Community & Business
15 November, 2024
Best beef comes out on top
THE best beef in the region has been judged at one of the most prestigious competitions for the industry, with 24 producers putting forward their top meat in a bid to win the 2024 North Queensland Best Beef Carcase Competition.
The competition is aimed at promoting the region’s butchers who support local producers, and showcasing the best beef.
The Byrnes family, who own the Rocky Creek Abattoir, launched the competition in 2001, but it ceased in 2005, before being re-introduced in 2022. All butcher shops from Ingham to Cairns and across the Tablelands, who are customers of the abattoir, are invited to put their best producers’ cattle forward.
This year, the competition attracted 12 local butchers, 24 producers, and 93 head of cattle.
In addition, the event includes an open day at the abattoir which had 10 stallholders associated with the industry and more than 130 attendees who participated in chiller tours and witnessed a live boning demonstration.
Rocky Creek Abattoir plant manager Cailan Byrnes and his wife Shannon said the purpose of the carcase competition was to build up the meat industry in Far North Queensland and to promote careers in it as an attractive and viable option.
“The event emphasised the importance of a local supply chain and aimed to strengthen connections between butchers and producers,” Shannon said.
“It also provided an opportunity to enhance understanding and collaboration within the local beef industry, ensuring quality and sustainability.”
The competition involves each carcase being assessed using the Australian Beef Carcase Appraisal System, highlighting the quality standards upheld by the region’s beef industry.
To enter, the producer must work with the butcher/wholesaler to enter a pen or pens of three head, either male or female of pasture fed or open cattle to meet the local trade requirements.
Producers can enter as many pens of three as the butcher is willing to take.
Producer Bill Tranter walked away with a number of wins in different categories including the Grand Champion Pen of Belmont Red Steers. Bill’s partner in the competition was Cross Custom Meats of Atherton.
Bill also won the Champion Individual Carcase with a Belmont Red Steer (Body 73) from Cross Custom Meats which scored top points with an EMA of 96, MSA Marbling of 380, and an MSA Index of 60.75.
The Class Winners were:
Class 1: 1st – Gordon Carcary (HGC Holdings) with Cross Custom Meats, scoring 254.43 points; 2nd - Bill Tranter with Cross Custom Meats, scoring 246.79 points.
Class 2: 1st – Bill Tranter with Cross Custom Meats,
scoring 254.71 points; 2nd – Noel and Kerry Godfrey with Cross Custom Meats, scoring 247.78 points.
Class 3: 1st – Patrick Donaghy with Byrnes Meats, scoring 242.96 points; 2nd – Kerry Hanrahan with Cross Custom Meats, scoring 242.57 points.
Rocky Creek Abattoir thanked Meat & Livestock Australia for sending a meat grader (Matthew Scott) to support the competition, as well as the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for providing Peer to Peer funding but also DAF beef extension officer Bec Clapperton and Bernie English for support including data collation and analysis, event organisation and presenting.
Sponsors of the event were Nutrien Ag, Rabobank, and Tableland Veterinary Services. Guest speaker Ethan Mooney, from Teys, also offered valuable insights into the future of local beef.
