BEEF producers from Western Australia’s South West region and central Wheatbelt have taken out the top awards at the 2017 Meat Standards Australia (MSA) Excellence in Eating Quality Awards for the State, presented at Dunsborough recently.
The awards recognise producers who have achieved outstanding compliance rates to MSA specifications, as well as high-eating quality, as represented by MSA Index results for beef carcases graded during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years.
South West region beef producers Shane and Leanne Ablett, Cowaramup, won the Most Outstanding Beef – Producer award.
The award was open to any production system, with the exclusion of accredited grainfed beef.
Carpenter Beef, Dandaragan, owned by Rami Koyu’s Central Agri Group, was awarded Most Outstanding Beef Producer - Grainfed.
Cattle from feedlots accredited under the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) and that met the Australian Grainfed Standards were included in this category.
Beef producers Russell and Sonya Mead, Mills Farm Grazing, Coolup, won the inaugural MSA Excellence in Eating Quality Progress Award for WA for showing the greatest improvement in their MSA results since the 2014-15 financial year.
MSA program manager Sarah Strachan said the producers were to be congratulated for their commitment to produce beef that consistently achieved exceptional compliance rates to MSA’s strict specifications.
“To help with continuously improving eating quality, MSA-registered producers are provided with ongoing feedback on their livestock, accessible through myMSA, which now offers producers the ability to benchmark their performance against other producers in the state as well,” Ms Strachan said.
“These producers are showing they are taking notice of that information to achieve results.
“Shane and Leanne Ablett won their award from a field comprising of 1679 registered producers in WA who consigned cattle during 2015-17.
“During 2015-17, 29 per cent of all cattle consigned to MSA from WA were grainfed.
“Carpenter Beef won the grainfed award from a field of 80 registered producers in the State who consigned grainfed cattle during 2015-17.
“More than 14,000 producers throughout Australia consigned almost 5.9 million cattle to the MSA program throughout 2015-17.”
To be eligible for the awards, a producer’s annual MSA-graded volume had to be equal to or above the average volume consigned for the state in which they were produced.
Each producer that met the eligibility criteria received a score out of 100 weighted on two factors - the compliance to MSA minimum requirements, and eating quality performance as determined by the MSA Index for cattle consigned to MSA in 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years.
The awards aim to raise awareness of best management practice from producers who consistently deliver superior eating quality beef in their State ultimately for the benefit of consumers and for the profitability of the industry.
The WA awards are the fourth of the MSA Excellence in Eating Quality Awards to be held throughout Australia and are being staged in conjunction with the ‘What Makes the Perfect MSA Index’ producer forums in each State.
MSA was developed by the Australian red meat industry to improve beef eating quality consistency.
The system is based on more than 700,000 consumer taste tests by more than 100,000 consumers from nine countries and takes into account all factors that affect the eating quality from the paddock to the plate.
p Low-stress handling drives WA MSA success
Securing a premium market for high quality milk-fed beef is the focus of the Abletts.
Their Murray Grey and black Angus breeding herd, run with sons Jack, 20, and Max, 16, produces 65-70 head of progeny each year that are supplied direct to Woolworths supermarkets.
The award they received recently reflects the family’s longstanding efforts into improved breeding selection, strict culling of non-performing stock and quality feeding.
Ms Ablett said being able to produce milk-fed beef with high eating quality boiled down to a philosophy of “weed, feed and breed”.
“We target our genetic selection at high growth rates, good eye muscle and low birth weight, we get rid of any poor performers in the herd and we ensure the cattle have good feed,” Ms Ablett said.
“Animals are treated quietly to reduce stress and the calves are kept with their mums until the last minute.”
The Abletts are well under-stocked compared to the district average, running their 70 breeding cows on 125 hectares of pasture in WA’s high rainfall South West region that has been in the family for 78 years.
Ms Ablett said monitoring trends in their MSA Index results across multiple years was giving them great insights into the overall eating quality of their beef.
She said they also focussed on tracking and improving their meat pH as a measure of animal stress and the success of low-stress handling techniques they used on-farm and through the supply chain.
“Other key attributes of the MSA system that are important to us include carcase weight and fat coverage,” Ms Ablett said.
“This is driven by good genetics, availability of feed and getting the timing of the feed regime right.
“We are a small, traditional operation and we pride ourselves on being kind to our cattle, which is translating into the production of a top-quality specialist milk-fed vealer product.”
p Backgrounding underpins MSA grainfed award
Winner of the red meat industry’s top gong for grainfed beef eating quality standards in WA was a multi-faceted, custom feedlot catering for producers targeting a range of markets and undertaking assisted breeding programs.
Carpenter Beef Pty Ltd runs the 10,400 head capacity Marianna’s Background Facility and 3000 head capacity Johanna Plains feedlot on its 9300 hectare iconic Johanna Plains property, where up to 10,000 head of cattle can also be backgrounded.
Both of the company’s feeding facilities are accredited through the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) system and are also a licensed live export depot.
From 2015-2017 Carpenter Beef achieved average MSA Index results that placed them in the top 5pc of eating quality for grainfed beef nationally.
This included achieving MSA compliance rates of 99.96pc for fat coverage, where carcases must have a minimum of 3mm rib fat.
They also achieved 96.87pc compliance to the MSA pH requirements, whereby carcases must have a pH below 5.71.
“These results are particularly significant when the majority of cattle processed through our facilities are of pastoral origin,” Carpenter Beef feedlot manager Nathan Lidgett said.
Mr Lidgett attributes the success of Carpenter Beef’s large-scale beef operation, owned by Rami Koyu’s Central Agri Group, to a dedicated livestock team implementing best practice animal handling techniques, continuity of quality feed sources and regimes, coupled with increasing genetic enhancements being made in pastoral and local cattle.
He said about 80pc of cattle fed through the Marianna’s Backgrounding Facility and Joanna Plains Feedlot were sourced from pastoral properties in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions, mostly through long-term supply relationships with northern producers and strong ties with local stock agents.
“Our business needs to be highly adaptable, due to northern and local seasonal conditions, the ever-changing cattle market and the availability and pricing of grain and fodder,” Mr Lidgett said.
Mr Lidgett said for MSA graded cattle going to the domestic processing sector, weaner heifers and steers entered the feedlot at a target liveweight of about 300kg to 400kg and exit weights ranged from 400kg to 550kg. Most stock were on feed for 72 to 78 days.
Carpenter Beef’s facilities also accumulate cattle for live export into Asia and the Middle East and, as a registered export depot, cattle can be moved straight to the wharf from these facilities.
Mr Lidgett said Carpenter Beef joined the MSA eating quality program several years ago to cater for clients selling into MSA-accredited processing facilities and markets.
“It has opened-up more options for our pastoralists and farmers to reach the best markets and optimise their returns,” he said.
“Feedback to us through the program has been highly valuable as we continue to make improvements in animal handling, how our yards function and the feedlot exit strategies.
“We can draft cattle in conjunction with MSA guidelines before transporting into specialised ‘trucking pens’ and continue our feeding regime, close to the exit point.
“All of these practices reduce stress on the stock at transport, resulting in minimisation of dark cutting meat and ensuring compliance to the MSA pH requirement.”
