To celebrate 25 years of Stock & Land Beef Week, south-east Australia’s stud beef cattle breeders are gearing up to provide special displays of their herds and sale bulls from January 27 to February 4.
Beef Week is the major marketing activity for most host properties that display up to 5000 bulls of 30 breeds and it is the nation’s biggest on-farm open day beef industry event, according to Beef Week director Geoff Phillips.
Beef Week now runs for nine days to accommodate the number of properties wanting to be involved and allow more time for visitors to search for the best herd improving genetics.
“While the Beef Week formula hasn’t changed much over the years the on-property displays have with stud breeders reacting to visitor demand for bigger herd representations,” said Mr Phillips, who has managed the event for past 23 years.
The RASV Beef Week Heifer Challenge has added to the broader interest of displays on properties with pens of 10 two year-old replacement stud heifers competing for the $4500 prize money on offer.
Visitors have commented on the high standard of the heifers in this competition and those who have entered have used the competition to demonstrate the quality of their breeding females.
Beef industry identity Bob Dent, Glen Innes, NSW, will draw on his broad experience to judge the Heifer Challenge this year, which has entries from 50 properties. Mr Dent has judged at Royal shows and internationally and is a renowned communicator with skills honed in extension roles with the NSW Department of Agriculture and Angus Australia.
The first Stock & Land Beef Week in 1992 ran over four days with 50 studs and only a handful of breeds involved.
Starting on Wednesday, January 27 in the north-east Riverina, a cavalcade of beef cattle enthusiasts will follow the Beef Week trail for nine days concluding on Thursday, February 4 in the Goulburn Valley-Western Riverina.
Mr Phillips said Beef Week was a great opportunity for seedstock and commercial producers to compare breeds and studs within breeds before making buying decisions.
“Beef Week allows both big and small operations to display their stock. Many sell privately on the day and for many studs it is their major marketing day of the year, while others display the bulls catalogued for upcoming on-property sales,” he said.
As in the past Herefords and Angus studs make up over half the studs involved with 72 whiteface studs and 59 Angus studs opening their gates.
Other breeds with strong representations are Limousin with 15 studs, Charolais with 13, Simmental, including Black Simmental, with 10 studs and Red Angus with nine herds on display.
The range of breeds on display includes Lowline, Brangus, British White, Speckle Park and Wagyu.
The usual multi-stud display at the Mt Gambier, SA, show grounds has 11 studs with 10 breeds on Day 8.
The success of Beef Week has attracted major South Australian based studs that are trucking displays of cattle at Mortlake and Hamilton.
“For a quarter of a century Stock & Land Beef Week has been the premier event of its type in the nation and promotes the excellent seedstock herds in Australia’s south-east,” Mr Phillips said.
