Walker County cattle producers should mark their calendars for the upcoming “H.E.R.D.” sale. This will be the tenth annual Heifer Evaluation and Reproductive Development (H.E.R.D.) Sale.

It is scheduled for Wednesday, June 2, at 12:30 p.m., in Calhoun, Ga., at the Northwest Georgia Experiment Station Livestock Pavilion. The sale will feature approximately 125 bred heifers that have completed the University of Georgia’s H.E.R.D program.

The heifers entered the Calhoun HERD Program in December 2009. Commercial and purebred beef producers across the state entered 170 heifers into the program. The heifers were required to have a birth date between Dec. 1, 2008 and Feb. 28, 2009.

As they entered the program, the heifers were given booster vaccinations for IBR/BVD/PI3/BRSV, 7-Way Blackleg and 5-Way Lepto-Vibrio. Heifers were also dewormed, given an intranasal vaccine, and tested for Persistently Infected-BVD.

The heifers were placed on pasture, where they received high-quality bermuda hay and a supplement of corn gluten and soy hulls. The heifers were fed for a moderate rate of gain which resulted in them reaching the target weight (65 percent of mature weight) by 15 months of age.

Each heifer has been evaluated for pelvic area, frame score, disposition, reproductive tract maturity score and structure. They were artificially inseminated (A.I) followed by 45 days with low calving ease Angus clean-up bulls. Many of the heifers are A.I. bred to MCC Daybreak, an easy calving Angus sire.

The complete evaluation of the heifers is available in the sale catalog. Drop by the extension office to get a copy of the catalog or you can visit tifton.uga.edu/pc-web. The heifers will be available for viewing on June 1 at the Livestock Pavilion or at the farm located just off GA 140 on Bells Ferry Road in Rome prior to the sale.

Norman Edwards is coordinator of Walker County Extension Service.