Two well-known NSW commercial and seedstock cattle breeders claimed the top honours at the Pacific Beef Carcase Competition held as part of the Primex field days at Casino on Friday.

The first-ever EU grainfed carcase competition held in Australia was claimed by a pen of Yamburgan Shorthorn steers entered by John and Liz Manchee, Manchee Agriculture near Narrabri, while a parallel MSA performance class went to Yulgilbar Santa Gertrudis, on the Clarence River near Baryulgil in northern NSW.           

Difficult weather conditions during drafting-time back in February had a big impact on entries failing to meet feedlot entry weight requirements at the start of the competitions.

Flooding and heavy rain across many areas of northern NSW and southern Qld made access to feeder cattle prospects difficult in the pre-feedlot entry period, and the impact was seen in a drop-out rate above 30 percent on liveweight compliance at induction (300-370kg for MSA, 380-500kg for EU). Those cattle falling out of spec received no points for feedlot performance.

Average daily gains on both classes averaged close to 2kg/day this year, fed a wheat/corn based ration including some distiller’s grain at the host Maydan feedlot outside Warwick.

The MSA cattle were killed soon after Easter at the Woolworths Churchill abattoir, and the MSA cattle at Casino a couple of weeks ago. The MSA cattle averaged about 260kg carcase weight after 74 days on feed at 8mm of rib fat, and the EU cattle, 336kg after a 115 day feeding program at 15mm of fat.

EU class winners

The Manchee family’s overall EU-class winning purebred Shorthorn steers were around 400kg at entry.

They ranked first among the 20 group entries for feedlot weightgain, second for total carcase score, and first for eating quality score.

“An interesting point is that a lot of the genetics that we select our trial steers from have come through the breed’s Durham genetic research program,” John Manchee said. The Durham project has been a wonderful advance for the breed, sponsored by MLA and Shorthorn Beef,” he said.

“This year and last year, particularly, we are really starting to see some of those selection outcomes having an impact in competitions like this. It has just done so much for the Shorthorn breed: we are so much more competitive now, with much greater accuracy in our Breedplan data and carcase performance.”

“It’s been a huge step. We can now confidently say that Shorthorn cattle are ideally suited to the EU market.”

The Manchee’s commercial beef program is now EU accredited, and will increasingly target EU as its primary market for commercial cattle.

“The growth in the EU market in the past 12 months has been great, and still the size of the quota means there is a huge opportunity ahead,” Mr Manchee said.

“With the EU grainfed quota not being breed specific, we’re finding that the Shorthorns with their weightgain potential can be really profitable to the lotfeeder.”

“We’re looking for that marbling score around 2 after 155 days on feed, but its more having the weightgain, yield and covering-ability on the carcase on top of that.”

The winning pen of Yamburgan steers carry the same paternal breeding as many of the bulls listed in the stud’s 2013 on-property bulls sale, August 28, offering 90 bulls.

MSA class winners

The Pacific Beef Carcase Competition’s overall MSA class winners from Yulgilbar were purebred Santa Gertrudis bred on reasonably tough eastern fall coastal country on the Clarence River, weaned and bunk-trained, and then backgrounded on oats. They averaged about 350kg going onto feed.

They performed strongly in the feedlot weightgain section before logging equally solid results for meat quality, saleable meat yield and MSA results.

Yulgilbar turns off steers and heifers from its commercial breeder paddocks into MSA programs as part of its normal yearly turnoff.

“We believe the MSA system has a strong role to play in the industry so far as promoting meat quality, and certainly from a profitability viewpoint, we’re getting some good premiums now, and most importantly, as a seedstock breeder, valuable carcase feedback,” manager Rob Sinnamon said.

The class-winning steers were sired by Santa bulls similar to those being offered at Yulgilbar’s annual bull sale on Friday, September 6, offering 100 bulls and 100 PTIC females.

Yulgilbar also claimed this year’s Sydney Show domestic feedlot and carcase competition, for pens of six, which this year attracted a record 52 entries totalling 312 head. The trial is based at Wilga feedlot near Bellata, based on feedlot performance, live assessment, MSA and carcase spec compliance and finishes with a taste-test component.

Maydan feedlot livestock manager Chris Rickert said the taxing early weather conditions had impacted on gain performance in both Pacific Beef competition classes this year, with ADGs of 1.93kg/day a little behind performance recorded last year, and the year before.

“They walked into the feedlot right in the middle of the flood, basically, and it never stopped raining for the first 30 days. They recovered well after that, but never had a chance to fully catch-up,” Mr Rickert said.

“The wet does not really worry them too much, but if you are trying to get their eating habits established in the first 20 days, it is very hard,” he said.

Respiratory performance in both groups was very good, given the difficult conditions experienced early.

“Each year, as the competition grows, all the competitors are backgrounding their cattle better and providing vaccination protection,” he said.

Both groups were fed a higher-energy EU style ration, above 12mJ.

“The more they eat, the better they convert, and the better they do, basically,” Mr Rickert said.

MSA steers all received an oestradiol-based implant, while EU steers in a separate pen were obviously non-implanted.       

EU class results:

Feedlot performance, teams: Manchee Agriculture, Narrabri, 1 and 2; Francis family, Dorrigo, 3. Individual animals: Manchee family, 1 & 3. Francis family, 2.

Total eating quality carcase score, teams: Barber family, 3.Individual animals: Manchee family, 1 & 3, Francis family 2.

Carcase performance (ABCAS, MSA score and yield) teams: Barber family 1; Manchee family 2 & 3; individual carcase: barber family 1, 2 and 3.

Total team score (combining feedlot and carcase performance): Manchee, 1 & 2; Francis, 3.

MSA class results:

Feedlot performance, teams: Manchee, 1; Yulgilbar 2 & 3.

Eating quality, team: Minnamurra 1, Yulgilbar 2, Hillview 3.

Eating quality, Individual animals: Supreme Speckle Parks, 1 & 2; Gillett family.

Carcase performance (ABCAS, MSA score and yield) teams: Yulgilbar 1 & 3, Minnamurra 2.

Carcase performance (ABCAS, MSA score and yield) individual animals: Yulgilbar 1, Minnamurra 2, Supreme 3.

Total team score (combining feedlot and carcase performance): Yulgilbar 1, Minnamurra 2, Manchee 3.