Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial field set to welcome back old entrants

As the industry continues to enjoy record high cattle prices, producers are full of confidence and excitement to be back focusing on producing high quality beef again rather than trying to manage drought.

It's meant the phone of Beef Spectacular coordinator Brett Tindal has been running hot with inquiry from entrants looking to gain useful feedback on their herd's performance.

He said a number of past entrants who hadn't entered in recent years had indicated their return.

"The inquiry that I've had is also from a few of the new people looking to come in after they have been sitting and watching it for four or five years," he said.

"And they have decided this is the year they want to go in. Other guys want to use the data for comparison of sire lines and that is always a bit of a draw card for people.

"Others are getting the feedback because they can't get it anywhere else. They want to know how their cattle are performing because at the back end they are getting rewarded with a premium for top end cattle and if their cattle are consistent performers they are getting contracts off processors and this is a way of validating it for them."

Entries in The Land's premier carcase competition are open until July 17 with many of the 2021 steer cohort also finding success in the triennial Beef Australia National Carcase Competition.

First time entrants Mitch and Susie Crawford of Baringa Pastoral Company at Walcha were awarded the MSA Eating Quality Award both in the trial and at Beef Australia.

Only three animals made up their Beef Australia pen and recorded a 68.15 MSA score, a level so high it is rarely heard of.

All of the Beef Spectacular entries were placed in the highly competitive grain fed class of three medium trade chiller steers or heifers weighing 300 to 420 kilograms dressed.

Trent Johnstone, Trojan Shorthorns, Lyndhurst, took out the class while Millner Ag at Blayney were second, NJ and JM Southorn of Devannah Murray Grey and Angus at Forbes were fourth and Minnamurra Pastoral Company, Coolah, placed fifth.

It was the best performance by the trial teams at Beef Australia since the co-entry concept was introduced in 2018.

"To be able to compete on the national stage shows the quality of cattle that are going through the trial and the learnings that a lot of these people have done over time on their own farm to get their cattle tighter to the specs," Mr Tindal said.

A large factor to the success was the avoidance of hormonal growth promotants (HGP) which had previously downgraded their MSA score.

Mr Tindal said the change had worked for both competitions and entries would remain HGP-free in 2022.

"Off the back of that result and the trial being HGP free, we are going to do that again this year as Teys have found it opens up more markets for them being HGP free cattle," he said.

This means each team of five steers will have a heavier entry weight of 360 to 480 kilograms when they are delivered to Teys Jindalee on August 26.

"Teys buy the steers on entry so there is no ongoing cost to producers," Mr Tindal said.

"We also offer free transport from centrally located saleyards."

It's there that they will be put on feed for 112 days to be processed before the end of the year at Teys Wagga Wagga.

This year's competition will boast two pens of Galloway genetics; a Charolais Galloway cross from Peter Koppman of Bumbaldry and Galloway Angus cross from Hannah Cock of Tarcutta.

While Mr Koppman is a first time entrant in the Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial, he is no stranger to carcase competition success.

In 2018 he began joining Charolais bulls to his Galloway and Belted Galloway females and has gone on to post success in competitions at Dubbo and Albury along with placing second for the Stan Hill Trophy at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Breed enthusiasts know their cattle are renowned for carcase quality and marbling but with no estimated breeding values, it's the feedback from these competitions that allow for genetic comparisons.

Australian Galloway Association national committee member Malcolm Cock said in Scotland major supermarkets were putting Galloway meat as a feature offering.

"As all minor breeds are struggling to survive it all helps to promote diversity in the beef industry," he said

"Because of the low numbers in the Galloway breed we are unable to use tools like EBVs to monitor the performance of the genetics, trials like this help to give feedback on carcase merit.

"Being a minor breed and one that does not have the common eye appeal, selling over the hooks and hitting the premium grid has been a major marketing tool.

"Over many decades the Galloway breed and it's crosses has proven in trials and carcase competitions to have an ideal carcase for quality and yield."