14th Annual Genetic Alliance Bull Sale Returns to Monterey

 

Folks in our area interested in adding a bull to their livestock herd have the opportunity to purchase one in Highland County this weekend.  Terri McCoy is part-owner and operator of Brookwood Farms in Pendleton County, West Virginia.  She spoke with us about the annual Genetic Alliance Bull Sale and what customers can expect from their process.

Terri says, “Well, this will be our 14th year.  We hold the sale the second weekend in March.  It is a collaboration between my husband and I, who own Brookwood Farms, and Tom Simmons and his family, which has Glenfield Farms, and the last few years, my dad has also had a few consignments under the name of Zelinda Farm.

“Tom and us have utilized an extensive amount of artificial insemination and embryo transfer, which means we utilize the cutting edge genetics in the industry.  We’re using the top bulls that are available, and we’ve done this for several years.  I would say that probably 80 percent of the bulls in the sale are going to be AI sired.  We do that.  That’s a very labor intensive process, but we feel that’s how we can offer the best genetics to our customers.

“We do not offer any heifers.  This year’s sale is going to feature about 70 head.  The majority of those will be registered purebred Angus.  There will be a few half-blood Charolais.  There’s some half to three-quarter blood Simmental and some purebred Hereford’s in there also.”

Due to the location and timing of the bull sale, anyone who attends may notice higher amounts of traffic in the area, but also the opportunity to explore more in the Western Highlands than would typically be available.

Terri continues, “We have been using the site of the former Monterey Livestock Sale.  As producers, we operate in Pendleton County, but there wasn’t a location that really suited our needs in Pendleton County, so we started out having the sale there in Monterey, as I said, fourteen years ago, and it has continued there.

“This year’s date is March the 11th, and our sale usually falls on the first weekend of The Highland Maple Festival, so we have a note in our catalog that warns our prospective customers of this and tells them to allow extra time when traveling through Monterey if they have to come from that direction.

“The only complaint we’ve had in our fourteen years of existence is one year, we had someone get a little huffy that we weren’t serving pancakes.”

Terri welcomes everyone to attend the sale.  Again, the 14th Annual Genetic Alliance Bull Sale will be held Saturday, March 11th at 1:00 pm at the Monterey Livestock Sale facility in Monterey, Virginia.  For more information, brookwood-farms.com.

Story By

Chris Swecker

is the Assistant Station Coordinator and a News Reporter for WVLS. He has roots in Highland County going back several generations, and he grew up in Monterey. Since graduating from James Madison University with a bachelor’s degree in Media Arts and Design, he has pursued his career at a news station and advertising agency in Virginia, on Microsoft’s campus in the state of Washington, and in both states as sole owner and employee of a video production company. He enjoys exploring life with his wife, Jessa Fowler, traveling, hiking, hunting, gardening, and trying new foods, all while discovering more about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. He feels blessed to be a small part of this talented AMR team to help give back to the community that has provided him with so much.

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