UW’s Second Annual High Altitude Bull Test and Sale to Conclude with March 26 Field Day

The University of Wyoming’s second annual High Altitude Bull Test and Sale will culminate in a field day at the Laramie Research and Extension Center Tuesday, March 26.

A young man in a cowboy hat and jeans stands within a pen with two bulls, one of which is brown and the other of which is black. Outside of the pen, two older men, a younger man, and a young woman are talking. One of the older men holds a stack of papers. They are outside, the ground is dirt, and there's a truck in the background. — Evaluating bulls at the 2023 High Altitude Bull Test and Sale. Photo by David Keto.

The field day, which is free and open to the public, offers producers a chance to learn about current beef cattle research and network with others involved in beef research. All attendees will be able to participate in the live auction bull sale. This event also gives students an opportunity to gain practical experience in production agriculture.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. at the Hansen Teaching Arena. Kacie McCarthy, assistant professor and cow-calf extension specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will kick off the field day with a presentation about bull development strategies. Chase Markel, animal science PhD student at UW, will speak briefly about bovine pulmonary hypertension research at UW. Dr. Tim Holt, professor at Colorado State University, will also speak about bovine pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) tests, which screen for cattle’s susceptibility to pulmonary hypertension and other altitude-related health issues. Finally, UW faculty, staff, and students will report on the results of this year’s test and future directions for the high-altitude bull program.

At 12 p.m., lunch and a student poster session highlighting current beef cattle research at UW will be provided.

The bull sale begins at 1 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on the DV Auctions site. More than 40 bulls are available for sale; breeds include Angus, Red Angus, Simmental, Hereford, Charolais, Shorthorn, and commercial bulls. The sale catalog and videos of the bulls can be found at https://www.dvauction.com/events/208354.

“The data collected on the bulls involved will provide consigners and buyers with additional information to utilize when making sire selection decisions,” says Shelby Rosasco, UW Extension beef specialist and a co-founder of the program. PAP scores, expected progeny differences (EPDs), growth performance, feed efficiency, and carcass evaluation data are available for all the bulls in the test.

Twelve producers consigned a total of 81 bulls into the test in November 2023. After an initial PAP test mid-December, UW researchers recommended that some bulls at high risk of altitude-related health issues be removed from the test. Remaining bulls underwent feed efficiency testing to measure and evaluate performance; a second PAP evaluation to further assess the risk of pulmonary hypertension; carcass ultrasounding to evaluate ribeye area, fat thickness, and intramuscular fat; and a complete breeding soundness exam.

For more information about the UW High Altitude Bull Test and Sale, visit the UW Animal Science website at https://bit.ly/uwyo-animal-science or the UW Beef Extension Facebook and Instagram pages.

Contact Shelby Rosasco at (307) 766-2329 or srosasco@uwyo.edu with questions.