STORY AND PHOTOS BY EMILY BENNIGSDORF
Even though the weather has been cold and it still feels like spring might never come, the Fort Hays State University Beef Division was still able to host their Round Up bull sale on March 18, 2019.
Zoetis was able to supply the food for the meal before the sale began. They had burgers, potato salad, and more before the sale started.
The sale consisted of 23 fall 18-month old Red Angus bulls, 30 Yearling Red Angus bulls, six fall two-year-old Red Angus bulls, one Yearling Red Angus heifer, Commercial Red/Simmental heifers in three groups of four, and they finished out the sale with two groups of four Commercial Angus heifers.
The sale started with letting potential buyers walk around and enter the pens with the animals to watch them walk while studying each animal’s physical appearance. Each buyer was given a sale catalog that listed every selling animals EPDs (expected progeny differences). Looking at the EPDs of an animal helps buyers to know the potential animal they will turn out to be later in life. The EPDs help buyers learn more about birth weights, weaning weights, and more.
The sale had a great turn out at the Riegel building on the university farm. But there was a large presence was from those tuning in online to bid.
The Beef Division started filming their sale animals ahead of the date and making a video stream during the sale. This helps potential buyers to learn more about the animals, especially if they are not able to attend the sale in person.
This year Tom Keener was new to the bull sale looking to find some replacement bulls to keep his herd numbers up.
“It was a nice looking lot of animals, I was impressed,” Keener said. “it was my first time here.”
The Beef Division decided to host an education on Sunday, March 17 in the Robbins Center. The night consisted of three different speakers coming to promote the beef industry. Dr. Clyde Cranwell promoted the genetics in the Fort Hays State University herd. Promoting Hubbard’s yeast cell product technology was Dr. Twig Marston. Sandra Utter Levering was there on behalf of highlighting all the wonderful parts of rural America.
The Agriculture Department is taking pride in the animals that they are selling to customers and only want to improve the genes in these animals in the years to come.
Mike Stoppel looking at a pen of bulls. 
A black bull roaming in his pen before the sale. 
A potential buyer looking at the pens of bulls. 
A red bull resting in his pen. 
Two curious bulls having people in their pen. 
A very nicely built bull getting ready to sell. 
Dr. Cranwell, Mike Stoppel, the auctioneer, and Payton Stoppel welcoming the crowd to the bull sale.
The bull sale in full swing.