Determining How Idaho Beef Cattle Producers Value Bull Selection Characteristics

Bull expected progeny differences (EPD) and actual performance data were examined along with their auction prices in order to identify the significant impact of different traits on the resulting bull’s price, in specific regions of the Pacific Northwest. The objective was to determine the characteristics most valued by bull purchasers for this region of the country, which receives less precipitation and has higher elevation when compared to the Plains or the Midwest, where most similar studies have been focused in the past. Auction catalog information of bull sales and final sale price, from two different regions in Idaho, are used to estimate hedonic models, with price as a function of their simple performance measurements (SPMs), EPDs and value indexes. For the north central region of Idaho, the catalog provided SPMs – birth weight (BW), 205-day weight (205 WT) and 365-day weight (365 WT) – had a significant positive effect on the price paid by cow/calf producer. In addition, EPDs for milk (MILK), docility (DOC) and birth weight (BEPD) were significant, though BEPD had a negative effect on the bull’s price. For the southwest region of Idaho, the only SPM provided in all the catalogs – birth weight (BW) – was found to have a significant negative effect on price. The yearling age EPD (YEPD) was found to have a significant positive effect on price. In this southern region of Idaho, both the index of weaned calf value ($W) and of cow energy value ($EN) were found to have a significant positive effect on prices. Some results corroborate previous study findings, though others appear to be related to the geographic region of the U.S. More data are being sought to provide further insights and measure their robustness.