Woolaringa Field Day

One of the great strengths of the Australian Grey Breeders Association is its cooperative spirit. The members have a wide range of professional and life experiences all of which they are willing to share for the benefit of all.

In June following a general meeting, members attended a field day at Woolaringa to view their herd of traditional Murray Grey and Square Meaters cattle. The genetics of this herd has been developed over two generations. There were presentations by Brad Perry and Mick Battiste both butchers.

The focus of the presentations was to give a detailed understanding of where the various cuts of meat are derived from. The visual clarification provided on a standing animal provided significant benefit. Also highlighted in the presentations were the values of each cut and the necessity for cattle to be appropriately finished in order to achieve maximum value.

  • The understanding of fat cover and distribution and its impact on the final value of the animal was made very apparent.
  • The presentation gave clarity to the relationship between live weight, hot carcass weight, chilled carcass weight and saleable yield.
  • A comparison pricing exercise was undertaken to demonstrate the potential values achievable with a well finished animal.
  • Members who attended appreciated the information disseminated and the opportunity to inspect a great line of cattle.