ARTICLE BY JON CONDON - Queensland Country Life

22/08/2008

BLACKALL cattleman, Ashley Adams, has high hopes that the name TendaBeef will one day become known across the Australian meat and livestock industry as a symbol associated with consistent eating quality.

Mr Adams, the 2008 Rabobank Red Meat Industry Awards producer award winner, is well advanced as one of the early adopters of GeneStar tenderness marker testing within his 3700 Brahman, Simmental and Santa-infused cattle run at Darracourt, a 26,000-hectare property near Blackall.

Through selective breeding based on GeneStar test outcomes, his aim is to produce cattle with a five-star or higher tenderness test rating, which in turn will qualify for the TendaBeef brand program.

Other producers in Central and Northern Queensland are also restructuring their breeding programs to supply livestock under the label, after applying similar testing and selection programs.

Cattle bearing a TendaBeef ear tag, could one day attract premiums from feedlots and processors, and the brand is designed to carry through to supermarkets or butcher shops, where it has obvious potential to be used as a quality retail marketing tool.

Mr Adams said he had fielded interest from producers using various breeds, from as far north as Hughenden, and south to Roma and Narrabri.

He and his wife Margaret have now tested about 2200 stud and commercial cattle within their herd over the past four years. The Darracourt sire battery currently includes six eightstar bulls, and 35 carrying six to seven stars for tenderness.

Mating the superior performing females to higher star-rated bulls has produced 200 mostly crossbred steers for sale this year, which are guaranteed to carry at least five stars for genetic tenderness.

"To be realistic, I have no great expectations that a processor is going to offer me a big premium for those steers this first year," Mr Adams said.

"However, processors are now beginning to understand that producers can in fact influence the tenderness outcome through genetic selection.

Sooner or later those premiums will start to emerge.

"A beast with a TendaBeef tag in his ear means a processor can potentially manage that carcase more efficiently, in terms of ageing time and other issues, in order to guarantee a tender piece of beef."

Close to 50 percent of the Darracourt calf drop this year will carry five tenderness stars or better, up from just 8pc when the program started four years ago.

"Ultimately, our aim is to guarantee that 100pc of our calves carry five stars or better.

There's absolutely no reason why that can't happen, over time," Mr Adams said.

A sophisticated IVF reproductive program is being used to hasten genetic progress.

GeneStar tenderness test results are also being used to better manage breeders with low tenderness scores.

Those females are being joined to extreme high tenderness score bulls, so that the resultant progeny will be significantly improved, and the lower score animals will eventually disappear from the system.