Interbreed judge Brett Nobbs, Springsure, with interbreed champion bull, Meldon Park Major Player, led by Margaret Skene, with Liz Skene from Meldon Park, Cecil Plains holding the trophy.
IT was a case of Eurovision meets the beef industry at Beef 2018 in Rockhampton tonight with two of the three interbreed stud beef championship titles going to European breeds of cattle.
A Simmental bull, Meldon Park Major Player, bred by the Skene family of Cecil Plains, Queensland, was a shock winner for its breeders in the interbreed bull competition.
The 21-month-old 902kg senior and grand champion had an eye muscle area of 133sq cm.
Interbreed judge Brett Nobbs said the moderately framed bull had “taken his eye” during judging.
“You want a bull that will be able to produce something than himself, with good sire characteristics,” Mr Nobbs said.
The champion female was exhibited by the Price family from Moongool Charolais Stud at Yuleba, while the Bassingthwaighte family’s Waco Stud at Wallumbilla won the breeders’ group with their team of Santa Gertrudis cattle.
- More details to come
Congratulations to Meldon Park on their interbreed championship which is a purely subjective assessment of phenotype. However, a bo-peep at the bull’s EBV’s give rise to the question as to whether the judging ring really has a place in the beef industry of the 21st century.
Surely, if breeders are capable of assessing structure and carcass composition and interpreting estimated breeding values when selecting sires we can do without a purely subjective competition which identifies one winner and hundreds of losers.