For the second time Holbrook's Hicks family has taken out grand champion pen of five in the 2021 NSW Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial, rising to the top of 84 teams from 45 vendors.
Their team of Australian Beef Composites from Hicks Beef were clear winners with a score of 805 points from a possible 1000, 65 points ahead of the next best team.
Annual exhibitors since the trial's inception, Andrew and Anne Hicks, along with their son Tom and his wife Kate, entered two teams in the competition.
Their top pen also took out feedlot performance champions (305 points), and reserve champions in the carcase section (404 points) and had an impressive team profit of $1453.13.
The Hicks' other team placed fourth overall on 689.5 points.
Their composite breed doesn't have a breed society helping to share their message which is why the trial is so important to the family to promote their cattle.
The maternal base of the Hicks Beef herd was key to their success and in the last 20 years they had halved the birth weight of their calves but increased the carcase weight productivity of their steers.
"We love the fact the trial is so commercially viable," the Hicks family said.
"It is lovely to win but for us it's more about consistency over the last 12 years.
"It shows the progeny is up to scratch and performing. It also showed how the lack of HGP spread the field and how hybrid viguor of our progeny has shone through in our eyes."
The winning team was ranked 29th at feedlot entry but from their they were virtually untouchable.
They had an average daily gain of 2.26kg, the best of any team, and required no health treatments.
Marbling was one of their key strengths with three of the five steers scoring twos. On average they dressed 53.74 per cent, had P8 fat depths from 14 to 24mm and rib fat depths from six to 12mm.