These four components will come together at Manfeild Park, in Feilding, from Saturday, May 10 to Tuesday, May 13.
This year’s beefed up event kicks off with the Future Beef NZ event, starting on May 10.
Future Beef co-ordinator Sharyn Anderson said the two-day programme was for young people from 12 to 25-years-old.
Participants enter the hoof and hook event, which includes steer handling and judging of their own steer on and off-hook, plus learning modules. They are ultimately vying for the prestigious titles of intermediate and senior beef ambassador.
Last year’s ambassadors were Lauren McWilliam and Hannah Gibb.
Each ambassador is sent on a trip to learn more about the beef industry – the intermediate ambassador travels within NZ, while the senior ambassador is balloted overseas.
Topics covered in the modules vary each year, but always include stock judging.
The event is proving popular with young people – more than 70 people entered last year.
“Hopefully, they get out of it the opportunity to mix with people with similar interests, and from the modules they’re going to increase their knowledge about the industry,” Anderson said.
Two days of good, solid science and technology learning starts on Sunday, May 11, with the B+LNZ AgInnovation conference.
Amanda Bowie, B+LNZ extension manager, eastern North Island, said seed stock – including fertility traits, Breedplan, and MateSell – will be the focus on Sunday morning.
Commercial beef farmers will be catered for in the afternoon, looking at how to understand and interpret breeding values, selecting good beef cattle, and best practice around buying bulls.
After the national BBQ challenge final (a new event on the AgInnovation calendar), two teams will face off in a light hearted debate on the subject of the family farm business versus corporate farming – Which will stand the test of time?
The family farm team of Sarah von Dadelszen, Mark Guscott, and Pete Fitzherbert will take on the corporate team of Richard Morrison, Andrew Watters, and Andrew Freeman in a verbal sparring match.
Monday’s breakfast speaker is B+LNZ chief executive Dr Scott Champion, followed by a live video link to the Northern American Lamb Company, and presentations from Australian butcher Richard Gunner, Progressive Meat’s Craig Hickson, and Tim Hembrow from the B+LNZ Economic Service.
Next, farmers can select to attend four sessions from a choice of seven topics: animal production; information and technology; genetics; pasture and forage; innovation, marketplace and business (including benchmarking, succession and decision making).
The final speaker will be Sir Graham Henry before the Queen of Hearts heifer show, and Steak of Origin finals dinner.
Bowie said the science and technology conference proved very popular last year, with about 250 people attending.
“The neat thing about it is it’s a two-day programme where farmers can design their own conference and pick which bits they want to attend.”
Monday night offers the chance to enjoy a three-course dinner and be entertained by the final judging and prize giving for the coveted Steak of Origin title.
B+LNZ projects and events manager, Megan Claxton, said 230 farmer entries, and 130 retail and wholesale entries, were received for this year’s competition.
The top four entries from each of the five classes go through to the finals, where they are tasted by the judging panel of B+LNZ sports ambassadors Sophie Pascoe and Sarah Walker, B+LNZ ambassador chef Scott Kennedy, and B+LNZ consultant chef Graham Hawkes.
The Steak of Origin grand champion will win a trophy and $5000. Each class winner receives $1500.
Claxton said the Steak of Origin finals dinner was always well attended, and the competition had been proving popular since its inception 12 years ago.
“It’s the only industry dinner like this where all the breeds are represented, with farmers, retailers and wholesalers getting together to celebrate their product.
“A good healthy competition is something everyone enjoys.”
A new peoples’ choice award will be introduced this year. Members of the public attending Sunday night’s AgInnovation events will be asked to taste test samples from the top 20 entries and rank them in order of preference.
Steak of Origin finals tickets can be bought through Performance Beef Breeders for $99.
Last year’s champions were Northland breeders Chris and Karren Biddles, of Te Atarangi Angus.
Since 2006, the couple have been Steak of Origin finalists seven times. They won the grand title in 2007 with a pure Angus entry. Their winning entry last year was three-quarters Angus and one-quarter Jersey.
The Biddles were named producer of the decade at the 2012 event.
They entered Steak of Origin again this year, but Chris said they did not have high hopes for a third grand champion title, as they were suffering a worse drought than last year, and had killed their animals early as a result.
“I think that winning has lifted our profile somewhat – it certainly has drawn attention to the type of cattle we breed, which obviously give a very good eating experience.”
AgInnovation will culminate on Tuesday, May 13, with the genetic sales of bulls, heifers, and semen and embryo packages.
The champion of champion bull will be announced in the morning, before the Queen of Hearts heifer sale.
Finally, the bulls will enter the selling arena, starting with Hereford, followed by Shorthorn, Gelbvieh, South Devon, Simmental, Charolais, and Angus.
About 100 genetic lots across seven breeds will be offered for sale.
Last year’s two top-price bulls were both Herefords, selling for $22,000 by Orari Gorge, and Kairuru, to Glenbrae and Otapawa respectively.
Twenty Hereford bulls were sold for an average of $9770: Shorthorn sold 10 bulls for a $4850; two Gelbvieh bulls averaged $4000; four South Devons averaged $5075; Simmental, $7200; Charolais, $4860; and Angus, $7937.
Simmental bull Glenanthony Zodiac won the champion of champion title.
PGG Wrightson NZ livestock genetics manager Bruce Orr said last year’s event, the first under the new branding, went really well. While bulls showed some effects physically from the drought, good cattle breeders could pick beyond feed, and there was also performance data to back up their genetic ability.
Based on the weaner fair sales, Orr said beef confidence was good this year.
“While it did become dry, we certainly had a better spring.
“There’s no substitute for good grass for bringing the cattle forward.”
