SG_USA_August_2022

2022 NATIONAL JUNIOR SANTA GERTRUDIS SHOW

The Better Beef Contest was held Sunday, June 19 at the National Junior Santa Gertrudis Show in Texarkana, Ark. The Better Beef Contest was started in 2014 to educate Santa Gertrudis exhibitors about carcass value and what constitutes a valuable carcass in today’s beef industry. The juniors have been very willing to participate in this new contest, and the association has benefitted from the empha sis on carcass and data collection. The intramuscular fat (IMF) percentages in our purebred bulls and females has continued to improve every year, which shows that our breed has placed an emphasis on improving carcass quality and that we, as a breed, are achieving that goal. The contest allows “age-eligible” cattle (birthdates ranging from 310 to 470 days of age) to be scanned via ultrasound to determine intramuscular fat, ribeye area and fat thickness. In addition to collecting ultrasound data and taking weights, this year we also included the recording of hip heights to determine frame scores. Also, from the bulls that are in the appropriate age range, we are collecting scrotal circumference measurements and taking a DNA tissue sample. Winners of the contest are determined by adjusting the ultrasound measure ment for the animal’s age for the highest intramuscular fat award and adjusting for weight and age for the largest ribeye area per hundredweight (REA/cwt) award. The top carcass award combines weight per day of age, as well as the highest ratios for IMF and REA/cwt to determine the animal that has the most valuable carcass by today’s industry standards. The Santa Gertrudis Foundation and the Santa Gertrudis Youth Foundation donate the cost of the ultrasound technician and the cost of DNA processing. Prize money for the contest is donated annually by Townsend Cattle Company, Harris Farms, Strait Ranches, Red Doc Farm, Tinney Farms, Running R Cattle Com pany and Hefte Ranch. This year’s contest was dependent on the efforts of some very generous and hardworking folks, including Beau Robertson, Melanie Brewer, Stacey Montano, Sampson Baca, Dr. Kay Burkman, Dr. Pete Wunderlich, Nancy Wunderlich, Kathryn Hefte and Brad Wright. Our ultrasound technician, Donnie Robertson, is instrumental in making this an educational experience for the par ticipants. BETTER BEEF CONTEST

2022 Better beef contest winners PUREBRED FEMALE TOP CARCASS Myers Love Sick Blues 21/15, owned by Quincy Walker $500 prize PUREBRED FEMALE HIGH %IMF Myers Love Sick Blues 21/15, owned by Quincy Walker $250 prize PUREBRED FEMALE HIGH REA/CWT Horseshoe B Miss 10J, owned by Adelyn Bronikowski $250 prize PUREBRED BULL TOP CARCASS Triple P’s Legend 27, owned by Tate Villanueva $300 prize PUREBRED BULL HIGH %IMF Pinnacle 344/9-2, owned by Turner Duprius $125 prize PUREBRED BULL HIGH REA/CWT BSR Kodiak, owned by Hayley Eldridge $125 prize STAR 5 FEMALE TOP CARCASS Miss M Rock Goldilocks 621, owned by Chad Coker $300 prize STAR 5 FEMALE HIGH %IMF Ridge Point Abbie 162, owned by Caleb French $125 prize

STAR 5 FEMALE HIGH REA/CWT FSCC Sweetness, owned by Peyton Barnett $125 prize

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SANTA GERTRUDIS USA