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Lowline-X steers going for grass-fed weight gain
Lynda Senger-Whitehead and Jane Ristrom enter cattle
in Lardner Park grass-fed steer contest
Both Lynda Senger-Whitehead (Colombo Park Stud) and Jane Ristrom (Elandra Park Stud)have entered pairs of Lowline-X animals in this year's Lardner Park grass-fed steer contest. The idea behind the trial is to compare live-weight gain and carcase quality under independently controlled grazing conditions.
The objectives are finished carcases 210-270 HSCW with 5 - 14 mm fat at the P8 site. Also to enhance producers' understanding of live steer assessment, market requirements and growth/finishing relative to pasture production.
The cattle are run over the beautiful pastures of the Gippsland Field Days site at Lardner for five months from June to December with monthly weigh-ins which competitors can attend. 45% of the points score is for weight gained over the trial period. 55% of the points go to the carcase assessment which will be evaluated using the Meat Standards Australia grading system. Importantly both steers must gain and grade so it is a real test of consistency in breeding.
There are 18 pairs (36 animals) in the trial with a variety of breeds including Bazadais, Blonde D'Aquitane, Angus, Simmental, South Devon, Red Angus, Red Poll, Welsh Black, Hereford, Galloway, Shorthorn and of course Australian Lowline, most in some sort of cross and some as stabilised composites. Lynda’s entry (Lowline/Poll Herefords) were 272kgs and 280 kgs on first weigh-in and Jane's pair (Lowline/Angus) 211 and 195 kgs. (There was some difference in age.)
Lynda competed in this trial in 2002 with a pair of the same cross and out of 22 pairs came 14th in weight gain and a very creditable 3rd in the carcase element. She says:"This is an extremely educational trial which also exposes our breed to others active in the steer production industry."
