Grand champion pen at Beef 2015’s opening event, the Ruralco Commercial Cattle Championships, were these grainfed Droughtmaster steers from Ken and Kerry McKenzie.

DROUGHTMASTER or Droughtie cross entries claimed their seventh Beef Australia Expo prime cattle grand championship earlier today when a pen of quality steers from Ken and Kerry McKenzie, Yaralla, Blackwater received the commercial cattle competition’s ultimate award.

Beef 2015 started on the highest possible note at Gracemere Saleyards outside Rockhampton this morning when about 1000 high quality grass and grain-finished cattle drawn from across Queensland and NSW were yarded for the event’s ever-popular Ruralco Commercial Cattle Championships.

It was the fourth time that steers from the McKenzies have won the Beef Expo grand championship, and the seventh such win for Droughtmaster or Droughtmaster cross entries since the inaugural Beef Expo back in 1988.

The pen of ten Yaralla milk-tooth steers, averaging 546kg liveweight, earlier claimed the grainfed pen championship after a 100-day feedlot program.

The steers were fed at Ken’s brother in law, Simon Donovan’s Duaringa Station feedlot, Duaringa.

The crop/pasturefed steer championship went to the Nobbs family, Yandaburra Pastoral Co, Springsure, exhibiting as pen of heavyweight two and four-tooth Charbray steers averaging 713kg liveweight, without the advantage of HGP.

Champion pen of grainfed heifers were Droughtmasters exhibited by Mac and Gayle Shann from Centaur Park, near Clermont, all milk-teeth averaging 517kg.

The crop/pasturefed championship went to Nobbs Grazing Co for a pen of mostly milk-tooth Charbray heifers averaging 521kg.

Strong results in a number of other classes, together with the grainfed and grand championships saw the McKenzie’s named as most successful exhibitor.

At Monday morning’s prime cattle championships sale, the grand championship-winning pen of steers was knocked down to Teys Australia for 330c/kg liveweight. The pen achieved the highest price in the early stages of the sale, where heavy steers were consistently making 315-317c/kg.