A steer raised by Justin and Lacie Robbins of Scranton and sponsored by Collison Embryo and Vet, Lytton Farm Equipment and Mike Sorensen won third place in the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Carcass Challenge contest.
ICA president Phil Reemtsma of DeWitt awarded Robbins a jacket, hat and $250 cash prize for his placing in the Retail Value per Days on Feed category.
Awards to the top steers in the group of 57 were given in many areas, but the two main categories were Carcass Merit and Retail Value per Day on Feed (RVDoF). Both are value-added calculations that consider consumer quality issues such as tenderness and flavor; and also a key farmer issue – profitability. RVDoF adds in a time factor (days on feed). Robbins’ steer showed a daily increase of $8.68 in value while on feed.
Additional awards made in the contest were for the largest ribeye area and the chef award.
The donated steer from Brad Kooima, Sioux Center, with its 14.5 square inches of ribeye and choice grading, took home the Carcass Merit award.
A steer from Steve Streets & Sons Bull Sales, which was co-sponsored by Mineral Creek Cattle Co, both of Jackson County, took the top $750 prize in the RVDoF category. The steer was a yield grade 1, and gained an estimated 4.38 lbs. per day on feed. That kind of performance showed the steer adding $8.89 of value for every day on feed.
The ICA Carcass Challenge was developed to bring back a statewide carcass contest for cattle producers. The contest is organized by ICA’s Young Cattlemen’s Leadership Program (YCLP) as “an educational effort to stress that each step in the value-chain affects the end product,” said Kellie Carolan, ICA’s seedstock manager.
Carolan, who oversaw the contest, noted that “Genetics, feed regimen and technology all played a part in taking this set of 57 steers from an average delivery weight of 692 pounds to 1,416 pounds over a 6-month feeding period.” ~The Scranton Journal
