Aimee Bolton from JBS Southern and Ryan Lenehan from McKenzie Ag, which is hosting the Challenge’s backgrounding phase at Condah Hills

JBS Australia’s Southern division has launched an industry-first cattle performance challenge, tracking 600 Angus steers from grass backgrounding through grain finishing to carcase performance and eating quality in the chillers.

The JBS Yambinya Backgrounding and Feeder Challenge will generate objective data to help producers better understand the relationship between genetics, on-farm performance and the carcase and eating quality of the final product.

Angus steers from vendors across southern Australia are taking part in the first Yambinya Challenge, which started with induction of the cattle at backgrounding host property Condah Hills in South West Victoria in early September.

The 600 Angus steers are set to generate valuable new data on cattle performance across backgrounding, grain finishing and eating quality.

The challenge brings together cattle from vendors across southern Australia to generate objective performance data under identical conditions, measuring their journey across performance on grass, grain and eating quality.

Over about 100 days of backgrounding, Optiweigh units located in each paddock are monitoring individual weight gains, providing regular data on growth and performance on grass across each group.

Challenge steers involved in the backgrounding phase on Condah Hills in southwest Victoria

Open Day

An Open Day will be held at Condah Hills on 26 November, where producers and industry stakeholders can view the cattle and hear from industry professionals involved in the Challenge.

Following the backgrounding phase, the cattle will move to JBS Yambinya Station feedlot, where they will be finished on a grain ration.

At the completion of the Challenge, the cattle will be processed and graded against JBS Farm Assurance’s premium Natural Grainfed Portoro branded beef program (no HGP/antibiotics), which looks to produce carcases with marbling scores 2-4. The program is designed to provide insights across the entire production cycle, from paddock growth and grain finishing through to carcase performance and eating quality.

JBS Southern livestock manager Steve Chapman said the strong involvement from producers and the calibre of cattle entered in the challenge had been exciting.

“We’re looking forward to the final outcomes and are proud to be involved in such a unique, industry-first challenge,” he said.

McKenzie Ag’s Lachie McKenzie, who is hosting the backgrounding component of the Challenge at Condah Hills, said the scale and depth of data being collected made the initiative particularly significant for the cattle industry.

“When JBS first approached us about hosting the backgrounding component, I was initially sceptical. It represented a significant commitment in terms of grazing capacity and time for our team.

“However, once I understood the scale of what was being proposed, the professionalism behind the Challenge and, importantly, the value of the data that would be generated for the broader industry, we knew we wanted to be involved,” he said.

“This really is a first-of-its-kind initiative. Never before has a trial of this scale brought together such detailed measurement across backgrounding, feedlot performance and carcase outcomes. The potential benefit for cattle breeders, backgrounders, feedlot operators and processors is far-reaching.”

“We’re delighted to be involved and excited to see how the cattle perform here at Condah Hills, through the next stage at Yambinya Station and ultimately at processing.”

The results will provide participating producers and the broader industry with objective insights into how cattle perform at different stages of the supply chain, helping build a clearer picture of the relationship between genetics, on-farm performance, feedlot performance and the quality of the final product.

Portoro bone-in ribeye

Source: JBS