Celebrating Excellence in Angus Beef Production: Insights from the RNA Paddock to Palate Competition
A premier event for beef producers, the RNA Paddock to Palate Competition and Wagyu Challenge provide a unique platform to showcase the commercial relevance of cattle. Renowned as one of Australia’s most esteemed beef supply chain competitions, it offers not only substantial financial rewards but also invaluable opportunities for participants to benchmark their cattle against industry leaders.
Comprising three phases—best aggregate weight gain, carcass quality, and MSA eating quality—the competition culminates in the Wagyu Challenge, where top chefs judge a beef taste-off. This rigorous event not only underscores the exceptional quality of Australian beef but also underscores the expertise and commitment of its producers.
In the 2021 Challenge, Eaglehawk Angus proudly clinched the Champion and third placed Pen in the MSA section of the EKKA Paddock to Palate Competition for the 100 Day Non-HGP Free Export, Class 40. Despite COVID-19 challenges disrupting the EKKA awards ceremony, our victory was celebrated with an award ceremony upon receiving the accolades by mail.
This triumph underscores our balanced breeding philosophy, which prioritizes marbling alongside maternal qualities, softness, structural soundness, and muscling. Informed by our experiences and feedback from feedlots and clients, our approach focuses on traits essential for on-farm profitability and market success.
Winning the MSA Eating Quality section for HGP Free 100-day fed cattle reflects our commitment to both functionality and eating quality—qualities vital for consumer satisfaction and loyalty. While we don’t prioritize marbling in sire selection, our cattle showcased exceptional marbling in this competition, surpassing expectations and affirming our breeding principles.
COVID prevented the EKKA awards going ahead but we were had our own little Award Ceremony when these arrived in the mail.
Fine-Tuning Beef Production: Insights from Eaglehawk’s Marbling and Feedback Loop
Based on our experiences with our own beef product approximately 16 years ago, we firmly believe that our Eaglehawk cattle exhibit marbling while retaining softness, thickness, and depth of body. Selling beef was a valuable learning experience that significantly influenced our cattle breeding practices.
This belief is further supported by the performance and carcass feedback we’ve received from the feedlots to which we supply feeder steers. The MSA grades and marble scores consistently rank at the top end of all their throughput. Additionally, our steers excel in feedlot gain, consistently ranking in the top tier.
Rob & Donna Atkinson scooped the pool with their Eaglehawk/Droughmaster cross pens in 2017. The first placed pen averaged 3.1kgs per day for 100 days. The highest weight gain steer in the 70-day class was a whopping 3.9kgs per day.
This raises the question: “Is ultrasound scanning an exact science?”
We believe that ultrasound scan figures of a young bull or breeding heifer at 400-600 days of age don’t accurately represent the animal’s marbling potential. Marbling is truly realised when the animal has been on feed for 70 days or more, and unfortunately, the best way to verify this is in the chiller. While ultrasound scanning shows differences in each animal, our IMF figures don’t always translate to the real outcome.
That’s why these competitions are so interesting and informative—there’s nothing like comparing breeds and breeders! The Wagyu breed, for example, doesn’t scan for IMF like the Angus breed, as Wagyu producers believe that high marbling only shows after extended feeding. They can feed for up to 500 days to achieve the ultimate score.
Carcase Competitions deduct points for too much softness.
Cows that can carry fat efficiently, wean a calf, and rebreed even in challenging conditions are crucial to everyone’s bottom line. In the carcass section of the competition, we faced some point deductions due to the extra softness our cattle exhibit compared to larger Angus, Euros, and crossbreds. While extra fat cover can be a disadvantage in carcass competitions, we believe it significantly enhances cow efficiency and on-farm functionality.
Perhaps one day, carcass judging will align more closely with MSA standards, allowing for greater crossover. Who knows? Fat cover might even become desirable!
An article published in The Land