Beef and sheep farmers from across the north-east had their prized stock slaughtered and assessed as part of the New Deer Show’s annual live to dead carcase competition.
The fixture, which was judged at Woodhead Bros, Morrisons, in Turriff, attracted 47 cattle entries and 25 entries of pairs of lambs.
All were killed at the Turriff abattoir on Monday and judged by the site’s MLC grader Bob Sinclair.
Mr Sinclair praised the quality of the carcases on show and said: “It could have been any of 10 champions”.
In the end he chose a 26-month-old British Blue heifer from Ross Bros, of Wardhead, Strichen, as his champion in the cattle section.
The heifer, which weighed 411.2kg deadweight at a grade of U+4L was described by the judge as “excellently finished with great conformation”.
The reserve champion title went to a 22-month-old Limousin cross heifer weighing 371.9kg and also grading U+4L from A & W Wilson, Shantlerhill.
In the sheep section both the champion and reserve titles went to J G S & D Duncan, of Jacobshall.
Their champion entry was a pair of Suffolk crosses weighing 20.6kg and 21.7kg and both grading at E3L. The judge described them as a “tremendous pair of lambs”.
The Duncans then went on to take the reserve rosettes with a pair of Texel crosses weighing 22.7kg and 21.7kg and grading U3L and E3L respectively.
Woodhead Bros general manager, Michael Tough, said: “Every year, we say the quality of stock can not exceed the previous year but yet again, it has.”