Breeders Win Big During 2nd Annual Gelbvieh Carcass Contest

Results of the Second Annual American Gelbvieh Foundation (AGF) Steer Challenge and Scale and Rail Sire-Identified Carcass Contest were announced during the 47th Annual American Gelbvieh Association National Convention awards banquet on Saturday, December 9, 2017. Breeders from Iowa and Nebraska took home top honors with prize payouts totaling $6,950.

The AGF continues to help advance the Gelbvieh breed through its support of research and development. For this reason, the AGF launched the Steer Challenge and Scale and Rail Sire-Identified Carcass Contest in 2016. These two projects together provide the information and funds necessary to generate datasets to advance Gelbvieh and Balancer® carcass merit.

The AGF Steer Challenge was a competition amongst individual Gelbvieh and Balancer-influenced steers in which the judging criteria focused on average daily gain in the feedyard, carcass value and overall top value animal, which combined average daily gain and carcass value. The Steer Challenge gives an opportunity for participants to donate a steer to the AGF. All proceeds from the donation go toward research and development within the Gelbvieh breed. The AGF Sire-Identified Carcass Contest judges steers, which were in a group of three or more animals from the same contemporary group, on these same qualities and also awarded a top-performing pen. In its second year, ten ranches participated with a total of 103 head on feed at Roode Feedyard in Fairbury, Nebraska. All steers were harvested and values were calculated in July 2017.

Flying H Genetics, Arapahoe, Nebraska, placed high in both the AGF Steer Challenge and Balancer division of the Scale and Rail Contest and took home a total of $3,725 in prize payouts. Flying H Genetics’ winning steer, a Red Angus-sired Balancer, in the AGF Steer Challenge swept the division taking home top average daily gain, top carcass value, and top value animal. The same steer also took home top accolades in the Balancer division of the Scale and Rail Contest including highest average daily gain at 5.93 pounds per day, top carcass value at $1,179 with a 1,118 pound hot carcass weight and a 17.10 square inch ribeye. This steer also took home top value Balancer animal with a value of $1,185, USDA Yield Grade 3 and a quality grade of USDA Choice.

Flying H Genetics also owned the champion pen of Balancer steers with an average value of $1,119, average USDA Yield Grade 3 and quality grade of USDA Choice. Flying H Genetics owned the steer that took second place for average daily gain in the Balancer division. This Red Angus-sired Balancer steer had an average daily gain of 5.75 pounds per day.

Eagle Pass Ranch, Highmore, South Dakota, owned the steer which took second place for top carcass in the Balancer division with a carcass value of $1,124, hot carcass weight of 1,049 pounds, and a 13.5 square inch ribeye. This same steer also placed second for top value animal with a total value of $1,129, USDA Yield Grade 3 and quality grade of USDA Choice. This steer was sired by EGL Barrett B050. Eagle Pass Ranch also owned the reserve champion pen of Balancer steers with an average value of $1,083, average USDA Yield Grade of 3, and average quality grade of USDA Choice.

In the Gelbvieh division, CKS Gelbvieh, Collins, Iowa, was a notable winner owning the steer for top average daily gain, top carcass and top value steer as well as champion pen and taking home $2,175 in prize payouts. CKS Gelbvieh’s top carcass steer had a carcass value of $1,151, a hot carcass weight of 1,089 pounds, and a ribeye area of 14 square inches. This steer also had a USDA Yield Grade 3, and quality grade of USDA Choice. This steer’s total value was the highest in the Gelbvieh division at $1,156 and was sired by BNC At Ease A357. CKS Gelbvieh also owned the champion pen of Gelbvieh steers with the average value of the pen being $1,126, average USDA Yield Grade 4.0 and average quality grade of USDA Choice.

CKS Gelbvieh also owned the steer that took second place for top carcass in the Gelbvieh division with a carcass value of $1,125, hot carcass weight of 1,067 pounds, and a 17 square inch ribeye. This same steer also placed second for top value animal with a total value of $1,130, USDA Yield Grade 3 and quality grade of USDA Choice. This steer was sired by DCH Hille X102.

Blackhawk Cattle Co., Oregon, Illinois, owned the reserve champion pen of Gelbvieh steers with an average value of $1,105, average USDA Yield Grade 3, and average quality grade of USDA Choice+.

To view full results, including all steers close-out data, please visit the projects page under the Foundation section of www.gelbvieh.org.

 

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