THE team from Gunnedah’s Wallawong Premium Beef and their clients have taken out top honours at the recent National Beef Carcase Competition in Rockhampton.
A senior judge from Meat Standards Australia inspected the entries of the 359 teams and more than 1000 cattle and announced the Gunnedah team as winners of class seven – open feeding category pen of three heavy trade chiller steers or heifers 260-340kg.
The winning steers were bred by Inverell’s Heath Birchall and were all sired by Wallawong Target and fed for 120 days on a home mixed ration.
Wallawong principal owner Lachlan James told Fairfax Media he and his wife Kate were on-hand to accept the award.
“It’s very humbling to be recognised among the winners in Australia’s largest carcase competition,” Mr James said.
“The national competition aims to identify groups of carcases that consistently provide high levels of muscularity, fat coverage and eating quality.
“It’s an honour to have prepared the steers on behalf of clients to demonstrate their industry relevance.”
Mr James said the competition carried a high level of acclaim within the industry.
“The competition has got a lot of industry relevance to it,” he said.
“It’s open to anyone, it’s not just open to people in a certain area of the state anyone in Australia can enter it.
“It was so open, out of the seven classes the ribbons from the event went everywhere such as Western Australia, Queensland and parts of NSW.”
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Just days after returning from Rockhampton, Wallawong Premium Beef and Heath Birchall teamed up again to achieve multiple awards at Wingham Beef Week with a different team of steers and carcases.
“Our aim is to get to consistent carcase performance and it was nice to see that happen in Rockampton and again soon after in Wingham,” Mr James said.
"This is the third time in the last four years where Wallawong sired progeny have placed either first or second across the entire competition at Wingham Beef Week which I think shows we are on the right track.”
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
