IT was again a case of Sussex success at the Harvey Beef Gate 2 Plate Challenge with a team of Sussex-Angus cross taking out this year’s top prize.
At the awards night held last Friday, it was announced that Sandy and Narelle Lyon, Willyung Farms, Willyung, had taken out the $5000 first prize in this unique competition.
Their win followed on from last year’s event where Sandy’s parents Alister and Doreen Lyon won the competition with a team of pure Sussex cattle.
Now in its fourth year, the Gate 2 Plate Challenge assesses cattle performance from farmgate to consumers’ plate.
Competitors enter a team of three owner-bred cattle (two steers and a heifer).
All cattle go into a feedlot on the same day and fed on the same ration in the same pen (separate pen for steers and heifers).
Heifers go on feed for 76 days and steers for 89 days and on arrival at Harvey Beef for processing, they are all processed on the same day and graded on the same day, by the same grader.
The data collected is based on factors that affect profitability for the feedlot and the processor, as well as MSA grading, which affects eating quality for the consumer.
Each animal is individually scored with 50 points allocated to performance in the feedlot, 50 points for processing and 25 points for MSA grading.
This gives each team a total of 375 points they can be scored for.
This year’s competition saw a record number of entries with 61 in total (183 animals).
After finishing as runners-up in last year’s competition, Sandy and Narelle Lyon were obviously over the moon with their win, but also admitted to some slight embarrassment, given it is their feedlot where the animals are fed for the duration of the competition.
Mr Lyon said one of the pleasing aspects of the win was the recognition it provided to the Sussex breed.
“Dad and mum have been breeding Sussex for a long time now and to see the breed performing so well in a competition like this is some reward for their dedication,” Mr Lyon said.
“Teams with Sussex breeding have placed in the top 10 in every year of the Gate 2 Plate which is a good achievement for a small breed.”
Mr Lyon said his selection criteria of calves focused on trying to pick animals that would fit into the right weight range.
“The animal has to have the ability to put weight on with a good frame and a carcase that you can hang weight off,” he said.
Mr Lyon said to be closely involved with the competition in general was positive for their farming operation.
“You get to see a number of different breeds and how they perform and interact with many cattle producers from across WA,” he said.
“You are receiving real feedback on how your cattle are performing and it is information you can use within your farming operation.”
The Lyons’ winning team scored 224.868 points out of the possible 375.
It achieved 53.635 out of a possible 150 points in the feedlot performance category, 114.261 out of 150 for processing performance and 56.972 points out of a possible 75 for MSA grading.
The team was 57.089 points above the overall competition average and in what was a very close result, finished just 0.921 points in front of the second placed team.
The winning team had an average intake weight of just under 325kg and finished the competition at an average weight of just over 508kg, providing an average weight gain of 184kg across the three animals.
This equated to an average daily gain of 2.36kg for the heifer and 2.03 and 2.31kg for the two steers and this performance correlated to an average profit per head of $100.12 across the team.
The team was ranked fourth for feedlot performance, eighth for processing performance and 20th for MSA performance.
The heifer in this team performed strongly, gaining 97.291 points, ranking it the third best performing heifer overall.
In terms of processing performance the team’s carcases dressed out at a 266.23kg average, with the overall competition average sitting at 253.38kg.
The animals had an average dressing percentage of 52.3 per cent, which was below the 53.07pc overall average.
The team averaged 60.77 on the MSA index and 75 for EMA.
Finishing in second place to Willyung Farms was a team of purebred Limousins entered by the Nettleton family, Unison Limousin stud, Boyanup.
The heifer and one steer in the team were sired by Maryvale Kingsman, while the other steer was sired by Maryvale Karkoo.
The Unison cattle finished on 223.947 points overall and in the breakdown scored 60.400 points in the feedlot category, 104.564 in processing performance and 57.503 in the MSA category.
The heifer in the team was ranked the fifth best heifer in the competition with total points of 91.464.
The Unison Limousins entered the feedlot at an average liveweight of 303.33kg and exited at 447kg, meaning a total average gain of 143.67kg to provide an average daily weight gain total of 1.74kg.
The carcases dressed out an average of 257.23kg providing a significant 57.55pc dressing percentage.
They recorded an average 61.34 on the MSA index, 72.67 for EMA and 310 for MSA marbling.
The team returned an average profit per head of $115.51.
After competing in the Gate 2 Plate every year since its conception, Kevin Nettleton said he was delighted with this year’s performance.
“We have been around the mark every year, except last year we bombed but we learnt from that and I think that helped with our selection of animals this year,” Mr Nettleton said.
“We never expected to perform this well, we inspected the animals at the field day in March and they weren’t looking that great, but really took off in the last couple of weeks on feed and we are ecstatic with how they ended up.”
Mr Nettleton said the overall competition was pleasing from the Limousin breed aspect, with pure Limousin cattle in three of the top five placed teams.
“Limousin breeders in WA have invested a lot in the breed over the years and there has been some great genetics introduced to this State in recent years,” he said.
“This has really improved the performance of the breed and I think results such as this prove that.
“It is tremendous to be involved in this competition because it is industry driven and based on pure data and statistics.
“The data is there for all to see and assess and the level of statistical analysis you receive from it is mind blowing.
“Congratulations should also go to the organising committee for running this competition in such a professional manner and for giving up their time to volunteer to put this together is something everyone should appreciate.”
Finishing in third place on 223.754 points was a team of Murray Grey-Angus-Sussex cross cattle entered by Stewart and Sheena Smith, Narrikup.
This team accumulated 56.783 points for feedlot performance, 111.348 for processing and 55.622 for MSA.
The heifer in the team was a standout performer gaining 112.087 points overall to make it the highest ranked heifer in the competition.
The Smith team had a total average weight gain of 167.67kg and dressed out at an average of 54.28pc.
In fourth place on 209.953 points was a team entered by Murray and Jenny Fouracres, Manjimup.
The pure Limousin cattle were ranked first for feedlot performance with 64.140 points, while also gaining 89.770 points for processing and 56.044 for MSA.
First-time entrant to the competition, the Kupsch family, Tara Limousin stud, Allanooka, certainly made its mark in its first year with its team of pure Limousins finishing in fifth place on 199.347 points.
In the individual categories as mentioned, it was Murray and Jenny Fouracres that took first place in the best feedlot performance category, with Unison Limousin stud finishing second in this category on 60.40 points, while Stewart and Sheena Smith were third in this category on 56.78 points.
In the best processor performance category it was Bruce and Gaye Campbell, Keysbrook, who took first place with a team of Charolais-Angus cross cattle that gained 120.924 points.
This team gained an average of 135kg at an average daily gain of 1.64kg.
The cattle had an average carcase weight of 257.08kg and a dressing percentage of 53.60pc, with a MSA marbling figure of 366.67.
Running second to the Campbells in this category was a team of Angus-Droughtmaster cross cattle entered by Mountain Valley Livestock, Albany.
This team finished on 120.633 points, while in third place on 118.900 points was a team of Speckle Park-Murray Grey cross cattle entered by Tungamah Speckle Park stud, Gingin.
Tungamah also performed very well in the MSA performance category, taking first place with 58.875 points.
This team had an average MSA index of 62.80 points, an average EMA of 75.33 and 323.33 for MSA marbling.
In second place in this category was a team entered by Peter and Merryl Johnston, Boyup Brook.
This team consisted of two pure Angus cattle and an Angus-Shorthorn animal and finished on 58.575 points, while in third place on 58.284 points was a team of pure Angus cattle entered by Hugh and Andrew Smith, Torbay.
In other awards, best newcomer went to the Tara Limousin stud, while the most improved team award went to Stewart and Sheena Smith.
The school accumulating the most points was the WA College of Agriculture, Denmark, while the best performing team sired by a Blonde d’ Aquitaine went to the D Manning Family Trust, Mardella.
The best performing team sired by Angus award was won by Stuart and Sheena Smith, while Talawa Grazing, Woogenellup, won the award for the best performing team sired by a Summit Gelbvieh bull.
Representing major sponsor Harvey Beef, its general manager of livestock Kim McDougall applauded the competition and the results it provided to entrants.
“Once again we have been extremely impressed with the quality of the entrants, as it shows their unwavering commitment to producing great quality beef for consumers,” Mr McDougall said.
“Our congratulations to Willyung Farms on winning this competition, they have been a long term supplier of Harvey Beef and we are delighted to see their hard work rewarded.”
Mr McDougall also thanked the volunteers for their outstanding contributions to making this event happen.
“The Albany Agricultural Society and the organising committee have once again delivered a fantastic competition and we thank them for their contributions to WA agriculture,” he said.
