MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE ANNUAL OCA REPLACEMENT FEMALE SALE

The 2023 date for the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association (OCA) eleventh annual Replacement Female Sale will be Friday evening, November 24. The sale will be held at the Muskingum Livestock Auction Co. in Zanesville, Ohio and will begin at 6:00 p.m.

The 2023 edition of OCA Replacement Female Sale will provide an opportunity for both buyers and sellers to meet the need for quality replacements in the state. Consignments may include cow-calf pairs, bred cows and bred heifers. Females must be under the age of five as of January 1, 2024, and may be of registered or commercial background. Bred females must be bred to a bull with known EPD’s and calves at side of cows must be sired by a bull with known EPD’s. Pregnancy status must be verified by an accredited veterinarian through traditional palpation, ultrasound or by blood testing through a professional laboratory. Analysis must be performed within 60 days of sale. Consignments will also be fulfilling specific health requirements.

Why discuss a sale that is several months away? The middle of the breeding season is an excellent time to evaluate your herd and consider marketing decisions for the fall. Young, high-quality cattle backed by solid genetics are in demand with potential buyers. Yearling heifers bred artificially to proven calving ease sires are very marketable. A shorter breeding season that results in a tighter calving window has also proven to be popular with potential buyers.

As we think about that tight breeding season, consider those January through early May calving females as potential consignments and breeding pieces that will fit calving windows for many Ohio producers. In previous years, females bred for March and April calves have been towards the top of the sale.

It is also a great time to evaluate the body condition of potential sale animals and make nutritional adjustments to the animal’s diet in anticipation of a late November sale date. Body Condition Scores in the 5-6 range on a 9-point scale at sale time is a good goal to strive to achieve. Additional considerations when evaluating females and making breeding decisions include udder conformation, temperament and feet and legs.

At the 2022 sale, buyers evaluated 89 lots of bred heifers and bred cows at the auction. The sale included 65 lots of bred heifers that averaged $2,258, one cow-calf pair sold for $2,500, and 23 lots of bred cows that averaged $2,008. The 89 total lots grossed $195,525 for an overall average of $2,197. The females sold to buyers from Ohio and Michigan.

Sale consignments are due to the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association by October 1, 2023. Sale information can be obtained by contacting OCA at 614-873-6736 or at their website www.ohiocattle.org. If you have questions about the sale, contact Garth Ruff, sale manager, 740-651-7140 or ruff.72@osu.edu or the OCA office at 614-873-6736 or cattle@ohiocattle.org