IBEP Sale Order

The determination of Sale Order has changed over time. Initially it was based on Performance Index, then based on a Star system, then on a calculated Sale Index. Within each of those broad categories, there were minor changes every few years (particularly with the Star system); details are given.

1976 Winter - 1993 Summer

Sale Order was based on Performance Index = .50(ADG Ratio)+.50(WPDA Ratio)

1976 Winter - 1978 Summer
Top indexing bulls for each breed were identified. The top bull (overall) sold first, followed by others in his breed, in order by index. Then the top bull of the next breed, followed by others in his breed. And so on for each breed.

1978 Winter
Top indexing bulls for each breed were identified. Those top bulls sold first, in order by index. Then breed groups were sold, with the breed order the same as the top indexing bulls.

1979 Summer - 1993 Summer
Top indexing bulls for each breed were identified. These top bulls were sold in order by index. Then all remaining bulls were sold in order by index, regardless of the breed.

1993 Winter - 2016 Summer

Sale Order was based on a star system, involving 6-8 traits. A bull got a number of stars for each trait. Initially, this was 4 stars per trait (quartiles), so a bull in the top 25% of his breed got 4 stars for the trait. The Sale Index was the total number of stars for the bull. The bull with the highest Sale Index (highest total stars) sold first. For bulls with an identical number of stars, sale order was based on Performance Index = .60(ADG Ratio)+.40(WPDA Ratio).

1993 Winter - 1995 Summer
7 traits, with 4 stars each = 28 stars maximum.
Traits: ADG, WPDA, Adj. SC, Adj. Pelvic Area, EPD Birth Weight, EPD Weaning Weight, EPD Milk.
If a bull did not have EPDs, there would be  a maximum of 16 stars. The Sale Index seems to have been based on the % of the maximum number of stars for the bull, so a bull that was 16/16 was 100% and would sell first.

1995 Winter - 1997 Summer
7 traits, with 4 stars each = 28 stars maximum.
Traits: ADG, WPDA, Adj. SC, Adj. Pelvic Area, EPD Birth Weight, EPD Weaning Weight, EPD Milk.
One star was deducted for each missing EPD.

1997 Winter - 1999 Summer
6 traits, with 4 stars each = 24 stars maximum.
Traits: ADG, WPDA, Adj. SC, EPD Birth Weight, EPD Weaning Weight, EPD Milk.
Adj. Pelvic Area was dropped.
One star was deducted for each missing EPD.

1999 Winter - 2000 Winter
7 traits, with 4 stars each = 28 stars maximum.
Traits: ADG, WPDA, Adj. SC, Carcass Merit, EPD Birth Weight, EPD Weaning Weight, EPD Milk.
Carcass Merit = .50(% Retail Product Ratio)+.50(% IMF Ratio)
One star was deducted for each missing EPD.

2001 Summer - 2005 Summer
8 traits, with 4 stars each = 32 stars maximum.
Traits: ADG, WPDA, Adj. SC, % Retail Product, % IMF, EPD Birth Weight, EPD Weaning Weight, EPD Milk.
Carcass Merit was split into its two parts.
One star was deducted for each missing EPD.

2005 Winter - 2006 Summer
8 traits, with 4 stars each = 32 stars maximum.
Traits: ADG, WPDA, Adj. SC, % Retail Product, % IMF, EPD Birth Weight, EPD Weaning Weight, EPD Milk.
EPDs get 0 stars if they are missing (rather than -1).

After this point, the three EPDs are REQUIRED for sale eligibility.

2006 Winter - 2008 Summer
8 traits, 4 stars each = 32 stars maximum.
Traits: ADG, WPDA, Adj. SC, % Retail Product, % IMF, EPD Birth Weight, EPD Weaning Weight, EPD Milk.

2008 Winter - 2009 Winter
7 traits, 4 stars each = 28 stars maximum.
Traits: ADG, WPDA, % Retail Product, % IMF, EPD Birth Weight, EPD Weaning Weight, EPD Milk.
Adj. SC was dropped.

2010 Summer - 2010 Winter
7 traits, 4 stars each = 28 stars maximum.
Traits: ADG, WPDA, % Retail Product, % IMF, EPD Direct Calving Ease, EPD Weaning Weight, EPD Milk.
EPD for Direct Calving Ease replaced EPD for Birth Weight. If the bull did not have an EPD for DCE, the EPD for BW was used.

2011 Summer - 2016 Summer
Quartile stars were replaced with decile stars (10 stars per trait). A bull in the top 10% of his breed got 10 stars.
7 traits, 10 stars each = 70 stars maximum.
Traits: ADG, WPDA, % Retail Product, % IMF, EPD Direct Calving Ease, EPD Weaning Weight, EPD Milk.

2016 Winter - 2022 Summer

Sale Index was based on a star system, with decile stars given to bulls for each trait. Sale Index was a weighted average of the stars for selected traits, with a maximum Sale Index of 100. Bulls were sold in order by Sale Index, with the highest Sale Index bull selling first. For bulls with an identical Sale Index, sale order was based on Performance Index.

2016 Winter - 2022 Summer
6 traits, 10 stars each, maximum Sale Index = 100.
Sale Index = 30% ADG, 20% WPDA, 7.5% IMF, 7.5% REA/cwt, 20% EPD Direct Calving Ease, 15% EPD Weaning Weight. If the bull did not have an EPD for DCE, the EPD for Birth Weight was used.

2022 Winter - Present

At delivery, bulls were divided into Senior and Junior Divisions, based on birth date. Sale Index was based on a star system, with decile stars given to bulls for each trait. Stars for traits measured during the test were calculated within each Division. Sale Index was a weighted average of the stars for selected traits, with a maximum Sale Index of 100. The top Senior and Junior bulls for Sale Index were identified. The one with the higher Sale Index sold first, the other sold second. Remaining bulls were sold in order of Sale Index; for bulls with identical Sale Index, sale order was based on Performance Index.

2022 Winter - Present
6 traits, 10 stars each, maximum Sale Index = 100.
Sale Index = 30% ADG, 20% WPDA, 7.5% IMF, 7.5% REA/cwt, 20% EPD Direct Calving Ease, 15% EPD Weaning Weight. If the bull did not have an EPD for DCE, the EPD for Birth Weight was used.
(Note that there was no change from the previous Sale Index calculation.)