September 22 (last day of Farm Science Review)
•Consignment Deadline – September 6
•Heifer Sale – October 20
•Consignment Deadline – October 4
•$75 per head consignment fee due at the time of the consignment. (BOTB nomination will be deducted from this fee pending sale)
•All cattle must be BOTB eligible and nominated at the time by the sale consignment deadline
•All cattle must be registered & tattooed at the time of nomination
•All consignors are required to provide a professional photo and footnotes. A professional video is highly recommended.
•Each sale limited to the first 15-20 consignments
•Each consigner limited to 2 entries max. per sale
•OCA will promote the sale via print, radio, PR’s, eBlast & text message
•At a minimum, cattle must have received two vaccines (and booster vaccines, if the product requires it) within 30 days of the sale date: a BRSV, IBR, PI3, BVD vaccine that includes a 5-way Lepto and a •7-way Clostridial vaccine
•Registration will be submitted for transfer within 10 business days of the sale
•The BOTB sale committee has right to refuse entries to sale based on quality, breed variation, BOTB eligibility, etc.

Cattle sold in the online sales will be eligible for a buyer incentive program. If a BOTB animal sold through the sale places in the Top 3 at either the Ohio Beef Expo or Ohio State Fair, the buyer will be eligible for an additional matched premium of $300 for the Champion, $200 for Reserve Champion and $100 for Third Overall in their respective division.

The Best of the Buckeye program is hosted by the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association in conjunction with the Ohio Beef Expo and the Ohio State Fair, and recognizes top-placing Ohio bred, born and registered calves, along with the breeder and exhibitor, in each breed division at the two shows. Sponsors have allowed $45,000 to be presented during 2017 in the form of premiums at the two shows, scholarships and awards.

The program was started to provide Ohio seedstock breeders an additional marketing opportunity, create a source for moderately priced show steers and heifers by providing a program with awards and prestige, and to attract new participants interested in showing at the Ohio Beef Expo and/or the Ohio State Fair.

Best of the Buckeye cattle must be registered and bred by an Ohio cattleman and born in state. Embryo transfer calves and calves out of purchased bred cows are eligible if they were born in Ohio and list an Ohio cattleman as the breeder. Nominations can be made by the breeder or the exhibitor.

Best of the Buckeye exhibitor rules along with additional nomination details are available at www.ohiocattle.org/best-of-the-buckeye or by contacting the OCA office. For more information, contact the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association at 614-873-6736, email [email protected].