SIMBRAH cattle breeders Reg and Janelle Cooke, Warrenlea, Moura, have taken out a rare double as Beef 2009 kicked-off yesterday, winning both Grand Champion Pen with their grain fed steers, and Champion Pen of Grain Fed Heifers in the Beef Cattle Championships at Gracemere.
Their Grand Champion Pen of 10 Simbrah steers weighed in at an average of 611kg, and had been fed for 149 days on corn ration.
They went on to take out the major prize of the competition after winning Class 8 – pen of 10 steers, 560-740kg, milk teeth only, with minimum 100 days on grain and suitable for the Japanese market.
The Cookes' champion pen of 12 grain fed heifers weighed in at 477kg and claimed the broadribbon after winning Class 10 – pen of 12 heifers, 350-560kg, maximum two teeth, minimum 60 days grain feeding and suitable for local trade.
The heifers had been fed corn ration for 119 days.
In the grassfed section, the major prizes were divided between Rodger Jefferis, Elrose, Cloncurry, and the Wilson family, Banana Station, Banana.
Mr Jefferis's pen of 10 steers, weighing 658kg, initially won the class for steers weighing 560-740kg, with a maximum of four teeth, before being judged grand champion pen of grassfed cattle.
The steers were bred on Mr Jefferis's northern most property and came down to Moura as weaners where they have been on irrigated leucaena and buffell grass.
Another pen of pure Brahman exhibits entered by Elrose Enterprises also performed well in the grainfed section, taking third place in the 560-740kg, two to four tooth, minimum 100 day grain class.
The Wilson family's Banana Station was a worthy winner of the award for most successful exhibitor after claiming two class victories and two second places in what is easily one of the toughest and hardest to win prime cattle competitions in Australia.
Their exhibits claimed first place in the Japanese market class for crop or pasture fed pen of steers, 560-740kg, 4-6 tooth; first place in the export market class for a pen of crop or pasture fed heifers weighing over 450kg and a maximum six teeth; second place in the local trade class for crop or pasture fed pen of 10 steers, 380-640kg, maximum two teeth; and second in the local trade class for pen of crop or pasture fed heifers weighing 360-520kg with a maximum of two teeth.
The pen of pasture or crop fed heifers that won the class for heifers weighing 450kg up to six teeth then went on to be judged the grand champion pen of grassfed females.
The Banana Station cattle herd has been developed up from a British breed base over the past 30 years to include several genotypes designed to maximise the herd's productivity in the Central Queensland environment, according to Richard Wilson, who was among the pioneers of carefully managed cross breeding in Queensland in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mr Wilson has introduced bloodlines from all over the world to develop a distinctive CQ-oriented type that he describes as a half bos Indicus and part European herd developed from a British base.
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