UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will hold an open house, private treaty bull sale Oct. 25-29, and the Block and Bridle Club will hold its premier prospect steer show and sale Oct. 30, both at the University Park Campus. The private treaty bull sale is an "off-year sale" for the college, according to John Comerford, associate professor of dairy and animal science and coordinator of the beef program. "This is an opportunity for beef producers to select bulls for their herds," he says. "We decided to have a private treaty sale because we don't have sufficient numbers of animals for a regular production sale. We had a production sale, which was part of the beef marketing class, last year."

Comerford does not expect breeders to come long distances for this sale. "We anticipate that the private treaty sale will attract breeders from within a 100-mile radius," he says. "This gives them an opportunity to pick bulls that suit them best from a number of different price ranges, and it gives them a chance to see our operation here at Penn State. It gives us a chance to get to know some of the breeders and establish a rapport with them."

For the private treaty bull sale, bids will be accepted on five select herd bulls sired by B/R New Design 036, Rockn D Ambush, Bon View New Design 878, SAF Focus of ER and LF New Trend 4100.

The sale will feature 15 herd sire prospects sired by Northern Improvement, TC Freedom 104, Vermillion Dateline 7078, B/R New Frontier 095 and Bon View New Design 878. This sale also will feature commercial crossbred steers averaging 650 pounds and heifers averaging 500 pounds.

Bulls will be available for viewing during the sale from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Penn State Beef and Sheep Center, 142 Orchard Road, State College. Bids can be placed at any time during the sale, with final bids due Friday, Oct. 29 by 2 p.m.

For more information about Angus cattle, contact Donnie Nichols at 814-777-4571 or Wendall Landis at 814-863-0831, or for information about crossbred cattle, contact Pete LeVan at 814-777-4572. Information is available on the Web at http://www.das.psu.edu/beefsale/.

The Penn State Block and Bridle Club will hold its first prospect steer show and sale at Penn State Ag Arena Oct. 30 as a fund-raiser for future activities. The event will offer consignors a marketing opportunity while providing 4-H and FFA members an opportunity to view calves from several producers at one stop.

Steers may begin arriving on Oct. 29 at noon but must be in the barn by 7 a.m. on Oct. 30. Check-in will be at 8 a.m. and the show will start at 10 a.m. The show will serve as a means to sort cattle for the sale. Cattle will be sorted into six classes based on weight and also hip height if necessary. Steers must weight between 400 and 700 pounds.

Immediately following the show, the Pennsylvania Hereford Association will conduct a consignment sale, which is scheduled to begin by 11:30 a.m. The Premier Prospect Steer Sale should begin by 2:30 p.m.

For more information about the private treaty bull sale, contact John Comerford at 814-863-3661 or by e-mail at jxc16@psu.edu. For information about the premier prospect steer sale, contact Dan Kniffen at 814-865-7809 or by e-mail at Dkniffen@psu.edu.

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Writer/Editor: Jeff Mulhollem Office 814-863-2719 FAX 814-863-9877