Carcase qualities rise to the top yet again for Walcha Angus breeders Mitch and Susie Crawford, Baringa Pastoral Company, at the 2024 Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial with the couple receiving the champion carcase title.
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Being no stranger to the feedlot trial, this was the fourth year of competing in the trial, Mr and Mrs Crawford won the award with a team of five Angus steers, accumulating a total of 433.5 points out of 550.
The couple also placed fifth in the eating quality medals with the same team, achieving a MSA index of 64.56.
The champion teams heaviest carcase weighed 374.5 kilograms with average weight of the five carcases being 358.2 kg.
The hightest eye-muscle area was recorded by two carcases measuring 85 centimetres squared each, meanwhile three of the bodies recorded an Aus-Meat marble score of two, one a score three and another a score one.
Four out of the five carcases qualified for the Riverine Premium Beef brand, with one meeting the Teys Certified Premium Black Angus criteria.
The highest lean meat yield recorded by the winning team was 56.7 per cent and the highest recorded dressing percentage recorded was 56pc across the five carcases.
This was the second time the Walcha breeders have won the award, with the first time being in 2022 and then have also placed in the top ten for eating quality each of the four years they have entered teams, wining the section two years running in 2021 and 2022.
They also received champion Riverine Premium Beef champion pen in 2022 with a score of 425.5 points.
The pastoral company runs a 750 head self-replacing Angus cow operation, with a small seedstock operation, being predominantly their own bloodlines with a heavy influence of Glenavon Angus blood.
The feedlot market is the companies main target for the steer portion of their herd, with heifers retained for the operation, however the surplus heifers are sold pregnancy-tested-in-calf to calve at two-years-old.
Mitch Crawford said the duo were very happy with the results of the trial, with the results being monitored against the operations breeding objectives.
"It's very nice to be consistently performing in the carcass traits especially," Mr Crawford said.
"And to have a consistency of results over a number of years.
"We aim to grow to produce fast growing, easy care, moderate cattle and we hope that they excel in structure, calving ease, growth, carcass and maternal traits."
Mr Crawford said there was no special treatment for the teams picked in this years trial, with them being under the same commercial grassfed conditions as the rest of the steers destined for the feedlot, with the plan to enter the trial again.
"We were very happy with them and it'll be interesting some of them will go on to the Beef Australia carcass competition," Mr Crawford said.
"But we enjoyed getting the feedback from that and so we're getting to do it again.
"We're very pleased with these steers, they were barely 12 months old going into the trial."
"We're thrilled they performed as well as they being such young age and hopefully are a good example of what we're trying to do."
The pastoral company entered three teams of Angus steers in the trial with the champion carcase team placing 27th overall out of the 91 teams entered, while the second team placed 31st and the third team placed 90th.
