THERE is still a three-week window of opportunity for beef producers in northern NSW and Queensland to participate in an innovative new feedlot and carcase performance competition being held as part of Casino's Primex Field Days.
The Pacific Beef Carcase Competition will provide an opportunity for producers to benchmark the performance of their cattle against others, and access comprehensive feedlot weightgain, killfloor and chiller data. Each entry will also be sampled and analysed under Pfizer's GeneStar DNA test program.
Aimed at domestic grainfed cattle, the event will carry a prize pool worth about $10,000.
Primex director Bruce Wright said the inclusion of a performance-based carcase competition would add an important new dimension to the Primex livestock program.
A final results briefing and prize distribution will take place during the field days on June 18, including guest speakers covering topical subjects including the MSA program and feedlot backgrounding.
Competition entries will be fed at Maydan Feedlot near Warwick, and the cattle will be processed at the Northern Cooperative Meat Co plant at Casino in early June. Carcases will be assessed on the kill floor and in the chillers for meat quality and yield criteria. MSA criteria will also be applied, with results reported in detail back to exhibitors. Nominations for the inaugural Pacific Beef Carcase Competition will close in late March. Each entry will consist of four steers or heifers, with the best three counting towards carcase results.
* Entries close this Friday, March 12. For further details, contact the coordinator Bruce Wright on 0411 740 374.
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