The recent announcement that Palgrove had been awarded top honours in one of Australia’s most prestigious commercial cattle competitions rates as of our proudest business achievements.
Palgrove was named the Overall Winner (100 Day) in the ‘blue ribbon’ Paddock to Palate competition at the Brisbane Ekka 2018. The purebred Charolais steers also won Reserve Champion Carcase (100 Days).
Some of Australia’s best producers participate in what is the country’s richest cattle competition. It provides us with an opportunity to test our steers against the best and validate the commercial production focus we place on our genetics.
Now in its nineteenth year, the event attracts the nation’s top beef producers and saw 644 steers entered from 92 exhibitors. It is part of the Brisbane RNA’s ‘commitment to celebrate and champion agriculture by recognising industry excellence and encouraging consumer promotion’.
The Paddock to Palate competition consists of three phases. The Overall Winner is awarded on the best aggregate points for:
- weight gain in the feedlot
- a carcass appraisal
- MSA eating quality competition.
Palgrove was fortunate to have been named Runner Up Overall Winner in the 2017 event, so this year’s top award is a real honour. In 2016, Palgrove also won the Highest Weight Gain phase of the competition.
For 34 years, Palgrove successfully showed stud cattle, holding the record for more Interbreed wins than any other stud. Once we made the decision not to continue showing, it seemed a natural progression to enter commercial steer competitions such as the Paddock to Palate.
We firmly believe that when a producer invests in a bull, that bull should add value to the whole industry – through weight gain, optimum carcase and eating quality. These attributes should be part of his DNA and should be balanced.
We congratulate the RNA cattle committee, Mort & Co and JBS for the foresight to organise this prestigious and ‘industry relevant’ event.