UNE students shine in US meat judging competition

February 27, 2008

Dylan Duncan, a student at the University of New England, has won his section in the National Western Intercollegiate Meat Judging Competition in the United States.

Dylan, who comes from Narrabri, is one of three UNE students included in the five-member Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging Team that toured the United States in the recent summer vacation. The team competed successfully in the national American competition, held at the Denver Stock Show in Colorado, where Dylan won the Junior Beef Judging Competition.

He and his UNE team-mates Amy Watt from Condobolin and Kathleen Marshall from Tamworth were among more than 80 tertiary students from around Australia who competed for a place in the Australian team at the Australian Championships held at UNE last July and sponsored by industry groups including Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA). Fifteen of the 80 were selected to give a presentation, and then 10 of those were chosen to take part in a week of industry tours and work experience with MLA in Brisbane. Finally, the field was narrowed down to five students who went on to represent Australia in the United States, where three of them achieved places in the top 20 overall.

Dylan (who is studying for a Bachelor of Rural Science degree) and Amy (who is studying for a Bachelor of Agriculture degree) are both residents of St Albert's College at UNE, while Kathleen (also a Bachelor of Agriculture student) is a former resident of the College. [A photograph of Kathleen Marshall (left), Dylan Duncan and Amy Watt can be seen by clicking on the meat image displayed here.]

Coaching the Australian participants was very much a team effort, with Bob Gaden, Technical Specialist with the Beef Industry Centre (based at UNE) of the NSW Department of Primary Industries providing valuable training before the Australian Championships, and Jason Strong from Catapult Genetics and Rebecca Underwood from MLA training the Australian team.

The team's success is particularly impressive as they had to learn the American grading system very quickly. As well as competing, they were treated to a range of experiences – including industry tours across the United States, specialist training with US meat science professors, a visit to the US Meat Research Facilities in Clay Centre, and some recreational skiing.

The students found the whole experience very much worthwhile. "It was an eye-opener," said Dylan, "and a unique opportunity to witness first-hand the American meat industry and how it works – particularly the sheer size of the industry and the massive amounts of funding it receives.” Amy said the trip had enabled them to "place the Australian meat industry into a world perspective, highlighting differences in size and demand".

Posted by Jim Scanlan at February 27, 2008 11:46 AM