UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The first beef cattle sale held by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences since 1990 generated $111,035, attracted buyers from six states, exposed a new class of students to livestock marketing and renewed a time-honored tradition.

The Penn State Proud! Beef Cattle Sale, held Nov. 7 at the Beef-Sheep Center, included all of the Angus cows in the university's herd born before 1999, their calves, bred heifers and a 2-year-old bull. Commercial cows in the sale included bred cows, bred heifers, heifer calves and steer calves for a total of 99 head. Voytus Angus Farm of Pennsylvania bought the high-selling lot at $2,800.

"The most important reason Penn State owns cattle is for their educational value," says John Comerford, associate professor of dairy and animal science and beef cattle coordinator. "Sales give us an opportunity to teach students how to prepare cattle for merchandising and allow us to share Penn State genetics with other beef producers. This sale renewed the long-standing tradition of the prominence of Penn State's beef herd, while also putting emphasis on the future for continued growth and development within the program."

While the ample receipts from the sale were welcome, the biggest benefit was educational, say organizers. "Marketing is the key to financial success in production of any agricultural commodity," says Karen Vines, an instructor in the beef cattle marketing class that prepared students to be involved in the sale. "The class provided an opportunity to talk about marketing from a livestock perspective and gave the students exposure to activities in preparation for the sale that they may not have had otherwise. As a result of this sale, the students should have a greater understanding of the complexity of putting such a sale together and the attention to detail that is required in the preparation process."

One student who heartily agrees is Scott Rhoads, a senior from Somerset County majoring in agricultural science. A fifth generation farmer, he plans to put what he learned from the sale to good use on the farm back home, and he even attempted (unsuccessfully) to purchase several head of cattle to enrich the herd he is buying from his parents.

"The sale and the class helped me to see the nuts and bolts of the whole operation," he said. "My family and I are working on the beef herd on our farm, so it was helpful to see how it is done. We are trying to improve the genetics of our herd with top-notch animals like those sold at the Penn State beef sale. I am excited to graduate in the spring of 2004 and apply the things I have learned here."

Comerford expects this month's sale to be the first of many. "Our department made a strategic decision a few years ago to begin having regular beef sales," he says. "We produced more cattle to get ready for this one. Sales allow us to control our cattle inventory, to offer our highly desired genetics to other Angus breeders, to attract students and to reaffirm Penn State's reputation as an institution that maintains a first-class breeding operation."

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EDITORS: Contact John Comerford at 814-863-3661 or by e-mail at jxc16@psu.edu.

Contact:

Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-863-9877 fax #280