John Hutton - "Falkirk" Harden, N.S.W.
"I have found the Blondes to be outstanding in all aspects of beef production and their greatest attribute is to turn beef into dollars.

I started breeding in 1990 with the purchase of a Blonde bull joining mainly into Black Baldy and Roan Baldy cows, we have since gone further and joined approximately 80% of our herd to Blonde bulls.

We have been breeding and buying steers for the domestic supermarket chain-fattening on self feeders, for approximately ten years.

At 12-14 months, Blonde calves have been very impressive. The weight gain and yields have been excellent - fat cover has been monitored very carefully, but with experience I am now confident at 7-10 mm of fat cover and 380-400 kg live weight and yields of 57-60% we have a great article.

The Blondes seem to adapt to dry conditions and their powers of recovery are superior to our British breeds. The F1 heifers and cows we have retained have proved excellent mothers with a good supply of milk.

In summary - I look forward to a long association with the Blondes."

Graham and Robyn Rodda - "Geningeri", Felton East, Qld

"We purchased two Blonde bulls three years ago to cross with our commercial herd of Angus, Brangus, Brahman and Braford cattle. We are extremely pleased with the resultant calves, we have not pulled a calf since then.

They are beautiful, long, slippery calves.

We wean the calves at about 300 kg, lot feed them for 70 days and sell them off at 400 kg at approximately twelve months old to the local abattoir for the butchers trade where they are always in demand."

Blonde d’Aquitaines are the sire to use for profitable beef production according to Bullsbrook cattle producer and feedlotter Denzil Huxtable.  This opinion comes from a man who has been raising and feedlotting cattle all his life.  Denzil runs a herd of 150 predominantly Murray Grey females.  He has used a variety of sire breeds previously but switched to a Blonde d’Aquitaine two years ago.

“The Blonde sire gives a terrific boost to the marketability of our calves” said Denzil.  The Blonde calves I sell through the live market make top dollar.  The Blonde sire gives a better rump profile plus added muscle through the loin compared to the other sires I have used.  The quality of my Blonde cross calves has also influenced my neighbour to start using a Blonde sire.”

Denzil value adds by feedlot finishing most of the calves he breeds, selling over the hooks for the lightweight local carcase trade.  He also buys in calves to feedlot to maintain supply and contract feedlots for other producers.

“I am in a good position to see the relative performance of different sire breeds,” said Denzil “In my opinion you can’t go past a Blonde cross for feedlot finishing.  The Blonde crosses finish as easily as other crosses, convert feed better and are easy handling cattle in the feedlot.  They have a great advantage in carcase quality and yield. They have better muscling through the high value areas in the loin and rump and the meat quality is excellent which makes them attractive to the butcher.  As a feedlotter selling direct to butchers, they improve my returns because of their better yield.  The Blonde crosses give me an average dressing percentage of 60% compared to 55 to 57% from other crosses.  They also provide a higher meat yield to the butcher because of their lighter bone.” 

In Denzil’s opinion, "Blondes are the ideal terminal sire breed.  They improve profitability throughout the supply chain from the producer to the butcher.”

Annually the Perth Royal show hosts Western Australia’s largest beef carcass (trade cattle) competition with animals entered in both the led and unled sections. A total of 171 animals were entered for 2005 Perth Royal Show trade competition comprising of 96 British, 72 European, 3 tropical sired animals. The following facts can be observed from Perth Royal show 2005 carcass competition:

• Butchers paid on average 10 to 15 cents/kg more for European sired steers and heifers like Blonde, Charolais, Limousin and Simmental compared to British or British crosses e.g. Angus, Hereford, Murray Grey, Red Angus
• Blonde and Limousin sired cattle made 25cents/kg more than the average European sired steers and heifers.
• Dressing percentage of Blonde and Limousin sired animals averaged 61% compared with Gelbvieh, Saler and Simmental sired cattle averaging 56.8%. The highest dressing percentage was a Blonde at 62%
• Eye Muscle Area of European sired cattle averaged 81cm2 while British sired cattle averaged 73cm2. (Eye muscle is an important indicator of how much beef a carcass will yield).

European sired cattle carry more muscle and muscle equals meat. The reason butchers pay premium prices for better-muscled cattle is the higher dressing percentages these animals achieve. In addition they provide higher yields of retail beef from the carcase and a higher proportion of high priced cuts.
At the carcase yield level an increase in yield of four percent on a 250 kg carcase represents 10 kg more saleable meat. At an average retail price of $14.50/kg this represents $145.00 at retail level. The beef producer gets paid more because he gets a heavier carcase and the retailer wins because of the increased yield of retail beef from that carcass.