FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, October 15, 2007

For more information contact:
Bill Clary

(502) 564-4696

KENTUCKY’S FIRST ELITE HEIFER SALE
WILL AUCTION OFF HEAD NO. 10,000 NOV. 5

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Elite Heifer Sale at the UPI Paris Stockyards will sell its 10,000th heifer during its Nov. 5 auction.

“I congratulate the Bourbon County Livestock Improvement Association on the occasion of this milestone,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said. “The people who started the sale in 1991 had the vision to see that there was a market for beef herd replacement females that met exacting standards. It’s people like them who are leading Kentucky agriculture into a period of prosperity.”

A handful of producers started the sale, said Clarence Abney, co-chair of the sale. “It was born out of need,” he said. It was the first sale of its kind in Kentucky and led to the creation of several others.

The annual auction sold 9,860 heifers for an average price per head of $897 through 2006. Last year, 639 head sold for an average of $1,151.The sale records were 668 heifers sold for an average of $1,281, both in 2004.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is a co-sponsor of the Bourbon County Livestock Improvement Association’s Elite Heifer Program. KDA graders will screen the heifers at the sale.

The sale will start at 6 p.m. EDT. Heifers will be available for viewing starting at 1 p.m.

The sale will offer free delivery within 500 miles to any buyer who buys 10 or more head, Abney said.

Buyers may bid online through www.lmaauctions.com. Those who are interested in online bidding are asked to contact the Bourbon County Extension office toll-free at 1-888-317-2555.

 For more information about the sale and the Elite Heifer Program and representative photos of each consignor’s heifers, go to www.eliteheifer.com.

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