GELBVIEHS made a return to the showring at the Royal Adelaide this year with pioneer breeder Margaret Wilksch’s GA stud at Flaxley bringing a team of five to draw a sizeable audience curious about the lesser-known breed.
The grand champion female went to senior cow, GA Kylie M1, shown with a tidy heifer calf GA Kylie P3.
She impressed judge Gavin O’Brien, a Charolais breeder from Orange in NSW, with her length, structural soundness and faultless feet.
“She clearly has the runs on the board,” Mr O’Brien said.
Glendale Jasper was named champion bull, with Mr O’Brien saying the five-year-old, who weighed 952 kilograms and had an eye muscle area measuring 125 square centimetres, was sound, demonstrated an obvious longevity and had a lovely disposition.
Crossbreeding would be the future of Australian cattle production and diversity in breeds would play an important role, Mrs Wilksch said.
Showing cattle was a good way to make known to the wider industry the benefits the Gelbvieh breed could offer, she said.
“The hybrid vigour that comes from crossbreeding is effectively 25 per cent extra growth for nothing,” she said.
Gelbviehs could bring very valuable efficiency traits to a crossbreeding operation, she said.
“They have topped trials in the United States for feed conversion,” she said.
That means a commercial producer doesn’t have to outlay big money to get performance - something that would be invaluable going forward into the unknown of climate change, she said.
Results
Judge: Gavin O’Brien
Exhibitors: 1
Entries: 5
Grand and senior champion female: GA Kylie M1,Margaret Wilksch, Flaxley. Res: GA Miss Maid M7.
Junior champion female: GA Mandy’s Miss N4, Margaret Wilksch. Res: GA Mistress N10, Margaret Wilksch.
Grand and senior champion bull: Glendale Jasper, Margaret Wilksch.
Shan Goodwin
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
