The University of Wyoming has opened registration for its third annual High Altitude Bull Test and Sale. The program offers bull producers the opportunity to collect data on individual bull performance and offers a venue for producers to market bulls that have undergone pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) testing.

Testing is conducted at the Laramie Research and Extension Center (LREC), located at an elevation of 7,200 feet. Bulls in the test are evaluated for their risk for pulmonary hypertension using PAP tests.

“In order to manage cattle at high elevation, you have to monitor that PAP figure,” says Chase Markel, graduate student manager of the bull test. “The only way you can do that is to expose them to elevation and take that measurement.”

In addition to PAP testing, bulls undergo breeding soundness exams, carcass ultrasounds, and feed efficiency tests, including feed to gain, residual feed intake (RFI), and average daily gain.

Any breed of bull may be consigned, including both registered and commercial or unregistered bulls. The test accepts yearlings and two-year-old bulls. Producers may each consign up to 10 bulls.

To consign bulls to the high-altitude bull test and sale, visit https://bit.ly/UWBullTestEntry. Entries close on Friday, Oct. 25, and bulls must be delivered to LREC Nov. 4-8. Entry fees for each bull are due upon arrival. Additional costs for feed, testing, and yardage must be paid by the end of the test.

The first 45 days of the test are a screening period to test the bull’s fitness to survive at high altitude. Bulls whose initial PAP tests indicate they can withstand high altitudes stay in the test and undergo further assessments, including feed efficiency tests.

Bulls that remain in the test will be sold at the 2024-2025 High Altitude Bull Sale and field day, which will be held at LREC on Friday, March 21. The field day is free and open to the public. For those interested in buying bulls, online and phone bidding will be available.

In addition to providing a venue for producers to evaluate and sell their bulls, the High Altitude Bull Test and Sale gives students hands-on experience in bull production. UW offers both fall and spring classes on bull development and marketing, in which students learn about bull growth, nutrition, reproduction, and genetics. During these classes students also have the opportunity to help manage bulls, conduct tests, record data, create marketing materials, and plan the educational field day and sale.

To learn more about the High Altitude Bull Test and Sale, visit uwyo.edu/anisci/outreach or contact Shelby Rosasco, UW Extension beef specialist and co-organizer of the program, at srosasco@uwyo.edu or (307)766-2329.