It’s not every day that an Angus bull sells for $900,000, but Danny Poss was not surprised.
His bull, Poss Deadwood, sold via phone bid to TK Cattle of Menard, Texas, during the Poss Angus Ranch annual bull sale Feb. 5 in Scotia.
“Everything just kept leading up to this sale,” Poss said.
He had an idea that Deadwood would bring a lot of money when before the sale, the ranch had semen orders of 4,500 units. Buyers expressed interest from Texas to Montana, from California to Florida, and all the way to Delaware.
“People in almost every state wanted semen from this bull,” Poss said, adding that he also had calls from Australia.
The American Angus Association says the $900,000 price tag makes Deadwood the second-highest-selling Angus bull in the last 25 years. Cattlemen recall that another bull in Nebraska sold for a higher amount sometime between the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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Mark McCully, chief executive officer of the American Angus Association, credits the Poss family's quality program for commanding the price.
Poss said his family is proud of Deadwood’s genetics.
“The cool thing is most of Deadwood’s pedigree is outcross genetics and allows for mating flexibility,” he said.
The bull has the muscle, structural correctness, good feet and legs and EPD (expected progeny differences, which evaluate an animal's genetic worth as a parent). Poss calls it a profile that was hard to fault.
Deadwood is an artificial insemination bull sired by Poss Maverick, born in September 2019. His mother was raised at the Poss Angus Ranch.
In the sale book, Danny Poss calls Deadwood, “a standout since day one and on the radar of the Angus world.”
He is long-bodied, thick, stout and long with a square-hipped stature. He has “unspeakable eye appeal,” Poss said.
“No bull in the breed can compete with his combination of calving ease, growth, carcass merit, and a big-hoofed bull and a strong deep heel designed for covering large areas of rangeland,” the sale book said.
Even commercial breeders want semen from the bull.
“Deadwood is the ideal Angus bull, whether you’re in the Badlands, the desert, or in highly productive areas,” Poss said.
Poss farms corn, soybeans, hay and alfalfa and ranches with his family, which includes his wife Kristi, sons Nolan and Nathan, and daughters Neleigh and Natalie.
A first-generation Angus breeder, Poss credits his family for their immense support. Each plays a major role in the operation.
“For some, it may seem like we had some good luck, but the fact is we work together for the same vision,” Poss said.
He credits Nolan for having a keen eye for cattle and a memory that is far better than the rest of them. He takes care of a lot of the paperwork, his dad said.
Nathan is their hands-on cowboy who can handle any kind of cattle husbandry. He’s been running the feed wagon since he was 10.
The girls are hardworking and dedicated to the operation, their dad said. They help with AIing, night checking and working the cattle.
“They are all excited about their own cattle and the progression they are making with them,” Poss said. “We work together, and we are blessed.”
A progressive Angus breeder is how Poss labels himself.
“I want the best of everything,” he said.