A SMALL family owned and operated feedlot north of Miles in Queensland has taken out the Coopers Animal Health Revalor Top Gun competition, presented at Beef Ex last Tuesday.
The competition began in 2014 and is focused on excellence in feedlot induction with regards to HGP implants.
Condabri Feedlot, owned by Simon Drury, was the overall winner, with just four defective implants over the past year.
Condabri is a 5000-head feedlot targeting the Jap Ox market, and has a three-person induction crew that has been with the business for 12 years.
The induction team includes husband and wife Adam and Julie Rockemer, and their sons Jake and Riley, at different times.
Mr Drury said the feedlot had been involved in the competition from its inception, and quickly realised the team had some work to do when receiving their results from the first year.
“We’ve really honed our skills when it comes to the positioning of the implant,” he said.
“We thought we were rockstars when we were getting the mid eighties, but that’s 15 per cent of animals that weren’t benefiting from the implant.
“It’s the cheapest input we have, for the most amount of production. It improves average daily weight gain and feed conversion, giving us a better product and boosting profitability.”
Associated Feedlots, Mathoura, NSW, received the encouragement award, presented to head stockman Chelt Thompson.
Coopers Animal Health national accounts manager Rob Baines, Toowoomba, said the feedlot had worked hard to improve its feedlot induction performance, boosting implant success by six per cent in the past year.