Anyone who’s ever bought a lottery ticket knows the importance of having the right numbers.
For Ken Malterer, the combination of AAA 30 marbling, an 88-square-cm rib eye and a 719.4-pound (326.3-kg) carcass earned him an $8,000 payout.
Malterer, who operates Ponderosa Farms near Ponoka, claimed the top prize in the Calgary Stampede’s 2010 Quality Beef Competition. His Speckle Park steer impressed lead judge Fred Taylor, an inspector with the Canadian Beef Grading Agency.
Malterer’s animal was one of 48 paraded at the Calgary Stampede on July 17. Judging for the Quality Beef Competition occurred a few days later at the Cargill Foods plant in High River.
Using consumer and retail preferences as his guide, Taylor awarded optimal points for a rib eye measuring 80 to 89 square cm, two to four mm of back fat, AAA marbling, a carcass weight of between 650 and 750 pounds (295 and 340 kg), white fat, fine-grain marbling and fine-grain meat texture, said a news release issued by the Calgary Stampede.
“They (consumers) don’t want to cook a steak a half-inch thick,” said Taylor. “You can’t sell a huge rib eye to a chef in a restaurant, even if it was AAA 50 marbling. What they want is the right-sized rib eye.
“The consumer is exactly the same. The consumer goes by price, not by weight.”
Taylor said Canadian beef producers have increased marbling over the years.
“In the mid-1990s, we were at a high of 30 to 33 per cent AAA, and in our low time of year, we would get down to 18 per cent AAA. Now, we’ll see up to 70 per cent AAA (at packing houses) and we don’t see anything lower than 30 per cent.”
In addition to a $3,000 prize for entering the grand champion, Malterer received a $5,000 bonus from regional Speckle Park producers and was paid the price of his steer’s carcass.
Another Speckle Park entered by Malterer placed third, earning him a further $1,500.
“This is the best Ken has ever done at this competition, so he’s obviously learning, and learning very quickly,” said Rod Remin, business manager of the Canadian Speckle Park Association. “He’s really put some effort into learning about what kind of animals would produce the best carcasses.”
Speckle Park steers also placed second and fourth in the Quality Beef Competition — bringing their owners $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.
Meanwhile, a 1,362-pound Angus cross owned by Fairland Cattle Co. of Penhold was runner-up in the UFA Steer Classic. That was good for a $4,000 payday, plus another $1,000 for being tops in the competition’s open class.
In other Calgary Stampede competition, Tyler Rosehill of Olds was named top rookie at the International Livestock Auctioneer Championship.