After coming so close on three separate occasions, Alan and Marilyn Wilson and their son Peter and daughter in law Kristen, from Yorke Peninsula finally claimed the coveted grand champion trophy in the 2023-2024 Southern Grassfed Carcase Classic.
The Red Poll breeders from Brentwood have been supporting the competition held at Teys Australia's Naracoorte abattoir since its inception 16 years ago and have been no strangers to success.
Their previous accolades include three reserve champion carcase ribbons and winning the MSA highest eating quality award, but it was a carcase - part of a consignment of 35 steers delivered in late January - that gave them the grand win.
At the presentation dinner in Naracoorte on Friday night, Alan Wilson humbly said it was a "bit of a surprise" to win "the big one" in Australia's largest grassfed carcase competition.
There were 1563 carcases entered by nearly 40 SA and Vic entrants during the delivery period of October last year and the end of February.
"It is always at the back of your mind that you hope you can do it one day," he said.
"It is hard for people to comprehend that number of cattle entered, I tell people that if you get on the front page (of the results) you can consider yourself a winner."
Their 278.6kg steer was the winner of the single steer or heifer 0-2 teeth, 260.1-340kg weight . It scored 86.83 points from a possible 100 including full marks for saleable meat yield with an 84 square centimetre eye muscle area and 6mm rib fat.
Mr Wilson said an inch of rain in early summer last year following by another couple of inches later in December enabled them to have a constant feed source including their lentil stubbles which germinating, providing a green pick.
"Last year we were pretty blessed because we had a pretty good year with a lot of residual herbage left in our clover/ryegrass pastures," he said.
"We are fortunate that we grow a lot of medic in our pastures which are 13-16 per cent protein which shows how good a small quantity of feed can be compared to lush paddock pasture."
The Wilson family began breeding Red Polls in 1947 when Alan's father saw how they performed in tough conditions right near the bottom of Yorke Peninsula
"They have the ability to grow, fatten and finish all compressed together," Mr Wilson said.
" A lot of the later maturing breeds that grow big muscle you have to wait until they develop frame and muscle and then the fat starts to happen."
Mr Wilson says they are one of the few farmers not continuous cropping on Yorke Peninsula running their commercial herd of in conjunction with their cropping enterprise.
"Five of our neighbours which up until a few years ago would have been fenced into 10 or 12 paddocks are now leased and within a fortnight of being leased every fenceline is graded," he said.
"Cattle and sheep breeders are a minority over there but we love the beef cattle industry and the people associated with it."
Less than one point behind, Karen and Peter Black and their daughters Tamsyn and Abby, Casterton, Vic, exhibited the reserve champion carcase.
The 394kg carcase was from a consignment of 39 20 month old Shorthorn steers making it the second year in a row the Shorthorn breed has won reserve champion.
It had a 99 square centimetre eye muscle area with 8mm fib fat and 10mm rump fat and was the winner of class 3- single steer or heifer 340.1-420kg.
"He was exceptional being 500kg at weaning and is out of an Eloora bull which we bought in the paddock," she said.
The Blacks' success also included second place in the best team of three animals and third in the best team of 10 animals.
She says Peter's father John had started in Shorthorns and kept extensively record for 40 years which now using but
"You can't beat Shorthorns for their mothering ability, their doing ability is excellent and I don't have any concerns about the kids can be in the yards with them - this is the third year in a row we have achieved 100 per cent grading,"Ms Black said.
SGCC committee spokesperson Jake Phillips said although the incidence of dark cutting carcases was higher than 2022-2023 there were still many top performing cattle.
"If you take out these ones the average ossification of 140 is very low for the 320kg carcase weight average and 370 average MSA marble score," he said.
"One hundred and fifty carcases in the competition sit better than the top 10pc of all beef cattle in Australia (on MSA index) so we need to be very proud in this region that regardless of the environmental challenges we can do it and there are people in this room doing it consistently."
Mr Phillips also thanked Teys for all the work involved in hosting the competition each year and their generosity paying an extra five cents a kilogram on all the cattle entered.
- MORE WINNERS TO COME
