Pietsch Family Excels Again
Stock Journal News March 2009
CATHERINE MILLER
23 Mar, 2009 03:00 AM
FOR the second successive year, the Pietsch family, Camden Park, Bordertown came up trumps in the on-hoof section of the fifth annual Mundulla Prime Lamb Competition recently.
Their June 2008 drop lambs averaging 50.7 kilograms scored 205.7 points including maximum points for presentation, fat score and weight for age to become both the export and overall on-hoof winners.
They were the first drop out of South African Merino-Merino second cross ewes and sired by Bundara Downs White Suffolk rams and those from their own breeding.
The Pietsch family, Camden Park, Bordertown came up trumps in the on-hoof section of the fifth annual Mundulla Prime Lamb Competition 2009
"They (The SAMMs) are really doing the job with the eye muscle and dressing percentages," Tom Pietsch said.
This year's event, still the largest of its kind in South Australia, held in conjunction with the Moot Yang Gunya Festival on the first weekend in March, attracted 25 entries with 13 pens of 20 in the export category and 12 pens in the newly-created trade section.
All entries were awarded points for documentation, curfew and overall presentation, market suitability, skin length and quality, crutching, eye muscle depth and fat cover.
The top 10 pens in each category progressed to on-hook judging and were processed at Tatiara Meat Company.
Elders Bordertown livestock manager and one of the event's organisers, Kym Lovelock said the trade section was created to attract new entrants with a reasonable percentage of lambs bred in the area turned off at trade weights.
"The idea was to make trade lamb breeders eligible for the competition and an adjustment was made on the eye muscle depth to put them on a level playing field," he said.
"Anyone who has been involved has definitely learnt something out of it whether it be with paperwork or presentation," he said.
As a special attraction for the 100th show, organisers are also looking at creating a separate showcase competition for a pen of five monster lambs the heaviest weights possible.
Elders has remained the major sponsor along with Tatiara Meat Company, but to attract new entries the event was opened up to clients of all Bordertown-based agents this year.
A number of local studs also sponsored the event with all unplaced entrants going into a draw to receive buying credit vouchers to their ram sales.
A presentation dinner to announce the on-hook and overall winners will be held next Thursday night at 7pm at the Mundulla Sports and Recreation Centre.
Meat & Livestock Australia has sponsored David Armstrong, Flagstaff Superior Meats, who will cut up a SAMM-Merino lamb and second cross lamb to compare the two different lambs, and TMC's livestock manager Dale Cameron will provide feedback on the entries.
The cost is $20 per head and all lamb producers are welcome to attend.
* Details: Monica Andrews on 8758 7215.