Salco Partners have recently been successful with steer entries in the 2006 Lang Lang show hoof and hook competition, and the Gippsland Field Days 2005/2006 grass fed steer trial.
In the Lang Lang show a purebred black Saler steer was selected by the judge as reserve champion on the hoof, and then went on to achieve first in the breaking ox steer calss (421-500kg liveweight) of the carcass competition. The same animal also won overall grand champion on the hook out of a group of 39 animals, with a carcass score of 89 points.
The Gippsland Field Days is a grass fed steer trial where cattle are entered in June ach year for turn-off in either November for standard domestic trade (210-270kg hot standard carcass weight, P8 fat 8-12mm), or January for heavy domestic trade (270-310kg hot standard carcass weight, P8 fat 8-12mm). The objective of the competition is to demonstrate carcass requirements for domestic and heavy domestic trade markets in a situation where all steers receive exactly the same management for five or seven months prior to turn-off. Steers are entered into the competition in pairs, with the results being calculated as the average for the pair, rather than the best single animal. The overall winning pair in each turn-off is calculated from a combined score based 45% on weight gain during the trial, and 55% on carcass score on the books.
More information of the Gippsland Field Days can be found at www.thegfd.com.au/steertrial/index.html
Salco Partners won the heavy domestic trade competition with a pair of Saler-Angus cross animals, while in the standard domestic trade competition their pair of purebred Salers had the highest combined carcass score and highest live meat yield. Of note was the weight gain for the Saler-Angus cross steers, which at an average of 1.47kg per animals for the duration of the trial was almost 10% more than the second placed pair.
From a management perspective, we have found the Gippsland Field Days steer trial invaluable for teaching us to recognise market requirements for our Salers. Breedplan data helped us select animals that gave outstanding weight gains in the heavy domestic competition. For the standard domestic competition we had to select smaller animals from our spring 2004 calf drop to ensure we met the competition carcass weight range, and as a consequence could not pick the best breedplan performers. Despite this, the smaller pair still won the carcass and yield competitions. These results confirm our belief that Salers have a significant role to play in the Australian beef industry.
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