Cattle carrying the magic combination of meat quality, carcase attributes and meat yield dominated results in the National Beef Carcase Competition – results from which were announced at a glittering dinner at Beef 2024 last night.

Reflecting the truly national nature of the competition, entries from Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland claimed the major class wins in this year’s event, across eight grainfed, grassfed and open feeding classes from trade to export weights.

In total, 732 carcases representing 244 pens of three steers/heifers were assessed, with judging stretching over the past six months using the MasterBeef Samsung phone-based grading camera (click here to view earlier story). Judging took place in chillers at 17 beef plants in six states.

Readers should note that Beef Central has been informed that some data inconsistencies have been found in results overnight, since the results were announced. We will keep readers informed if there are any alterations to major results and placings described below.

Eating quality performance this year was exceptional, with a 250 percent increase recorded in carcases ranking within the top five percent of carcases graded for MSA index across Australia.

One of the event coordinators, Dr Alex Ball, said the entries continued to push the boundaries of beef carcase compliance and eating quality, with 13 individual carcases producing an MSA eating quality index score in excess of 70, and 18 carcases producing maximum points for yield. Eight five entries were in top 5pc of all cattle graded nationally for MSA index, and six in the top one percent.

All this reflected further genetic progress in the Australian beef industry he said. While dramatic progress was evident in eating quality and carcase spec traits, he challenged breeders to focus, also, on selection for yield.

This year’s champion group of three carcases were the winners of the grainfed export steers class for entries 300-420kg. They clearly exhibited that rare combination of superior yield and meat quality in the same genetic package.

The three Angus steer carcases were exhibited by Yambinya Station, a backgrounding property run as part of JBS Australia’s Yambinya feedlot near Burraboi, NSW.

The steers were fed at Yambinya, under JBS’s Portoro Natural grain program, run without HGP, GMOs or antibiotics. Since its launch last year, the Portoro brand program has rapidly grown, now accounting for around 600 carcases per week. Markets are widespread, into North and Southeast Asia as well as domestic food service users. Carcase weights for the program average around 370kg, after 130 days on feed.

Young backgrounders are bought for the program from throughout the Riverina, deep into Victoria, and across the border into South Australia. Some are bought as feeders for direct feedlot entry, while others are grower cattle at 9-12 months of age, taken through to relatively heavier feedlot entry weights.

“We start with a heavier article going into the feedlot, and deliberately grow them a little slower, around 1-65-1.75kg average daily gain, because marbling is an expression of maturity, and well as nutrition,” JBS Southern livestock manager Steve Chapman said.

Another feature is the use of acclamation with incoming young cattle, imprinting them over the first 20 days after their arrival at the Yambinya yard by the livestock team for better later performance.

The results speak for themselves, with marbling scores typically ranging from 2s to 4s, but a few in the 5-6 range.

Readers can learn more about JBS Southern’s Portoro brand program in this earlier Beef Central article.   

Reserve champions

Reserve champion pen in this year’s competition was a trio of Angus steers, winners of the pasture-fed light trade steer or heifer class, 200-280kg. They were exhibited by Bruce Campbell, AS & M Campbell & Son, Keysbrook, Western Australia, and processed at V&V Walsh.

Western Australia maintained its stranglehold on the light trade steer division in the three-yearly national Beef Carcase Competition again this year, having topped the category in at least three previous events with high-growth, well finished milk-tooth yearlings.

Another Western Australian entry topped the open unrestricted feeding class for entries +360kg. An F1 Wagyu x Angus steer entry from Twiggy Forrest’s Harvest Road supply chain, processed at Harvey Beef, topped the class. The steers were bred by Rodney Galati, Brunswick, and fed for around 420 days at Kylagh Feedlot, Tammin.

The best MSA Index score pen award this year went to a group of longfed Fullblood Wagyu, entered in the competition’s new Unrestricted feeding class, exhibited by Paul Harris and family, Sunland Cattle Co, Duaringa, Central Queensland. These steers, produced from Sunland’s own bull-breeding genetics program, produced unbelievable MSA Index scores averaging 72.58. One of the three entries in the class claimed the individual carcase MSA Index trophy, and a second earned the reserve champion individual carcase award, scoring 96.45 points.

Champion individual carcase

Champion individual carcase from the competition was another purebred Wagyu entry from the new unrestricted feeding class, exhibited by Darren Hamblin’s Poll Wagyu, Middlemount. The carcase scored an incredible 97.78 points out of 100 – the highest individual score ever seen in the National Beef Carcase Competition.

This, and other recent strong results from carcase and beef taste test competitions have clearly signalled that the new Poll Wagyu purebred genetic strain developed by Darren Hamblin and his partners Hammond Brothers are capable of matching it with the best Wagyu in the nation, performance wise.

In other noteworthy results, Southern Queensland Blonde d’Aquitaine breeder and meat processor Terry Nolan built on his previous successes in the National Beef Carcase Competition, claiming two grainfed medium and heavy trade steer or heifer classes with purebred Blonde entries, fed at Nolan Meats’ Wide Bay feedlot and processed at the company’s Gympie beef facility.

While Blonde d‘Aquitaine cattle are not statistically significant within the Australian cattle herd, they continue to defy the odds as one of the nation’s best-performing carcase competition breeds. Three years ago the breed delivered both champion and reserve champion carcase, shown by Cooloola.

A self-confessed ‘part-time’ cattle breeder, Mr Nolan, one of the smartest dressers in the Australian beef industry, has carried a candle for Blonde cattle for the past 30 years, winning numerous Royal Brisbane Show hook and Gympie Carcase Competition titles over that time.

The cream floated to the top again at Beef 2024, when two milk-tooth purebred Blonde steer entries from the Nolan family’s 200-cow Cooloola Blondes herd near Gympie claimed the medium and heavy trade classes.

While breeds are not formally identified in the competition result sheets, for the statistically minded, Angus (either straightbreds or F1s) claimed five of the eight weight divisions for grass, grainfed and unrestricted feeding in this year’s competition. Blondes earned two class wins, and Wagyu, one.

Other class winners

Here’s a quick rundown on this year’s other class winners:

• Pasture fed heavy trade steers or heifers 280-360kg was topped by India Williamson with Angus steers, processed at NH Foods Wingham Beef.
• The pasture fed export steer class for entries 300-420kg, was topped by Angus entries exhibited by Roger Wilkinson, Bathurst NSW and processed at JBS Scone.
• The unrestricted feeding class for entries 260-360kg produced a win for St Mary’s College, Gunnedah, and Wallawong Premium Beef with a combination of Silver Angus and Braunvieh entries, processed at NH Foods Wagga.

 

We’ll circle back to examine the statistical performance of this year’s entries next week, in a discussion with Dr Alex Ball.