Students and alumni from the University of New England once again brought home the bacon at the Northern Intercollegiate Meat Judging Association (ICMJ) Competition, with teams and individuals winning a bundle of awards at the 2022 event held in Rockhampton recently.
UNE was named the Champion Team for Beef Judging and was crowned runner up overall, while several individual students and alumni took home their own awards across a range of categories.
Competitors were required to judge which carcase or primal cut had the highest quantity and quality of meat that would deliver the most value to the supply chain. They were also required to identify retail and wholesale cuts of beef.
Associate Professor in Meat Science, Dr Peter McGilchrist said UNE’s outstanding results shine a light on the high calibre students coming out of the School of Environmental and Rural Science.
“They’re from a range of backgrounds and interests but all appreciate the importance of food production, and that the consumer is king,” he said.
“It’s paramount that everyone across the value chain understands what factors and critical control points impact the quality and quantity of food we produce from beef cattle, and this conference really allows students to put what they’re learning at university into practice.”
The competition is part of a larger, four-day conference, which saw 100 students and industry professionals from across Australia come together to attend workshops, training sessions, a career expo, and presentations.
“The conference really expands the students’ knowledge about the northern beef and meat industries and helps them understand all the factors along the value chain that impact beef production and meat quality,” said Dr McGilchrist.
“It also exposes students to the huge range of exciting careers that exist in the industry and gives them a chance to build their peer and industry networks, which is so important in agriculture.”
St Albert’s College’s Billy Packer is in his third year studying a Bachelor of Agribusiness and was crowned the winner of the Overall Placings category, runner up of the Beef Judging category, and was a member of UNE’s winning team.
Image: Billy Packer (right) was part of UNE's champion team, alongside Elyse Ryan, Anna Johnston and Madalyn Bignell (pictured L-R).
With a love for agriculture sparked by his childhood spent helping out on his family’s farm near Surat, Queensland, Billy’s interest in meat science has quickly developed over the course of his degree. He said he was grateful for the opportunity to be involved in this year’s conference and hone in on his passion.
“Competing at ICMJ was most certainly something very different for me and opened my eyes to a whole other aspect of the beef industry that I may never have been involved with otherwise,” he said.
“I am very proud of the effort the entire team put to achieve the results that we did, and I’m excited to continue learning and pursue a future in agriculture.”
You can view the full results below (UNE students and alumni highlighted in bold):
Retail Cuts and Saleable Items ID
Sponsored by CQUniversity, presented by Professor Michelle Bellingen.
Individual Awards – University
- Runner Up: Lachlan Young, UQ
- Winner: Katja Zapf, UQ
- Individual Awards – Industry
- Runner Up: Madeline Angus, Signature Beef
- Winner: Callan Daley, MEQ Probe
Team Awards
- Runner Up: UQ, Lachlan Greenwood, Nick Loughman, Lachlan Young, Sam Turner, Katja Zapf
- Winner: Signature Beef - Lauren Angus, Madeline Angus, Zanny Ross (UNE alumna), Maddy Wightman
Overall Questions
Sponsored by Rockhampton Regional Council, presented by Cr Ellen Smith.
Individual Awards – University
- Runner Up: Elyse Ryan, UNE
- Winner: Katja Zapf, UQ
- Individual Awards – Industry
- Runner Up: Zanny Ross, Signature Beef
- Winner: Callan Daley, MEQ Probe
Team Awards -
- Runner Up: UNE, Madalyn Bignell, Anna Johnston, Billy Packer, Elyse Ryan
- Winner: Signature Beef - Lauren Angus, Madeline Angus, Zanny Ross, Maddy Wightman
Overall Placings
Sponsored by Beef Australia, presented by Simon Irwin.
Individual Awards – University
- Runner Up: Brianna Meacle, UQ
- Winner: Billy Packer, UNE
Individual Awards – Industry
- Runner Up: Sarah Woolfe, CPC
- Winner: Rebecca Bennett, ACC (UNE alumna)
Team Awards -
- Runner Up: UNE, Madalyn Bignell, Anna Johnston, Billy Packer, Elyse Ryan
- Winner: Marcus Oldham, Gerard Lefebvre, Sam Palmer, Thomas O’Brien, Jack Waters
Commercial Evaluation
Sponsored by JBS, presented by Gerry Trathen.
Individual Awards – University
- Runner Up: Nick Loughman, UQ
- Winner: Lachlan Greenwood, UQ
Individual Awards – Industry
- Runner Up: Matthew Richardson, QDAF
- Winner: Callan Daley, MEQ Probe
Team Awards -
- Runner Up: Signature Beef - Lauren Angus, Madeline Angus, Zanny Ross, Maddy Wightman
- Winner: UQ, Lachlan Greenwood, Nick Loughman, Lachlan Young, Sam Turner Katja Zapf
Beef Judging
Sponsored by Teys Australia, presented by Shane Butler.
Individual Awards – University
- Runner Up: Billy Packer, UNE
- Winner: Gerad Lefebvre, Marcus Oldham
Individual Awards – Industry
- Runner Up: Rebecca Bennett, ACC
- Winner: Zanny Ross, Signature Beef
Team Awards -
- Runner Up: UQ, Lachlan Greenwood, Nick Loughman, Sam Turner,, Katja Zapf
- Winner: UNE - Madalyn Bignell, Anna Johnston, Billy Packer, Elyse Ryan
2022 Northern Champion Meat Judging Individual
Sponsored by NH Foods, presented by Nick Meara
Champion individual
- Runner Up - Katja Zapf, UQ
- Winner - Callan Daley, MEQ Probe
2022 Northern Champion Meat Judging Team
Sponsored by AMPC, presented by Amanda Carter, AMPC.
Champion Team - University
- Runner Up - UNE, Madalyn Bignell, Anna Johnston, Billy Packer, Elyse Ryan
- Winner - UQ, Lachlan Greenwood, Nick Loughman, Sam Turner, Katja Zapf
Champion Team - Industry
- Runner Up - CPC - Chris Coombs, Sarah Woolfe, Calab Begg, Dylan Wall
- Winner - Signature Beef, Lauren Angus, Madeline Angus, Zanny Ross, Maddy Wightman
Most Outstanding industry individual (selected by the Committee)
Sponsored by MLA.
Winner - Jeremy Kinnon, ABBA
