SHOWING beef cattle is a real family affair in the Adams household at Londonderry, and two family members came home with sashes after Hawkesbury Show.
Mr Adams and his three children all entered the hoof and hook section of the show, where steers under 20 months are judged at the show, then slaughtered and judged for their meat quality.
“The meat is scored on colour, muscle, tenderness, eating quality, degree of fat,” he said. “These measures are all scored and it’s added up out of 100. Mine scored 93.5 and Jessica’s was 93. I got champion and my daughter was reserve champion.”
They’ve been entering for several years and have won ribbons before. This year both Mr Adams and Jessica submitted Limousin cross steers.
“My two sons entered as well, with straight Limousins. Luke got reserve champion on the hoof and fourth on the hook. My eldest son got second in the heavyweight class on hoof and second on the hook.”
He said butchers come to the show and bid for the carcasses as they want to get the best meat.
“While you normally get about $3.70 per kg for a 380-kilo steer, at the show it’s $5.90 at kilo.” His champion steer was bought by M&A Butchery at Wilberforce. “It’s a good advertisement for their business as they can put the ribbons in their shop,” he said.
Mr Adams bred his steer himself, and his children submitted steers they’d bought at eight months old.
Mr Adams grew up on a suburban block at St Marys “but I’ve always worked in cattle sales since I left school”.
His dad leased land nearby and had cattle, then the family moved to Llandilo and had cattle there, his dad dairy and John beef.