THE final stage of the event itself may still be 16 months away, but judging is now officially underway in the Beef Australia 2027 National Beef Carcase Competition.

Because of wide seasonal and climatic variation across Australia, a 13-month window has been provided for entries to be evaluated for next year’s competition, results from which will be shared in May next year during Beef 2027 in Rockhampton.

Entries can be judged any time from 1 January this year to 31 January 2027.

The first group to be chiller and MSA graded for next year’s competition went under scrutiny at the Greenham Smithon export plant in Tasmania during the first week of January. The grassfed cattle, part of Greenham’s Cape Grim Certified Grassfed program, were dual-entered in Tasmania’s Circular Head Carcase Competition.

More than 30 beef processors located in all Australian states will participate in this year’s competition, with available kill dates for their suppliers to be advised in coming weeks and months.

Beef 2027’s National Carcase Competition will include eight classes – three each for grainfed and grassfed entries, ranging from trade steers and heifers to export weights, and two open feeding classes, including a longfed category.

“The long entry window is designed to complement all production systems across Australia, making sure that all competitors can find a slot that best suits their production cycles,” Carcase Committee member Georgia Turner said.

The National Beef Carcase Competition is the largest and most comprehensive beef carcase competition in Australia. At the previous event held back in 2024, 732 carcases representing 244 pens of cattle from all states were included in the competition.

The appraisal system is specifically designed to meet both export and domestic market requirements and uses the latest technology available to the beef industry, including the returning use of the MasterBeef grading camera.

The event allows beef producers to benchmark their cattle’s performance, delivering feedback including compliance against market specifications, lean meat yield and predicted eating quality measured under the MSA index.

Handsome cash prizes and trophies will be awarded to the top entries in each class, and a MSA Index Award will be made to the winning individual carcase with the highest MSA Index Score. An Achievement Award is awarded to the overall Champion Carcase and Reserve Champion Carcase; an MSA Index Award to the winning pen of three carcases with the highest combined MSA Index scores; and a Champion Pen and Reserve Champion Pen award to the Highest Scoring Pen of three in each class.

• Beef Central will circle back with regular updates on National Carcase Competition upcoming kill dates available at various participating meat processing plants across Australia, as the year unfolds.
• Beef 2027 happens in Rockhampton from 2-8 May next year.