The Royal Ulster Premier Beef and Lamb Championship saw the McCrea family, Strabane, win the British Blonde champion carcase, which was purchased by the Foyle Food Group, on behalf of J Magill & Sons, Ballymena.

Steven Magill is the second-generation butcher at J Magill and Sons, he exclaimed, “we are absolutely delighted with the purchase of the champion carcase, which was a real showstopper!”.  This was the first time the family butcher’s shop had purchased a British Blonde, it was sourced through the Foyle Group representative Amy Lyons who contacted Steven in person about the beast some weeks previously, Steven explained, “Amy was right, the animal looked really well on the hoof and hanging up, it was boned out last week and the yield was tremendous.”.

He added, “it was lean, well-finished and just beautiful, we will definitely be looking to buy a British Blonde again, in fact our customers are already asking when the joints will be available to purchase.”. The cuts from this award-winning carcase will be held back ready for the New Year’s Eve trade, Steven said, “that should make a good start to a lot of people’s new year!”.