IN any world you live in, high-end performers rely on consistency to deliver quality results across their chosen field of expertise.
The past eight years has seen evidence of this through the Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial, where a handful of exhibitors have been in from the beginning to gauge their performance and to identify their strengths and weaknesses year on year.
Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial coordinator Brett Tindal, Wagga Wagga, cemented these comments, confirming that three of the four exhibitors that had entered cattle over the past eight years every year had won the event at some stage, while the other team had consistently finished in the top 20 year on year.
Mr Tindal said the trial had seen vendors come and go due to various reasons and seasonal conditions, but the feedback from those who return or enter year on year has been positive around the experience they get from the trial and the feedback they receive, that allowed them to really explore what their production system was producing.
He said some examples included Rosedale Livestock Partnership, Blayney, who in the past five years has won the trial in 2013, third this year, and consistently producing teams in the top 10.
“On top of these results the team at Rosedale have consistently won or placed in feedlot performance over this time, along with champion carcase titles and several wins in the Riverine Classic branded products,” he said.
On the back of this, Jon Wright and the team at Coota Park Blue E, Woodstock, have not only supported the trial from the start, but they were runners-up in the first year, before going one better in 2011 to take out the title.
The Coota Park Blue E team continue to compete in the trial with an exceptional strike rate finishing in at least the top 15 in the eight years of the trial, with six of those years resulting in a top 10 finish and five of these in the top five.
“These cattle have seen reserve champions three times in feedlot performance over the journey, along with reserve champion wins in the Riverine Classic brands titles,” Mr Tindal said.
Another winner in 2012 was Andrew, Anne and Tom Hicks, Hicks Beef, Holbrook, who took out the title with their Australian beef Composite cattle on the back of consecutive years in placing in feedlot performance and have since gone on with this trend, taking out various feedlot performance and Riverine Classic and Tender Cut brand titles.
He said the team at Hicks Beef have been passionate about the trial from the start and really drill down into their feedback year on year and use the subject matter experts available to them as part of the trial to discuss scenario’s and their feedback to help them get better at what they do.
“They have not only used the trial for the feedback, but have finished in the top five for four of these eight years and consistently in the top 20, showing that the consistency in product and management was the key to success,” Mr Tindal said.
Mr Tindal said long-time entrants, Lex and Sally Crosby, Crosby Angus, Forbes, had competed strongly over these eight years, with teams in the top 20 every year, with a top 10 finish in 2013 and a reserve champion carcase performance title this year.
Mr Tindal said it was great to see this year at the presentation dinner, where Mr Crosby was over the moon that he had made the podium for one of the championships on the back of his continued support.
Mr Tindal said that in recent years there had been some consistent performers like Minnamurra Pastoral Company, who have entered for the first time in 2015, where they dominated the competition with four teams of Angus/Speckle Park cattle finishing third, eighth, ninth and 10th, along with first, second and third in carcase performance, taking home all prizes in this section. They finished second, fifth, eighth and 12th in 2017, along with the Riverine premium title again.
“They have since continued this dominance with teams in the top 10 in 2016, before taking out the champion carcase title that year and reserve champion Riverine Premiumn, where all five steers must marble score two or above,” he said.
Mr Tindal finished by saying he believed this constant development and education was helping producers to offer better beef out their front gates at a more consistent level.