Brangus-Cross Wins HLSR Carcass Contest

The International Brangus Breeders Association (IBBA) is excited to announce that a Brangus-cross was named Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) Carcass Contest Champion on April 25.

Jordan Adams, a high school junior of Clear Creek FFA, in League City, Texas, exhibited the Brangus and Charolais crossbred steer. Brent Cromwell purchased the steer’s sire, DDD =W= DJANGO 820A44; he was the high-selling bull in Doguet’s Diamond D Ranch’s 2014 fall sale in Poteet, Texas.

“This market steer was from [Django’s] first calf crop,” said Doguet Genetics Manager Timmy Lucherk. The dam of the HLSR Carcass Contest Champion was a Charolais-composite cow.

“These bulls are a prime example of the genetic and physical make-up that Timmy Lucherk and Doguet’s Diamond D Ranch put together and offer every year. These are real-world cattle and can apply to every facet of production, whether it be raising commercial bulls, females, fat cattle, or show animals,” Cromwell said. “These type of cattle can do it in the show ring and the cooler.”

“The Brangus association congratulates Jordan for feeding and caring for this outstanding steer,” stated IBBA Executive Vice President Tommy Perkins, PhD., PAS. “The Doguet, Wellman and Cromwell families are to be complimented for producing a masterpiece in Django. This award further validates that American-breed cattle, specifically Brangus, excel in the pasture as well as on the plate for consumers.”

The Cromwells have experienced great success using Brangus bulls on their exotic cattle.

“We like to use Brangus bulls to clean up our exotic cattle for several reasons; whether it’s 40 degrees in the winter or 100 degrees in the summer, Brangus bulls are out working,” Cromwell said. “We typically don’t have any problems with dystocia, and although the show steers are extremely competitive, the replacements are as good it gets.”

Basic quality grades for young “A” maturity carcasses are standard, select, choice and prime, while yield grades are scored on a numeric scale of one to five. A yield grade of one is trim and heavily-muscled, whereas a score of five is excessively fat and lighter-muscled. Cattle are graded on the rail for yield and quality, with quality being the measurement of palatability to the consumer and yield being the percentage of closely trimmed retail cuts.

Adams’s steer received a quality grade of average-prime, displaying moderately abundant marbling. The carcass was, also, stamped with a numerical yield grade of two. The steer measured a 14.9-square-inch ribeye, which indicates an excellent carcass cut-out value of the steer.

“This goes to show the excellent carcass merit of Brangus-influenced animals,” Lucherk said.

“For many years there has been a gap between the goals of show steer producers versus the commercial cattle industry,” stated IBBA Field Representative Matt Murdoch. “The show ring has been slowly but surely fading away from the original reason for showing market steers. The facts are that these steers will eventually be hung on the rail and processed just like the rest of the market cattle.”

For the modern-day club calf breeder, the selection criteria has been based solely on the phenotypic aspect and aesthetic value of these cattle. Balance and eye appeal are generally prioritized higher than the market characteristics of muscle, growth, and fat cover, which ultimately affects the bottom line as these cattle are graded on the rail and sold by the pound.

“With that being said, it is truly pleasing to see that we can have a steer that can be successful, not only ringside, but when hung on the rail, as well,” Murdoch said. “To all cattlemen this should be a positive feeling to know that we are finally making the progress to rebuild the bridge from show steers back to the basic fundamentals of market cattle.”

“The staff, membership and volunteers of IBBA congratulate all other exhibitors of Brangus genetics who, also, excelled in the carcass contest this year,” stated Perkins. “Testimonies like this reflect why Brangus cattle make money and sense; Brangus genetics have superior carcass merit and feedlot efficiency.”