THERE was plenty to celebrate at this year's Harvey Beef Gate 2 Plate Challenge awards night held in Albany last Friday night.
Major sponsor Harvey Beef this year celebrates its 100th year of operation and the challenge itself is in its fifth year, but two of the happiest people in the room were the overall winners of this year's competition, James and Casey Morris, Morrisvale Limousin stud, Narrikup.
The Morris's had only entered the competition once before and that was in its very first year.
They were over the moon with their win saying it was an honour to be successful in what has become an elite commercial cattle competition in the Western Australian beef industry.
Their winning team consisted of two steers that were Limousin-Angus cross, while the heifer was a Limousin-Murray Grey cross.
The Morrisvale win continues the stellar performance of the Limousin breed in the challenge, with three out of the five winning teams in the history of the competition all containing a Limousin component.
The Harvey Beef 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 are 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 66 teams in total (198 animals).
James and Casey Morris said last year's tough season ironically played some part in their win this year.
"The first year we entered we put in calves from the tail-end of our drop as the majority of the calves were too heavy to meet the specifications," Mr Morris said.
"Because of the tougher season last year, calf weights were down across the board so this year our better calves fitted into the weight specifications required for the competition."
The steers and heifer came from impeccable genetics, being sired by Morrisvale Ladies Man.
Ladies Man is a half brother to Morrisvale Lumberjack, a bull that sold to a trio of South Australian Limousin studs - Raven, Maryvale and Red Oak - for $12,000 in 2016.
Lumberjack's semen has since been sold to Canada, South Africa and New Zealand.
Mr Morris said winning the challenge provided some indication that their breeding program was on the right track.
"We like this competition because it enables you to benchmark your cattle against other breeds and breeders," he said.
"It is commercially focused and all the cattle entered are fed under the same conditions in a controlled environment, so it provides a great opportunity to test how your calves and breeding program are performing."
Morrisvale's winning team scored 250.819 points in total.
The team also placed first in the Team with the Best Feedlot Performance category, accumulating 78.2 points out of a possible 150.
In the processor performance category the Morrisvale team finished fourth with a score of 116.945 out of 150 and in the MSA performance section the team was placed 56th with a score of 55.672 out of a possible 75 points.
Overall the team had an average entry liveweight of 338.33kg and an exit weight of 491kg, which equated to a total gain of 152.667kg.
The average daily weight gain total was 1.893kg, as opposed to the competition average of 1.623kg.
Individually, Morrisvale's heifer gained 146kg for the duration of the competition, equating to an average daily gain of 1.92kg and weighed 492kg liveweight at the end.
Its hot standard carcase weight (HSCW) sat at 256.30kg, giving a dressing percentage of 52.09 per cent.
The heifer achieved net proceeds of $1450.12 and a profit of $197.87.
This heifer was the third highest ranked heifer of the competition, compiling 95.614 points in total.
The first steer in the team gained 138kg equating to an average daily gain of 1.66kg and it weighed 471kg at the end.
Its HSCW was 262.80kg with a dressing percentage of 55.80pc.
This steer achieved net proceeds of $1487.15 and a profit of $124.32.
The second steer gained 174kg at an average daily gain of 2.10kg, with an exit weight of 510kg.
Its HSCW was 262.80kg with a dressing percentage of 51.53pc.
This steer had net proceeds of $1487.15 and a profit of $115.74.
Finishing in second place to the Morrisvale team was first time entrant in the competition, Max Farley, Narrikup.
Mr Farley and his wife Heather Ann moved to WA three years ago after dairy farming in Blighty, New South Wales, for a long period of time.
He said he entered the competition to provide more information for his beef breeding program and was surprised to hear his name called out as the runner up.
His second placing was more good news for the Limousin breed, with his team of three animals also Limousin-Angus cross.
The Farley team gained a total of 243.675 points and also finished third in the Team with the Best Feedlot Performance category on 75.445 points.
Its strong performance in the competition overall and the fact it was the first time the Farleys had entered a team meant they were also awarded the Best Newcomer prize.
The Farley team was ranked 26th in the processing category with 109.218 points and eighth in the MSA section with 59.013 points.
In terms of the individual results the team's heifer was a stand out, being the second highest ranked heifer in the competition overall.
It had an intake weight of 329kg and an exit weight of 452kg.
This equated to a gain of 123kg at an average daily weight gain of 1.62kg.
Its HSCW was 244.30kg for a dressing percentage of 54.05pc.
With net proceeds of $1381.77 it posted an impressive $255.16 in profit.
The first steer in the team was ranked 12th in the competition overall and had an intake weight of 317kg and an exit weight of 474kg.
This equated to an overall gain of 157kg at an average daily gain of 1.89kg.
Its HSCW was 255.80kg for a dressing percentage of 53.97pc.
The steer recorded net proceeds of $1447.28 for a profit of $148.17.
The second steer in the team had an intake weight of 332kg and an exit weight of 430kg.
It recorded a total gain of 98kg at 1.18kg a day.
Its HSCW was 233.30kg, equating to a dressing percentage of 54.26pc.
This steer saw a total of $1319.12 for net proceeds for an overall profit of $19.16.
Max Farley said the sire of the animals was based on Maryvale Limousin stud bloodlines.
"We bought the cows in when we moved over here as we started our beef herd from scratch after moving out of dairying in New South Wales," Mr Farley said.
"I really like the Limousin cross and have started my own Limousin stud, Lonaker."
Mr Farley said he entered the Gate 2 Plate Challenge to see what his animals could do.
"It was a good chance to compare our cattle to others in WA and, given we haven't been in beef cattle for that long, I was keen to use it as a learning exercise," he said.
"To finish second overall was a bit of a shock."
Mr Farley said he was looking to breed a soft style of animal suitable for the WA market.
Finishing in third place in the competition this year was a team entered by Jason and Alida Parke, Lake Muir Prime Beef, Lake Muir.
The team of Charolais-Murray Grey cross cattle was sired by Quicksilver Charolais bulls and recorded a total of 240.046 points.
The Lake Muir team recorded 74.915 points in the feedlot category, putting it in fourth place, 107.188 points for processing and 57.944 points for MSA.
The heifer in the team was a stand out performer, finishing fifth overall and recording 39.228 points in the feedlot category, which put it in fourth place.
Overall the team had an average intake weight of 336.333kg, an exit weight of 490.667kg and a total gain of 154.33kg, which was 23.10kg above the competition average.
Its overall net proceeds averaged $1456.77 for an average profit per head of $139.84.
In fourth place was a team entered by the Campbell Family Trust, Yornup.
This team comprised of a mix of the Simmental, Angus and Murray Grey breeds.
The Campbell team accumulated 235.215 points in total and finished in sixth place in the feedlot category on 65.659 points.
In the processing stakes, the team recorded 111.733 points and 57.822 in the MSA section.
Michael Campbell said it was only the second time they had entered the competition, after competing for the first time last year.
"Our heifer was a Simmental-Angus cross, while one of the steers was a Simmental-Murray Grey cross, with the other steer was mostly Murray Grey with a bit of Angus in it," he said.
Overall the team had an average entry weight of 311.333kg and exit weight of 467.333kg.
Its total weight gain was 156kg at 1.935kg a day.
Corolin Farms, Narrikup, was awarded fifth place after its team of Blonde d'Aquitaine-Murray Grey cross cattle finished just behind the Campbell team on 235.168 points.
The team, sired by Corolin Lotza, was ranked seventh in the feedlot category with 63.533 points, 10th in the processing section with 113.582 and 27th in the MSA stakes on 58.053 points.
In the individual categories, as mentioned, it was the Morrisvale Limousin team that scored first place in the Best Feedlot Performance, with Tonebridge Grazing, Tonebridge, finishing in second place on 76.56 points with a team of purebred Shorthorns.
The Tonebridge team finished seventh in the competition overall with total points of 231.521.
Its team had an average entry weight of 338kg and an exit weight of 493kg for a total average gain of 155kg at 1.916kg a day.
In third place was the overall runner-up team of Max Farley's on 75.44 points.
In the Team with the Best Processor Performance, it was the Burrow family, Mason Valley Angus stud, Youngs Siding, that was awarded first place.
It was the first time that Darren and Narelle Burrow had entered the competition and their team of Angus-Chargrey cross cattle were sired by Mason Valley Lager L27 and accumulated 121.158 points in this section.
This team had an average entry weight of 344.333kg and an exit weight of 493.667kg, for an overall average weight gain of 149.33kg.
Mason Valley's team had an overall points total of 229.302, which put it in ninth place for the whole competition.
Running second to the Mason Valley team in this category was the Tara Limousin and Angus stud, Allanooka, with a team of Limousin-Angus cross cattle.
This team, sired by Limousin bull Tara J3, finished on 119.158 points for this section and with a total point tally of 226.625 it was 10th overall for the competition.
Third place in this category went to AS & M Campbell & Son, Keysbrook, with a team of Angus cattle that recorded 118.64 points.
In the MSA Performance it was Jarrod and Sarah Carroll, Rayview Park, Albany, that finished in first place on 60.169 points.
The team comprised of purebred Angus cattle with the heifer sired by Rayview Park Africa H45 and the steers by Coonamble Hector L122.
The Rayview cattle had an average entry weight of 336.667kg and an exit weight of 472kg, equating to a total gain of 135.333kg at 1.672kg a day.
In second place in the MSA category was a team of pure Angus entered by HSD Smith, Torbay, which finished on 59.653 points, while in third was a team of Speckle Park-Murray Grey cross cattle entered by Kamarah Speckle Park stud, Wannamal, which recorded 59.484 points.
In other awards the Most Improved Team went to BJ Panizza Family Trust, Albany, with a team of Red Angus, the School with the Most Points award went to the WA College of Agriculture, Harvey, with its Angus team, while the Best Performing Commercial Team sired by a Limousin award was won by M & HA Farley.
The Best Performing Team Sired by a Summit Gelbvieh award was won by Talawa Grazing, Woogenellup, while the Best Performing Team sired by a Morrisvale Limousin was won by JR & WR Miell, Narrikup.
In what is a big year for Harvey Beef, its general manager of livestock Kim McDougall said on the night that he was "pleased to be in the presence of fellow beef fanatics".
"I just want to endorse the Gate 2 Plate committee's work, they put in a significant amount of time to make this competition successful," Mr McDougall said.
"To the competitors, past, present and future, we also thank you for being involved.
"This is a real competition with information that provides great feedback to all involved."
From a Harvey Beef point of view, Mr McDougall thanked the many staff that were in the room on the night.
"We have many dedicated men and women working for Harvey Beef and in turn in the beef industry," he said.
"Harvey Beef has endured many challenges over its 100 years and it has come out the other side.
"The Forrest family want to see success for all in the beef industry and that is a key part of what they are about - shared prosperity."