Victorian beef producers have been recognised for excellent-quality meat in the annual Meat Standards Australia awards.
Meat & Livestock Australia has announced the winners of the 2023 Meat Standards Australia Excellence in Eating Quality Awards, which recognises producers delivering beef of "superior eating quality".
Alloa Pastoral Co Pty Ltd, Milawa, won the top prize for Most Outstanding MSA Beef Producer, Feedlot category, while Teys Australia Charlton Feedlot, Charlton, came in second and RM Gillett & Co Pty Ltd, Anakie, placed third.
Nekashabai Pty Ltd Trustee for N & K Beecher Family Trust, Churchill, won the Most Outstanding MSA Beef Producer Band One, the larger businesses category, while Ulupna Pastoral Company, Cobram, placed second and BJ Tieman, Pound Creek, placed third.
Meanwhile, in the smaller businesses band, RJ & SM Dalley, Buchan South, won Most Outstanding MSA Beef Producer, FT Exner, Cobains, placed second and RN & RM Newton, Whorouly, placed third.
The awards are through more than 1.7-million taste tests by more than a quarter of a million consumers across 13 countries.
Band One winners Neville and Karen Beecher reached an MSA compliance average of 99.7 per cent, and an average MSA index of 63.51 between 2021 and 2023.
They manage Angus, Hereford and Angus-Hereford cross cattle at their Gippsland property, and have been MSA-registered producers since 2017.
They also take part in a Greenham Never Ever Beef program, which means their cattle are grassfed, MSA certified, have no hormone growth promotants, antibiotics or genetically modified organisms.
"We produce silage and pasture hay and provide cultivation services for clients," Mr Beecher said.
"We previously ran about 200 head, mainly for fodder management, but about five years ago there was an opportunity to increase our numbers to over 1,000 head."
Mr Beecher said they regularly used the feedback in myMSA.
"We're not buying in the most expensive, top lines of cattle, but I think our results come down to how we feed our cattle and maintaining quality feed all year round," Mr Beecher said.
MSA Program Manager, David Packer, said during the program's 25-year history, it had become a world-leading eating quality grade program for Australian beef.
"It is a key driving force behind the quality of Australian beef, so these awards are a prestigious achievement for the producers," he said.
