Bull Market Pampered Cattle Draw Top Dollar At Cowman’s Classic Auction

It was a real meat market.

The star of the show, a broad-backed, black-haired lad who posed elegantly on the Astroturf, brought cries and waves from the bleachers.

As the bidding for the yearling Angus known as Equity of Par quickly rose above $7,000, many in the audience shook their cowboy hats or whispered in surprise.

Talk about beefcake.

Higher and higher the price for the animal from Hay, Wash., soared as his coat gleamed in the arena lights at the Cowman’s Classic Bull Sale Tuesday at Spokane’s Interstate Fairgrounds.

His owner, Jon Cox, tried to clear his mind. “You don’t think,” he said. “You never get in the realm of thinking what it could bring.”

It became a battle between two bidders and the price climbed higher. On one side of the arena someone stood with a cellular phone linked to a stud ranch in Ohio. On the other, a couple raising cattle in Colville huddled, trying to decide whether to offer yet another $500.

In the end, the company on the phone, Select Sires, got Equity and two-thirds of his semen, for $15,500.

Dressed in a gray cowboy hat and a blue shirt, Cox shook hands and took congratulations while Equity dozed on a bed of wood shavings after the sale. “The bull brought more than I expected,” he said. “You feel really humble.”

Equity was the highest selling bull in the history of the 14-year-old bull sale. The price is also the most Cox has ever gotten.

Another 139 beefy males of nine breeds that had been judged worthy for sale at the Cowman’s Classic brought up to $4,000 each. Nearly 40 others had been culled out because they didn’t meet the size and quality standards of the sale.

“These are as grand a set of bulls as have ever been at this event,” said Colfax auctioneer Butch Booker.

Most bulls are destined for life on Eastern Washington and Idaho ranches, where they’ll serve as sires for herds of up to 30 cows.

“I’m looking for a black one to sire black calfs. They bring in more money,” said Brian Johnson, who runs Johnson Ranch, a cow and calf operation in Sandpoint. He said he didn’t know why black calfs took top dollar at the livestock auctions, but he’ll follow the trend. “I will buy kind of what catches my eye.”

Another Angus, named Cappucino, won the attention of the siblings who run J & R Angus in Pomeroy. Attracted by his good parentage, clean lines and straight legs, what really sold Lisa Lund was his name. It took a little more to convince her brother, Jim Waldher.

“He’s a real meat bull,” Waldher said. “He’ll put some thickness on our cows.”

The family also plans to show him. If Cappucino wins at any of the competitions, his value goes up.

Bulls that develop a reputation as good sires and have the right looks can supply semen to other ranchers for artificial insemination. Top quality semen which comes in a container the size of an iced-tea straw, sells for $25.

That’s the likely fate for Equity. If he proves himself through his off-spring, he could have a long life of luxury in what Cox calls a “penthouse suite” on the stud farm in Ohio. Unfortunately for him, life wouldn’t include time in the pasture with cows.

“But he could very well be used around the world,” Cox said.

If not, he may get the idyllic life for which many of the other bulls at the sale are destined - a home on the range with a harem of heifers.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo