Lake Cargelligo Angus breeders 'over the moon' with feedback trial wins

They were also keen to get the official feedback on the Angus steers they entered in the trial.

The Bartholomews returned to Gunninguldrie Station north west of Lake Cargelligo with two major awards including the prize for the Riverine Premium Beef champion pen of five.

Mr Bartholomew said they were “over the moon” with their wins against such tough competition.

“Had we been standing up we would have fallen over,” Mr Bartholomew said of the moment he heard their names read out at the dinner.

He and his wife were accompanied to Wagga Wagga by their son, Sonney, and his wife, Sharni (daughter of Tullibigeal feedlotters, Darren and Lisa Frankel).

The Bartholomews run about 400 Angus cows on Gunninguldrie Station, which covers 4250 hectares, and 2318ha “Uranaway” about 35km further west.

Mr Bartholomew had been thinking about entering the trial for a few years to get a guide on how their cattle were performing. 

He has been buying bulls from Doug Tozer, Onslow Angus, Wallendbeen, for some years and he urged him to enter the competition.  

Ben O’Kane, Teys Australia’s livestock manager at Wagga Wagga, gave him the same advice.

Another attraction this year was the ability to also nominate for the Beef Australia 2018 National Carcase Competition at Rockhampton.   

Mr Bartholomew said the results from Beef Spectacular showed their breeding strategy was on track.

The challenge now was to keep the herd at the top level.

“We have got the length, style and leg in them, we have to keep them where they are,” he said.

The Bartholomews have added some bulls from Crawford Angus near Tumut but they haven’t yet got any calves on the ground.

“We need cattle that can walk in our country (because of the larger paddocks),” Mr Bartholomew said.