Agricultural Show Australia to celebrate young judges raising steaks in beef cattle judging
Agricultural Shows Australia, Media Release, 27 September 2023
Australia’s most promising young beef cattle judges have been announced by Agricultural Shows Australia as eligible to compete in the national finals of the prestigious annual competition to be judged next month.
The competition brings together the best young judges and paraders aged from 15 to 25 in each state to compete at the national finals. Qualification is via success in competitive regional and state competitions.
One young judge from South Australia, Cody Jones, will be competing in an unprecedented four events; meat sheep breeds, Merino fleece, Merino sheep, and poultry.
The national championships are held in a different location each year. This year, the event is being hosted by Tasmanian Ag Shows and held at the Launceston Royal Show. The winner of each competition will take home a pair of boots from Blundstone Australia.
Queensland
Hayden Hanson, 19, from Gin Gin will be representing Queensland in the beef cattle young judges competition.
“I’ve been doing junior judging since I was seven years old. I just love being able to share my opinion about cattle and what type of cattle I like. Winning the beef paraders competition at Beef Week 2021 is definitely a highlight of mine, and I just look forward to competing and catching up with friends at the finals,” Hayden said.
Western Australia
Sam Lynch, 17, from Capel will be representing Western Australia in the beef cattle young judges competition.
“I took up junior judging not that long ago in year 10 but I’d been parading for longer. I live on a Charolais stud so I’ve always had an interest in cows and I’m really looking forward to pushing myself in Tasmania to see how far I can go and hopefully make the family proud,” Sam said.
Tasmania
Chelsea Rayner, 25, (pictured below) from Beaulah will be representing Tasmania in the beef cattle young judges competition.
“I’ve been competing since I was 13 and I just enjoy the whole experience. I work as a livestock agent now so it’s especially good for improving judging skills as well as commercial and stud stock skills. This year is my last competition and I’ll have all my family and friends there to support me, as well as having my own stud cattle there too,” she said.
New South Wales
Sam Parish, 22, a stock and station agent from Forbes, will be representing New South Wales in the beef cattle young judges competition.
“My parents were involved in stud and show cattle so I was always running around bull sales as a kid and even though I grew up in town in Dubbo, I absolutely loved it.
“I competed at the National All Breeds Junior Heifer Show when I was five-years-old and got the reserve pee wee champion,” he said.
“I’ve been involved in shows my whole life and it’s the ability to give your judgment and give credibility to your judgment that I love.
“It’s a massive learning curve and you take in a lot from the opinions of peers and fellow competitors and you see a lot of perspectives.
“I’m looking forward to going to Tasmania for the first time and hopefully taking home the win.”
South Australia
Phoebe Eckermann, 22, will be representing South Australia in the beef cattle young judges competition.
Victoria
Bridie Chester, 19, from Koonoomoo will be representing Victoria in the beef cattle young judges competition.
The competitions
Overall there are nine categories for judging and parading each year under the Agricultural Shows Australia national competition program: beef cattle, dairy cattle, alpaca, poultry, Merino sheep, meat breed sheep and Merino fleece judging, as well as parading competitions in beef and dairy cattle.
The winner of the beef cattle young judges competition will be determined by who most accurately placed the animals according to its form and characteristics.
Dr. Rob Wilson is chairman of Agricultural Shows Australia, the peak body overseeing 572 agricultural shows in Australia which attract six million visitors annually and contribute nearly $1billion to the national economy, and says the competition is designed to recognise the best new talent in livestock judging nationwide.
“It’s an extremely prestigious event and positions at the nationals are keenly contested,” Dr. Wilson explains.
“These young people are the future of agricultural show competitions which are crucial to the continual improvement of Australia’s food and fibre. The national competition is a coveted opportunity to grow personally and professionally by practising skills against the cream of the crop.”
