By Juliano Oliveira
A 654-kilogram Santa Gertrudis/Limousin-cross steer has taken the grand champion prize during the 5th annual Colin Say and Co Beef Extravaganza competition.
The unled steer “Branch“ was exhibited by Warwick’s Mitch and Shelbi McMahon, and their 17-month-old son Fletcher, on September 12, at Glen Innes Showgrounds. The competition was live-streamed, following health protocols implemented in Queensland.
In competition with 158 entries, Branch’s achievement was considered surprising by its owners, as many animals were initially being prepared for the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka). However, the festival, set to take place in August, was cancelled due to the South East Queensland lockdown and worsening local COVID-19 outbreak.
“It [steer] was initially destined for the Royal Queensland Show, but the festival had to be cancelled because of the pandemic. So Colin Say and Co Beef Extravaganza was the next one on the calendar,“ Mr McMahon said.
“We didn’t have any sort of expectations from this competition. So we definitely were taken by surprise with the positive result.“ All animals were weighed and divided into classes before being judged live by Matt Spry, a Woolworth livestock buyer.
According to Mr McMahon, his family annually exhibits steers at Ekka and the local shows around the Darling Downs.
The heavyweight champion Branch was given to Mr McMahon by his uncle Pat, a frequent cattle buyer at Warwick, Toowoomba and Dalby, earlier this year.
“He was a great steer, with a lot of carcasses and a lovely body,“ Mr McMahon said.
