Denzil Huxtable runs a herd of 150 predominantly Murray Grey females. He has used a variety of sire breeds previously but switched to a Blonde dAquitaine three 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."

Denzil also outlined that Blonde cross cattle 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", Denzil said.

"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."