By John F. Grimes
The Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) held their sixth annual Replacement Female Sale on November 23 at the Muskingum Livestock Auction Company in Zanesville, Ohio. A large crowd was on hand to bid on 107 high quality females in the sale. The sale represented an excellent opportunity for cow-calf producers to add quality females with documented breeding and health records to their herds.
Buyers evaluated 107 lots of bred heifers, bred cows, and cow-calf pairs at the auction. The sale included 80 lots of bred heifers that averaged $1,437, 25 lots of bred cows that averaged $1,377, and two cow-calf pairs that averaged $1,450. The 107 total lots grossed $152,275 for an overall average of $1,423. The females sold to buyers from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Col. Ron Kreis served as the auctioneer.
Erv-N-Del Farm of Louisville, OH consigned the top selling lot at $2,200. The Lot 9 purebred Simmental bred heifer sold to Darrell Briggs of Claysville, PA. Haley Farms of West Salem, OH sold Lot 21, a purebred Simmental cow for $1,925 to Erv-N-Del Farm of Louisville, OH. M Ridge Cattle of West Union, OH sold Lot 50, a Simmental crossbred bred heifer to Bob Hare of Winchester, OH at $1,900.
The sale truly was an excellent opportunity for both buyers and sellers. Buyers were able to improve their herds by adding high quality females with known genetic and health backgrounds. Sellers were able to capitalize on steady prices for breeding cattle.