Carcass Contest Leaders Announced

Carcass Contest Leaders Announced
June 23, 2006

With harvest data from more than 2,500 steers and heifers in the 2006 National Angus Carcass Challenge (NACC), early results have been tabulated and posted to the Web at www.cabpartners.com. By late May, total entry numbers stood at nearly 4,700 head, just ahead of last year’s record pace.

“The NACC leader board shows the feedlot and owners of the top 10 pens of steer and heifer entries,” says Mark McCully, CAB Supply Development director and contest coordinator. The 113 entries from across the United States were fed in 20 CAB-licensed feedlots.

Average figures for the top five pens in each division show only a nickel separating average carcass values on the contest grid, both coming in just above $104 per hundredweight (cwt.). Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®)- and CAB Prime-acceptance rates were 41% for those steers and 42% for heifers, with one pen topping 60%. One of the top pens also posted an average of 63% Yield Grade (YG) 1 and 2.

NACC sponsors CAB, AllTech, AllFlex, Drovers, Merial, ORIgen and the American Angus Association will award more than $30,000 in prizes to the top 21 pens as of the end of December. As in the past, awards will be presented next January at the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) in Denver, Colo., between the Angus carload and pen shows.

Darnall Feedlot, Harrisburg, Neb., led entries with 30 pens and 1,268 head at the end of May, followed by Beller Feedlot, Lindsay, Neb., with 19 pens; Gregory Feedlot, Tabor, Iowa, 14 pens; and Silver Creek Feeders, Treynor, Iowa, with 12 pens enrolled. Most of last year’s winners are again competing in this year’s challenge, McCully says. However, a new feedlot and cattle source currently sits atop the leader board.

The total of 2,256 cattle harvested by June 1 — about 48% of entries — is running ahead of last year, when only 37% had been harvested at that point in the contest year. On top of the 2006 NACC Leader Board in the early going was Nilan Feedlot, Oakland, Iowa, in the steer division, with 79 steers from the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity. In the heifer division, it was past winner Darnall Feedlots, with cattle from the Wyoming ranches of Peterson Livestock. Contest results, showing current top 10 pens of steers and heifers, are updated weekly as new harvest data come in.

The NACC is open to all Angus producers, but only through the CAB partner network. Calves must be enrolled, with Angus registration numbers of sires provided to the licensed feedlot prior to harvest.

Minimum entry is 38 head, which can be from multiple owners acting as a team. A maximum of two harvest dates is allowed per entry pen, and 95% of each pen must be harvested to be eligible for prizes. NACC cattle automatically receive tag transfer data, including ear tag number, hot carcass weight, USDA quality and yield grades, and CAB-acceptance status. Winners will be determined by placing official USDA slaughter data on a fixed-value contest grid and dividing by the total pounds produced in the pen.

Official 2006 NACC rules and guidelines, contest grid and prize packages details are available at www.cabpartners.com. If you have questions and can’t find answers online, contact McCully at (330) 345-2333.

— Information provided by CAB