A FARMING family from Robin Hoods Bay won the Asda/ ABP Beeflink steak competition at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show.

The Cussons family won with one of their British Blue cross heifers. The winning steak was from a 327.3kg carcase, which graded U+3 at under 17 months of age.

The heifer was one of 300 cattle finished annually by the family, including the progeny from their 90 cow suckler herd.

The Cussons began supplying Asda/ABP BeefLink in autumn last year and this was their first entry into the competition.

They received a crystal rose bowl and an Asda Extra hamper. Second place was shared by two more North Yorkshire breeders.

John, Susan and Robert Leslie’s steak from their Blonde sired heifer tied on points with a steak from Ian and Clive Earlsworth’s British blue cross heifer.

The Leslie family’s steak came from a 20-month-old heifer which graded E3 and weighed 331.8kg deadweight.

The family farm at Kirkby Malzeard and finish 300 head annually, buying cattle in as reared calves.

The Earlsworths, from Easingwold, were joint second with a U+3 British Blue cross heifer which weighed 370.8kg deadweight at 20 months old.

Judging the steaks were celebrity chef James Martin from the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, a panel of members of the public and Asda’s senior red meat buyer,Jim Viggars.

Elwyn Pugh, ABP’s Asda agricultural and sustainability manager, said the competition once again demonstrated the exceptional quality of beef supplied by Asda/ABP BeefLink farmers on a daily basis.

He said: “The standard today was again exceptionally high and I congratulate all those producers who had steaks in the final judging. Judging was no easy task, with every one of the steaks on display of a very high quality.”

Steaks in the competition were from carcasses which qualified for Asda’s Extra Special range, grading E and U and weighing 300-380kg.

Steaks from these carcases are matured for 28 days.