February 5 2025 – 5:00pm
Tara and David Brewer, BrewerBeef, Tallangatta Valley, Vic, achieved a trial history first by receiving full points in feedlot performance. Picture by Eliza Spencer.
For the first time in the Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial’s history, a team has scored full points for feedlot performance.
Producers Tara and David Brewer, BrewerBeef, Tallagatta Valley, Vic, claimed champion feedlot performance with a full score of 350 points.
Their team of black Simmental/Angus steers also finished fifth overall with 781 points out of a possible 1000.
The five steers recorded a daily average weight gain ranging from 2.40 kilograms to a top of 2.53kg.
David Brewer said the steers entered into the trial were generally the later drop calves in the program with a higher percentage of Simmental content.
“It’s better to know where the bottom is at than the top,” he said.
“The trial is a good benchmark to compare yourself to what the top-end producers are doing.
“We get a lot of feedback on our client’s calves, which are generally out of pure Angus cows, so this trial is a way for us to bench more of the higher Simmental content calves.”
After making some changes to sire selection based on previous trial results, Mr Brewer said the operation had seen a large change in the fat cover of its bulls.
The main market for the operations’ steers and most of their clients is the grass-fed market. The trial then allows the family to see the results of their steers in a grain-fed scenario.
“We can particularly see the improvement with our seed stock breeding this year when we scanned all our bulls,” Mr Brewer said.
“With that, we seen our fats and our marble scores have increased pretty dramatically.
“Our coverage on our bulls this year is almost double what we normally have, and that’s due to an introduction of new bulls to the program.”
Mr Brewer said the family had been purchasing older proven Angus sires to introduce to the program, which has been the biggest influence within the herd.
He said choosing the older proven bulls allowed a sustainable and reliable data baseline for their breeding program.
“If I see a bull that’s proven and he has daughters calving and everything good, to me that’s a better way to go,” Mr Brewer said.
“Because your most profitable cows are cows that last in the herd.
“We also look for the history in the cows side in their fertility and production.”
Longevity and temperament were also key qualities the family focused on within their females.