It could not be emphasised enough during the presentation night of the Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial in Wagga Wagga of the importance of doing the simple things right.
Time and time again it was said that teams performing the best in the competition and in real markets were the producers who performed the basics correctly.
This thinking is part of the introduction of a feedlot entry category into the trial.
Rather than simply assessing the physical features of the animal such as weight, fat and frame at the time of entry, the competition includes assessment of the documentation required to submit an animal to feedlot.
This gives teams the opportunity to lose points for their filling out the National Vendor Declaration forms, submitting Bovilis MH and IBR validation and consigning animals incorrectly.
Feedback trial analyst, Jeff House, Jeff House Livestock, Forbes, said while most of the industry complies, the small majority who fail to do so are damaging their marketability.
“We find that most people are doing the right thing, in the case of this trial there was only a handful of teams who didn't fill out the vendor declarations correctly.”
“The numbers are not big but as an industry across the board these are the small things that we are trying to get right. We want to keep emphasising how important this is across the board through the industry,” he said.
"The numbers are not big but as an industry across the board these are the small things that we are trying to get right.”
- Jeff House
Teys Jindalee Feedlot general manager, Shane Bullock, Stockinbingal, said the documentation allowed for better time management and gave the purchaser a greater level of security.
“The completion of NVDs, contracts and vaccination records correctly helps give the purchaser of those cattle the ability to ensure they are suitable to enter the food chain and are eligible for the markets the purchaser is going to supply in the future which may hold different restrictions such as if the cattle have been given a HGP or not.
“Efficiency of the transaction is also improved and ensures vendors will receive payments on time,” he said.
Mr Bullock said that there was a number of simple ways that producers could best prepare for feedlot entry.
“If producers have cattle on multiple PICs, ensure they are on the correct PIC in the NLIS database for which they are shipped from to ensure traceability.
“They should review all the parameters on grids and ensure their cattle are going to fit within the requirements. This is the producers opportunity to maximise the return receivable for their cattle.
“Discussing with purchasers what the end customer is looking for will help with understanding the end point to be achieved by the cattle they are marketing,” he said.