Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial underway at Teys Jindalee Feedlot

The trial, in its 14^th year, has continued to attract some of the country's top steer producers who are keen to understand the genetic and performance potential of their breeding programs to help make better on-farm decisions to continue to produce better cattle for the feedlots.

Last week 445 head, or 89 teams of five steers, were inducted into the Teys Australia's Jindalee Feedlot, Stockinbingal, a rise of 65 head compared to last year.

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The trial runs for a period of 112 days on feed, with an optimum induction weight of 360-480kg, an optimum of 3-10 millimetres of fat, milk tooth and an end goal carcase weight of 330-370kg.

The steers entered the feedlot hormone growth promotant free and pre-vaccinated with Bovilis MH+ IBR prior to entry and again on induction to safeguard against respiratory issues during the trial period.

Trial coordinator Brett Tindal, Wagga Wagga, said of the 445 head entered this year, 15 teams or 17 per cent were from south of the border in Victoria, while 23pc of the entrants were new to the trial and had not entered previously.

There were 21 breeds and crosses across the draft this year, and they scanned between 2-10mm of fat on the rib and rump, with the average animals sitting around 4-5mm.

Mr Tindal said they again had challenges with the weather this year, with cattle struggling through some very wet conditions to put weight on, on farm, while others just simply couldn't get cattle out of soaked paddocks.

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The trial will run through until December, when the cattle will be processed and the results and data to be prepared for the final presentation dinner in early February.

Mr Tindal said one of the key features to the trial was the free transport supplied by Shanahan's Livestock Transport, Barnawatha, Vic, who picked up 85pc of the cattle from across six different pick up points as far north as Armidale and south to Kyneton, Vic.

"The trial has really grown through the transport option and getting cattle to the feedlot at low cost to the producer and he couldn't thank Dom Shanahan and his team enough for their generous support of the trial and the easy way they go about their business," he said.

Mr Tindal said one of the big surprises at induction this year was the noncompliance by a larger than normal number of vendors that had again failed to fill in National Vendor Declaration forms or supplied cattle from the wrong Property Identification Code (PIC) number.

"This small detail that producers fail to submit is a large workload of the feedlot staff to chase this information and something the committee has cracked down on hard this year, he said.

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