We are excited to be presenting the First Annual Production Sale for Rural Route 5 Farm! This sale features a set of bulls that we feel showcases our program and our efforts to offer quality over quantity.
“Decision making is easy when your values are clear.” – Roy Disney
One winter when we were battling non-typical winter weather (and mud!) we decided it would be better, for the livestock and humans, to transition our registered herd to calve when we wouldn’t be working against mother nature. Since our commercial herd is already managed that way, and we’ve always put a strong emphasis on maternal traits it, frankly, just made sense. We calved our last fall born calf in 2024 and are in the process of calving our last winter calves now. In future, all calves will be born on cover crops or pasture from late April – June. Our cows and calves will benefit from the better conditions in the spring and being paired off to grass sooner after birth.
The decisions we’ve made and adjusting our calving window has necessitated marketing our bulls in a different manner than we’ve previously used, and that is why you are holding this catalog! Moving our calving window will also allow us the opportunity to develop the bulls on grass and evaluate them ourselves over a longer window to ensure superior quality. We place great emphasis on docility in our herd and the bulls we produce are held to this high standard as well. This initial sale has yearling and age advantaged bulls, but in future we will be offering coming 2-year-old bulls and bred heifers.
We are grateful for the support of the Siddall Family, Travis, Amanda, Landry and Gretta, they manage our northern pastures, partner on a few cows and give us a hand whenever needed. Thank you Siddalls!
Lastly, thank you to past customers for your support and friendship. We know investing in genetics is an important decision, please let us know if you have any questions or we can help in any way.
Take Care,
Phil, Abby, Aubrey & Emmie Smith
Phil Smith: 989-314-3018
sale location & Viewing
Bulls are available for viewing anytime at Rural Route 5 Farm: 4707 East Price Road, St. Johns, Mich. Please call Phil at 989-314-3018 in advance to your visit so we can ensure someone will be around to point you to the bulls. Our barns will be open from February 21-25, 2025 and we will be available so stop on in! We offer a $100 discount from the purchase price if you visit the farm and look at the bulls in January and February!
sale format & terms
The sale will be through DVAuction as a timed auction. The sale opens on February 21, 2025 and will close on February 25, 2025 at 7pm Eastern/6pm CST. All lots will close at the same time. If a bid is placed within 5 minutes of the closing time, the closing time for the event will be extended to 5 minutes after that bid. This continues until no bids are placed for 5 minutes. All bulls must be paid for within 7 days of the sale closing or prior to being released, whichever is first. Terms are cash or good check. To view the sale check out our website at https:// ruralroute5farm.dvauction.com/.
Bull Docility
Docility is paramount to our operation. You will notice we have scored docility and published it with each bull. We use a scoring system from 1-6 with lower scores indicating calmer cattle.
1 -Docile, 2 – Restless, 3 – Nervous, 4 – Flighty, 5 –Aggressive, 6 – Very Aggressive
The majority of the bulls are a docility score of 1. Docility can change as the animal ages and different in differing handling conditions. We score docility during our daily interactions and do not offer any bulls that we do not feel can be safely managed.
Bull Guarantee
We appreciate your business and want you to be satisfied with your purchase. All bulls have been fertility tested and had scrotal measurements taken by Dr. Bryce Slavik. We guarantee that all bulls are breeders for a 90-day breeding season following the initial turnout. Issues that are outside of our control will not be covered (i.e. poor nutrition) and a veterinarian’s opinion may be requested. A replacement of equal value or sale credit (minus salvage value) will be issued for the next sale. If an issue arises, please contact us as soon as possible.
Post Sale Boarding, Trucking & Delivery
We offer a $150 discount on the purchase price if the bull is removed within 1 week of the sale closing. If you are unable to take the bull home within one week, we will feed them for free until May 1, 2025. We strongly recommend insuring your bull investment, Mark Smith (Grass Roots Genetics) is an option for livestock insurance contact him at 515-229-5227. We will work with you to coordinate trucking and delivery.
management
Fall born bulls were calved on pasture & cover crops and then fed TMR with the cows in the winter until weaning. Spring born bulls were rotationally grazed until weaning in late September. Our calves were not creep fed. After weaning all bulls were rotationally grazed using a single strand of polywire and frequent moves. Bulls were overwintered in a large lot with barn access to allow for ample exercise and fed a high forage ration designed for 3.5# ADG. We want our bulls to develop appropriately to ensure longevity when they go to their new pasture. Bulls were weighed monthly and a 55-day informal gain test was conducted from November to January, results are published with each bull. We are happy to discuss our management practices if you’d like further information.
HERD Health
Birth: Inforce & TriShield
Turnout: Nasalgen 3-PMH
Weaning: Bovishield Gold FP5L5, 7-way with Somunus, Endovac Beef, C,D & T, Ivermectin
DVAuction
Register to bid at www.DVAuction.com. For questions contact 402-316-5460 or dva@dvauction.com. Terms and Conditions available at: https://www.dvauction.com/ terms
Genomic EPDs
Our entire offering is genomically tested. This ensures parentage, checks trait status such as color and polled, and improves EPD accuracy. Please note that EPDs may change from the time the sale catalog is printed to the time the registration paper is transferred.
RR5-M644
Lot m644, m643, m623 & m625
We had the opportunity to purchase X200 from our friends at Lazy C Diamond Ranch and the first mating we chose was LCDR Diligence. These calves are smooth, good footed, with the muscle and thickness that we feel is needed in a bull. If we didn’t have a couple full sisters to move forward with we’d have one of these bulls in our pasture!
M644
RR5-M643
M625 as a calf
From left to right: Emmie, Landry & Aubrey
RR5-M626
Lot m626, m645 & m630
We used Firesteel to make a set of half blood bulls that would have eye-appeal and style to go along with a complete set of EPDs. Study the EPDs as some of these show they will work on heifers. If you are looking to save females don’t look past this set of flush brothers.
Lot m621
This calf is bred deep with performance on the cow side. We chose to use the popular Gibbs Essential to add a little more calving ease without sacrificing performance. RR5-M621
MOTT RESERVE M39
Lot M39 & m41
We work closely with the Mott Family & brought these bulls in last fall to be raised with ours because of the similarities in our programs. These flush brothers both come with some white on their heads and an expected punch at weaning.
M39
M41
MOTT RESERVE M41
Lot M632
This bull is backed on both the sire and dam side by multiple generations of performance. The sire, RR5-J321, is a bull we raised and sold that goes back to our donor KB-SHEILA-LL-A11. His EPDs speak for themselves.
Lot m660
This April born calf, and the youngest in the offering, is backed by two of our donor cows, X200 and KB-SHEILALL-A11. The dam of this bull, RR5-160H has moved into the donor pen. He has the highest WW and YW EPD in the offering.
RR5-M632
Reg: 4457433
RR5-M660
Lot m620
M620 is the only Angus bull we have in our offering. He is wide topped and thick with added frame.
RR5-L592
Lot l592, l599, l586 & l589
These bulls will catch your eye with their presence and muscle thickness. They are moderately framed and consistent in their design. The F92 donor has a perfect udder and one of the few cows that would be out of a paternal sister to WS Miss Sugar C4.
l592
RR5-L599
Lot l600 & l602
Natural calves out of a pair of full sisters. These two are the largest framed out of the Clrwtr Clear Advantage H4G in the offering.
RR5-L595
l595
Lot l595 &
l582
These bulls are out of one of our KB-SHELIA-LL-A11 daughters and the most docile in the offering. Near flawless EPD profiles! L595 is as complete as any other bull in the offering and attractive in his build and design. L582 is the largest framed bull in the offering
Lot l609
l582
l609
L609 is a natural calf out of WS COWGIRL DIRT with the highest CE and lowest BW EPDs in the offering. Sired by EGL HOOEY 020H that we purchased from Eagle Pass Ranch, he was the highest spread bull in their sale in 2021.
Lot L575
L575 is the oldest bull in the offering. If you have a mixed age group to breed, his EPDs show he will work on heifers and cows.
Lot L598
This bull carries the length and eye appeal of his sire, Rockin H Captivate J75. His dam has been a steady bull producer for us.
L575 L598
