Bull Tests: Do the Benefits Stack Up Against the Draw Backs

Are bull tests a proving ground or an experiment? Probably a little bit of both. Regardless of how hot the ration is for a particular bull, a certain breed will gain a fixed amount in a given period of time. The progeny of this bull should perform with similar results.

On the other hand, how destructive or detrimental is the test to the potential breeding quality of the bulls? Will they get too fat? Will they stay in good condition when turned out in a breeding situation where they are not used to foraging for themselves? What about other considerations?

Steer tests will give you information about how a steer will do in a test, but you'll never know how the progeny of the steer would feed out.

So it's a trade off. Is the information worth any possible handicaps? Cattlemen will have to decide depending on their situation. The people who have been studying the results over a long period of time feel the results are justified. The immediate results can move you forward much faster in selecting genetics. The rations used in most tests are not as hot as a normal feedlot ration. They have more roughage and are set up for growth.

The following 56 day results are from the 47th Annual Beef Bull Performance Test at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Final results will be compared in a later issue.