When the hammer dropped for $1.15 million for Lylehaven Lila Z  EX-94 9* at The Triple Crown Sale, many in the crowd wondered was she really worth it?  Or was it a marketing ploy?  As someone who was involved in the marketing of the sale, many came and asked me if she really did sell or was it all BS?  My answer was, “If anyone can make her worth that, it’s Albert Cormier and Dave Eastman.”  When you add to that team Comestar, Whittier, ADI, and Kelser Hill, you have some pretty big names backing a big sale tag.  In the end, you could argue that she is worth twice that.

Having worked first hand with Dave and Albert in the promotion and sales of Calbrett-I H H CHAMPION, I knew the potential this team had to maximize the revenue.  They had a semen distribution and marketing engine that was taking the world by storm, combined with a proven track record of maximizing the revenue of top females as well.

Love at First Site

According to Albert Cormier, it was love at first sight when he saw Lila Z and her dam Laura at a Quebec show in 2003.  He loved her conformation.  He loved her cow family.  He recognized that he had found the right cow at the right time.

In Lila Z they saw the next Skys-The-Limit Claire  EX DOM 12*.  Like Claire, Lila Z came from a great pedigree with generations of performance.  However, unlike Claire, Lila Z came from a family of great embryo producers.  Something that will make or break you in the genetics game.

With 67 registered progeny in Canada alone, you cannot really doubt her ability to flush.  Lila Z has eleven sons in AI.  Globally there are another 35-40.

Some notable highlights:

COMESTAR GOLDWYN LILAC VG-89-5YR-CAN
ALL-ONTARIO SR.2-YR 2008,
NOM. ALL-CANADIAN SR.2-YR 2008
#28 GLPI Cow in Canada

CALBRETT GOLDWYN LAYLA VG-89-4YR-CAN
NOM. ALL-CANADIAN 4-YR 2011

Daughter of Lexicon

Daughter of GENERVATIONS LEXICON EX-90-CAN
#29 LPI Sire in Canada

Let’s look at the numbers?

When we are talking about $1.15 million, the only numbers that matter are the ones that are on the profitability column.   When it comes to Lila Z, there is no shortage of that.

Using our return on investment calculator, we took a deep dive into the numbers. Let’s assume the following:

  • Boarding fee per day $10
  • Years of productive embryo production 6
  • Flushes per year 5
  • Flush strike out ratio 25%
  • Base cost per flush $650.00
  • Cost per embryo $150.00
  • Recipient price $1,500.00
  • Conception rate of recipients 45%
  • Sale price per embryo $5,000.00
  • Sale price per live heifer $50,000.00 (Very conservative considering CALBRETT GOLDWYN LIZA VG-88-2YR-CAN 2* sold for $175,000 in the ADI 2nd edition sale)
  • Advertising expense/year $4,500.00
  • Other promotion expense $1,000.00
  • Number of embryos per flush 20 (Flushed 21 embryos in her first flush Cedarwal, Bradner Farms and T&L Cattle when they first purchased her)
  • Ratio grade A/B embryos 70%
  • Ugly duckling rate (they can’t all be pretty) 40%

The results are as follows:

  • Total Revenue per flush $52,500.00
  • Total cost per flush $10,400.00
  • Total profit per flush $42,100.00
  • Total heifer sales per year $111,780.00
  • Total boarding expense $23,722.50
  • Total promotional expenses $26,000.00
  • Total Revenue $1,933,680.00
  • Total Profit $733,957.50
  • Return on investment 64%
(Please note: these are our estimates and not the actual numbers)

The Bullvine Bottom Line

When you see that Lila Z can generate $1,933,680 in revenue over 6 years, and that allows for keeping half of the females for the next generation and no semen sales, it’s easy to see why Lylehaven Lila-Z could easily have been a steal at 1.15 million.  The reason? High demand combined with a prolific ability to flush.  That is the magic combination when dealing with such extreme cattle.

 

 

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What do you think? Was she worth it?