The carcass contest is a staple in the lineup of contests offered during the National Junior Angus Association’s (NJAA) National Junior Angus Show (NJAS), hosted each July to develop the next generation of beef industry leaders. Also becoming a staple in the annual contest is Owen Austrino, a 17-year-old NJAS member from Dade City, Fla., who took home the title of Grand Champion Carcass for the third year in a row.

“It is exciting to see the hard work pay off,” says Austrino, reflecting moments after his name was announced as the high individual in the contest during the awards ceremony on July 4, in Tulsa, Okla.

The hard work is a family effort and one that doesn’t go unnoticed. “The Austrino family does a good job feeding the steers … They even have a tech come out to do an ultrasound to measure the steer’s backfat development,” says Richie Longanecker, president of the Florida Angus Association. “They work hard at making sure the steer is a good carcass steer.”

Longanecker was introduced to the Austrino family through his wife, Kelley, who serves as the junior advisor to Florida youth involved in NJAA. The couple also owns and operates Big Timber Cattle Company, which produces registered Angus cattle with a focus on well-rounded seedstock that excel in carcass traits. In 2022, when Austrino first approached Longanecker about purchasing a steer for the contest, Longanecker offered Austrino the opportunity to take it home, feed it out and settle up after he received his carcass check. But at the end of the project, Longanecker never asked for payment. Since then, Austrino has raised and entered two more steers in the national contest, also donated by Longanecker.

“My whole objective is to give back and make an impact on youth,” Longanecker says. “I wanted Owen to know there are people out there that care about more than money; that care about helping young people learn about the industry."

The NJAS Carcass Contest is designed to help young cattle producers understand the basics of feeding out a steer in a cost-efficient way to yield the best quality carcass possible and in turn the best possible eating experience for the consumer. Juniors entered in the contest either raise or purchase a steer, paying close attention to the genetic potential of the steer’s carcass traits. After feeding the steer to market weight at home, the steers are brought to NJAS where they are weighed and tagged before being shipped to a regional processor where the carcasses are graded on industry standards.

Along with the hands-on experience of taking a steer from start to finish, Austrino and the rest of the 22 NJAA members who participated in this year’s contest had the opportunity to attend a clinic led by Gretchen Mafi, Oklahoma State University professor of animal and food sciences.

“I hope the youth who attended this clinic walked away with a better understanding of quality — how we determine quality beef, where the highest value cuts are, and what value Certified Angus Beef^® Brand brings to the table. How those premiums are rewarded not only as a carcass, but also once those cuts get to a retail store or restaurant,” says Mafi who brought in several primal cuts of meat to demonstrate how the carcass is broken down.