In mid-June, Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) held its annual Carcass Challenge banquet in Ames. Local cattle producer Mike Holden of Scranton bred the steer earning the Chef’s Choice award.The steer was sponsored by Holdens Maines and More.
This annual competition, founded in 2010, allows producers to showcase and evaluate their beef cattle genetics, feedyard management, and continuous operation improvement. ICA’s Carcass Challenge is Iowa’s only statewide fed-beef competition. Each participating steer is measured for maximum cattle efficiency, carcass value, and net revenue.
“As a breeder participating in the Carcass Challenge, they receive carcass data back that can be utilized in their herds while comparing it to genetics throughout the state of Iowa,” said Madyson Thill, ICA Carcass Challenge director. “Not only does the competition hold notoriety for the winners, but it also offers actionable insights to evolve their operations.”
At the banquet, all winners were announced and recognized for their achievements in front of a crowd of their peers from across the state of Iowa. The top 10 percent of steers, eight total, were recognized for retail value per days on feed (RVDoF) awards. The RVDoF formula is a dollar value that accounts for hot carcass weight, percent retail product, carcass price, and days on feed, balancing the important factors that ultimately drive profitability. The champion steer of the RVDoF category received a cash prize of $5,000.
Holden’s steer achieved the Chef’s Choice award of the 79 steers participating in the challenge. This award identifies the most economically efficient steer and to determine the genetic potential of individual animals to produce the safest, most nutritional, and most desirable food product possible. Single winners were also awarded in the categories of largest ribeye, and highest average daily gain.
Iowa Cattlemen’s Association congratulates Mike Holden for his production success.
For those interested in the 2024 Carcass Challenge, visit the ICA website for more information: www.iacattlemen.org.
