RAS Beef Challenge 2023 results a valuable tool for Texas Angus

The stud was awarded champion individual export for an Angus heifer, which won the daily weight gain class on a score of 2.768kg, the feedlot total class on 27.016, and the profitability class with $472.29.

The stud also won reserve champion export team with its group of Angus heifers, and achieved high daily weight gains in the domestic individual results, with a steer scoring 3.088kg.

Principals Ben and Wendy Mayne have participated in the event since 2015.

"It's been a fantastic way for us to benchmark our genetics," Mr Mayne said.

"Not against just the Angus breed, but all breeds.

"It's been a fantastic tool to know just where we stand and what we need to do and where we can go from here."

Mr Mayne said the feedback from the competition had influenced their program, particularly when it came to improving eating quality.

"I think also Texas Angus has always been known as a high performance Angus and we weren't known for carcase eating quality," he said. "We've done the performance side of things, but in the last couple of years, including winning the gold medallion last year, we won the eating quality awards and things like that.

"In comparison to our performance, it has been an excellent tool for people to see where our genetics lie within the industry."

All of the information from the competition was submitted to Angus Australia to be analysed and then used in estimated breeding values.

"We'll go through all of this and just see where each animal sits, and their pedigrees and bloodlines and how they perform," he said.

"It's a great way to get the correlation between estimated breeding values and then what our actual figures are doing."

The couple described the competition, and the subsequent feedback, as "absolutely gold" and hoped to get more clients involved.

"Competition is a good thing - it makes you work harder and sets your goals," he said.