Simmental smiles
THE Rural Weekly and Queensland Simmental Breeders presented the Beefing Up the Next Generation show in 2018.
“We would like to thank all of our sponsors for making our event possible,” said Queensland Simmental organising committee member Bec Skene.
“A special mention goes to Sandalwood Feedlot for your continuous support.
“We had two programs available this year and we believe it was the best event we have held yet, with a huge effort of 55 entrants all joining together at Pittsworth Showgrounds over the weekend.”
Day 1
A bus load of senior participants went through a tour of Oakey Abattoir to see the final product before meat hits the shops.
This was followed by a tour and lunch catered by Sandalwood Feedlot.
“Here the students, once they had eaten their lunch supplied by the feedlot, went on a tour through the everyday jobs of feedlots,” she said.
“From checking pens for sick animals to taking samples of every beast, through to the feed mill, what breeds of animals feed better and the final stages of what a pen of finished cattle looked like. We thank you again for having us, our entrants thoroughly enjoyed it.
“The evening finished with a property management talk with Mark Kemp.”
Day 2
“We were joined by our junior participants, taking our count to 55 kids all under the age of 20.
“Here the entrants participated in a reproduction talk with ‘Betsy’, where they could AI and feel different stages of calves inside of a cow with David McCabe.
“Seniors participated in a structure assessment talk with vet Jemma Postle from Knox Vets, and prime cattle junior judges, judged by Travis Luscombe.”
Day 3
“This was our meat judging assessment and tasting.
“Each student got to judge different cuts of meat. They had to guess which cut of meat was from where on the beast, followed by junior stud judges and a quick demonstration by Tammie Robinson.
“Later that afternoon we had our Simmental Show, which was judged by James Dockrill, Pinedock Fitting.
“He had 60 head to judge and our Supreme Simmental Exhibit was awarded to KBV Marta, paraded by Charlie Salter.”
Day 4
The paraders’ competition was held, judged by Ben Passmore of Benjarra Pastoral Co. The overall winner was John Delaforce.
“(This was) followed by a fancy dress heifer theme of Christmas where entrants dressed up their groups and animals for some fun before ending the show with presentations.
“The Queensland Simmental Breeders would like to congratulate all of our participants. You all did a magnificent job and should be so proud of what you all achieved over the weekend.”