New England cattle business Rangers Valley was named the New South Wales Meat Standards Australia producer of the year at the inaugural MSA Excellence in Eating Quality Awards in Dubbo on Friday night.
The awards recognise the state’s top producers who have achieved outstanding compliance rates to the MSA’s specifications for cattle during 2014-15.
Rangers Valley Station and feedlot, based near Glen Innes, specialises in producing pure Black Angus and Wagyu-cross cattle, and is owned by Japan’s Marubeni Corporation.
Its feedlot has a capacity for 32,000 head and, according to the operation’s managing director Don Mackay, the business processes and markets beef around the world, selling more than $130 million worth of meat annually to more than 20 countries.
They also turn off about 12,000 animals per year for the “Coles Finest” program.
Rangers Valley won the MSA title from a field comprising more than 4400 registered producers in NSW who consigned cattle during the 2014-15 financial year.
MSA producer engagement officer Jarrod Lees said analysing the MSA data showed Rangers Valley beef would produce a great eating experience for consumers.
“Rangers Valley have really scored well with their grading results. Their ossification scores are low and that’s very positive for eating quality and tenderness,” Mr Lees said.
“The amount of marbling in their beef is also helping to create a really high quality product that is juicy and flavoursome.
“From a consumer perspective, the quality of beef that Rangers Valley is producing is really consistent – there’s not a lot of variation in the data.
“Don and his team should be very proud of their results. The cattle they are producing are high quality and that’s really a testament to the system they have in place.” Ossification is a measure of the physiological maturity of the beef carcase, and eating quality declines as ossification increases.
While ossification increases as the animal ages, it can also increase with nutritional or health stress.
Marbling is measured using MSA marbling standards and reflects the amount as well as distribution of intramuscular fat, which has a positive impact on the juiciness and flavour of beef.
To be eligible for the awards, a producer’s annual MSA-graded volume had to be in the top 50th percentile for the state they were produced in. The awards aim to raise awareness of best management practice from producers.
