Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial 2024: Crossbred success for Millner family

James Millner, trading as Rosedale Livestock Partnership, Blayney, received fourth place in the trial with a team of five Charolais/Angus steers, accumulating an overall team score of 789.5 points out of 1000.

The team narrowly missing third place by half a point, which was awarded to Boco Pastoral Company, Nimmitabel, with a team of Hereford/Angus steers scoring 790 points.

The Charolais-cross steers placed equal first in the feedlot induction, fifth in the feedlot performance with 300 points and 31st in the carcase section with a score of 389.5 points.

With an average daily weight gain of 2.26 kilograms per day and an average carcase weight of 350kg, the team also recorded a large eye muscle area measurements of 98 centimetres squared, closely followed by another carcase measuring an eye muscle area of 95cm sq.

Rosedale Charolais are no strangers when it comes to performing well in the feedback trial, originally winning the competition the first time they entered in 2014 and then again in 2022.

But the families success didn't stop there with James' parents Michael and Jenny, entered as MJ and JL Millner, Milthorpe placing seventh and eighth overall on 763 and 756.5, respectively, with Charolais/Angus teams.

The highest daily weight gain recorded in the seventh placed team was 2.51kg, while four of the five steers received the full 15 points for marbling, with three recording a marble score two and one a marble score three.

The highest lean meat yield percentage recorded in the team was 56.1pc and the largest P8 fat measurement recorded being 19 millimetres.

Team awarded eighth place, entered by Mr and Mrs Millner, the highest EMA recorded was 95cm sq, followed behind with 92cm sq and a 91cm sq eye muscle area on another two steers.

Three out of the five steers recorded a marble score of two and also qualified for the Riverine Premium Beef brand.

The average P8 fat measurement of the team was 15.2mm, with a top measurement of 20mm.

The Millner family runs approximately 300 stud Charolais cows, alongside commercial 500 British cows over 1619 hectares in the Blayney area.

"But if you include everything there is probably 1500 commercial cows (across Milthorpe, Coonamble and the block at Geurie managed by James' brother Robbie)," they said.

The Millner family said the program has started a few of their own Charolais/Angus Composite bulls throughout the operation as a terminal sire.

"We're producing commercial cattle which we mostly sell off grass when seasons permit to the supermarkets," Michael said.

"The trials give you an indicator of how you're performing commercially and how the bulls we're using are translating into the program," James said.

"It's interesting to follow them - steers - through and put them up against other cattle.

"We put some in the Merriwa trial earlier in the year and have three teams going into the Ekka trial shortly - we haven't done that for about five years.

"And we also support the RAS trial as well."

The operation has entered teams two teams into the Beef Australia carcase competition later this year in May.

James said the trial results highlights a couple of areas in which the program could adjust and correlates with what the family are doing in their stud program.

"If you need to improve fat while also maintaining performance, that's always something that we are aiming to do," James said.

"Being a Charolais breeder we feel you have to maintain growth rate, but you've also got a same time try and improve your carcass specs as well, so that's a bit of a balancing act.

"I was very happy with them, they finished fifth in the weight gain and then a pen of dad's was third, so your talking right at the pinnacle of the weight gain.

"To get all five to perform consistently that's also what you hope to achieve."

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