ALL FOUR top places in the annual McIntosh Donald/Tesco best Scotch steak competition at the Royal Highland Show went to North-east beef producers.

The top award went to Gray and Noel Gall, og Home Farm, Kininmonth, Mintlaw, with a steak from a 300.1kg home-bred Limousin cross heifer which classified –U4L. The Gall father and son were presented with the McIntosh Donald Rosebowl and cash prize of £1000 by QMS chairman Jim McLaren.

The heifer was reared naturally on grass in the summer and silage, pot ale syrup and minerals, and was, according to McIntosh Donald site director, Alan McNaughton, a clear winner.

Competition for the next three places was intense, with the judges deciding to have a second tasting to separate the three.

This resulted in the runners-up award going to Robert Mann, Bellfield, Kingswells, with a 331.8kg Charolais cross steer (-U3) with a 359.7kg Aberdeen-Angus cross (R4L) from John Troup, Southbank, Skene, placed overall third and winning the special £500 cash prize for the best Aberdeen-Angus carcase. A 335.9kg Beef Shorthorn cross steer (R4L) from Ann Malcolm, Hardhillock, Maryculter, was placed fourth.

The other finalists were D Budge, Brae Edge, Castletown, Caithness; M and I Steel, Wickerinn, Banchory; Ellis and Keir, Cairncoullie, Glenkindie; C Nicol and Son, Westerford, Skene; D and A Bruce, Dorsell, Alford; G Robertson, Tillyorn, Corse, Lumphanan; Andrew Anderson, Smallburn Farms, Elgin; and L Grubb, Ardallie, Mintlaw.

The steaks selected for grilling and tasting in the final were from the sirloins of 12 carcases selected from an entry of 150 cattle at McIntosh Donald’s Portlethen meat plant at the end of May.

“All 12 steaks were of fantastic quality – there was not a piece of mediocre beef among them,” said chef George McIvor, a former chairman of Master Chefs of Great Britain, who was a member of the judging panel.

But he repeated the meat trade appeal to producers to meet the carcase spec demanded by processors, particularly in relation to weight, to maximise their returns from the market place and meet the requirements of customers.

“I source meat for some of the large hotel groups and it is a huge problem finding say 600 steaks of consistent size and quality for a big function,” said Mr McIver. “That’s one of the reasons why most abattoirs have recently tightened their carcase spec.”

Tesco agricultural manager Barney Kay said Tesco was back on course after a “challenging” 18 months with profitably restored in the last quarter, as reported last week.

“We are Scottish farming’s biggest customer, sourcing 1600 products from 160 local Scottish suppliers,” said Mr Kay. "Tesco sell £320 million’s worth of Scottish products in their Scottish stores and the figure for their UK stores as a whole is £2.1 billion."