Glen Innes high school students are celebrating their grand champion carcase win on 92.2 points as part of Colin Say and Company's Led Beef Extravaganza, which announced the results on Monday night.
The school's agricultural students, led by teacher Jody Lamph, prepared a Speckle Park/ Speckle x Angus steer bred by Bev and John Winter from Furracabad via Glen Innes from a Speckle/Angus cow sired by the Speckle Park Winter Notorious, a son of Minnamurra Junction.
The steer was weaned very early in a bad season and came to the students just as the rains began to fall to be grown out and finished on a special Riverina school steer finisher ration. The 500kg steer dressed out at 284.9kg, or 57 per cent, with a Meat Standards Australia figure of 62.52 a retail beef yield of 71.7pc and an eye muscle area of 95 square centimetres.
As the champion trade weight carcase it will get a 50c/kg grid bonus as part of competition sponsorship provided by Woolworths.
Ms Lamph said Winter family steers had done the school proud in the past, placing third in class at the Brisbane Royal in 2018.
During last year's Glen Innes Led Beef Extravaganza a Winter steer came within 0.4 points of claiming the grand champion carcase while being awarded reserve champion heavyweight on the hoof.
"It was lovely to go one better," she said.
In other results the very close champion heavyweight steer carcase was awarded to Wellington High School and Myona Charolais with a steer that delivered 89.7 points.
Lightweight steer carcase went to Universal Livestock of Dubbo with a Limousin that earned 89 points. That steer was artificially inseminted by a bull called Runl-X-Loyal which was also responsible for producing the grand champion hook and hoof steer at Sydney Royal two years ago.
Champion heifer carcase on 84.9 points went to Shakriba Partnership with a Shorthorn/ Devon cross that weighed 48kg live and 289kg dressed earning a yield percentage of 71.5 and 61.4 MSA index score with an EMA of 93 sq cm.
Champion junior steer carcase went to first time visitor to the Glen Innes event, Sophie Inder from Rockwell Livestock, Merriwa, with an unled Charolais/Angus that garnered 91.6 points, weighing 540kg live and 315kg dressed with a 73pc yield and an EMA of 115sq cm.
Champion junior heifer carcase on 80.1 points was presented to Holy Trinity School, Inverell, in conjunction with the Bailey family, Glen Innes, with a Limousin/ Charolais x Murray Grey sired by Elwanvale Marvin. The 11 months old heifer dressed at 55.7pc with an MSA index score of 61.2 and an EMA of 81sq cm.
In the inaugural state of origin clash, based on where the steers were bred, Queensland took the gong on superior carcase points after coming from behind NSW on the hoof.
The competition jackpot winner was a Murray Grey cross heifer exhibited by Syndicate Show Steers, prepared by Jasmine Shields and bred by the Grogan family, Tenterfield. It was champion heifer on the hoof and placed second on the hook with 84.6 points.
Overall jackpot winner went to Anthony O'Dwyer Dalby, Qld with his led steer grand champion Limousin/Angus that returned a total of 137 points out of a possible 150.
The Glen Innes led beef extravaganza was the third major carcase competition organised by Colin Say and Co this Covid year, including alternative events to the cancelled Sydney Royal and Brisbane Royal events.