Perfect weather, good tucker and plenty of prizes what more would could a beef fancier want?
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While organisers of the 31st annual Wingham Beef Week take a well earned rest no doubt they are already think about 2019.
This year’s event attracted 410 junior competitors and 139 led and 100 unled entries in the hoof and hook classes.
One of the many highlights was the auction of the charity steer that raised $7000 for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.
For a second year in a row the grand champion carcase was a purebred Angus carrying straight Bonny Brooke Angus bloodlines. Bred by Alan and Megan Scrivener, ‘Marathon’ Yarrowitch and exhibited by Calrossy Anglican School Tamworth the steer was the champion unled carcase and grand champion carcase scoing 92.800 on the hook. The steer also won the jackpot prize.
Last year, a similar bred steer ,was also the grand champion carcase and this year’s results has thrilled Bonny Brooke owners Bruce and Helen Scrivener ( Alan’s parents) who are also original members of the Wingham Beef Week Committee.
It could be argued that Bruce and Helen are selling their best genetics as the 2017 and now the 2018 winning carcase was bred from cattle they had sold.
Calrossy and Alan and Megan also joined forces to win last year’s grand champion carcase at the Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza – that time it was a Charolais cross Angus entry – the dam was a Bonny Brooke Angus female.
The grand champion carcase in Wingham achieved an impressive 480 MSA marbling score gaining 40.210 out of 45 for MSA meat eating quality.
Wallawong Premium Beef, Gunnedah and Heath Birchall teamed up to achieve multiple awards once again at Wingham.
In the Unled section, two entries from Wallawong and Birchall achieved first place Domestic live steer or heifer and Reserve Champion live steer or heifer. In the carcase section these produced first place in the Export carcase class (90.343points sired by Wallawong Yearbook), and second in the Heavy Domestic carcase class and Reserve Champion Unled Carcase (91.005points sired by Wallawong Target).
These carcases also won the Champion Unled Pen of two carcases with an average score of 90.65 points and an average eye muscle area of 109 cm².
Other Wallawong clients Robin and Kyle Thomas combined with Taree High School exhibited the Champion Led Carcase at Wingham Beef Week (90.967 points).
The Champion Led Carcase was sired by a bull the Thomas’s bought in 2015, Wallawong X-box. Together with Mr Birchall’s entries by bulls Wallawong Target and Wallawong Yearbook, three of the top five scoring carcases from the 250 open entries at Wingham were sired by a Wallawong bull.
This is the third time in the last four years where Wallawong sired progeny have placed either 1st or 2nd across the entire competition at Wingham Beef Week.
Grand champion led steer was exhibited by the Steele family, Gresford with a heavyweight Speckle Park cross Angus entry.