News

Raise the Bar–PA Ram and Buck Grow Test Sale Accepting Entries!

The Pennsylvania Ram and Buck Growth Test Sale is now open for nominations, offering sheep and goat breeders a valuable opportunity to evaluate their animals' genetic potential under standardized conditions.

Save for later Print

Updated:

April 4, 2025

Skip to the end of the images gallery

This year's Ram and Buck Test Sale is scheduled for August 18th. Enter you animals today!

Skip to the beginning of the images gallery

The program, hosted at the Samuel E. Hayes Jr. Livestock Evaluation Center (LEC) in Pennsylvania Furnace, provides crucial data on growth rates, carcass traits, and parasite resistance, helping breeders make data-driven decisions to improve their herds.

Breeders interested in participating should submit their nominations by April 15, 2025. Eligible rams and bucks must be registered and born between September 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025. The delivery dates to the LEC for animals are April 28–29, 2025. Rams and bucks are checked-in at the Livestock Evaluation Center. The testing fee is $60 per animal, payable upon delivery. Additional costs for feed, veterinary care, and facility use are shared among participants to ensure affordability.

This program is a unique opportunity for breeders to refine their selection process by setting production benchmarks, showcasing superior genetics, growing their network of small ruminant breeders, and accessing premium market opportunities.

Key Benefits of the Program Include

Growth Rate Data: Test your rams and bucks under uniform conditions to identify top-performing genetics, with critical bi-weekly weight gain reports -enhancing accessibility to insights that support smarter, data-driven breeding decisions.
Carcass Quality Insights: Loin eye and fat depth ultrasound evaluations to select rams and bucks for superior muscling and meat yield.
Parasite Resistance Testing: Fecal Egg Counts (FEC) provide genetic insights for hardier, low-maintenance sheep and goats. Equipping buyers with the measures to build a more resilient flock
Boost Your Sales and Reputation: Showcase your genetics to a broader audience by positioning your rams and bucks in front of performance-focused buyers, with data-backed performance index rankings. Eligible animals will be marketed at the Performance-Tested Ram Sale on August 18, 2025.
Health and Fertility Assurance: Each ram or buck undergoes vaccinations, parasite control, shearing, and a breeding and structural soundness exam, ensuring they are ready to work.
Genotyping: All rams are genotyped for Scrapie at Codon 171. Additional tests may be run upon request.

The official test will run from May 6 to July 22, 2025, with final sale entries for the invitational female sale due by July 25, 2025. The program is conducted in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Penn State, and relevant breed associations.

To enroll, breeders can complete the nomination form and submit it via email to ghubbard@pa.gov or mail it with payment to 1494 W. Pine Grove Road, Pennsylvania Furnace, PA 16865.

If you are willing to help haul rams for other producers or would need help with getting your rams & bucks delivered to the livestock evaluation center, please contact Austin at the information below.

For additional information on the program or full rules with the nomination form attached, contact Greg Hubbard or Austin Brown at the information provided below. A brochure with an abbreviated outline of the program is available online.