The University of New England’s expertise in meat science has once again been put in the spotlight, with students taking home a plethora of awards at the 2022 Intercollegiate Meat Judging Association (ICMJ) National Competition in Wagga Wagga over the weekend.
UNE’s team, consisting of current students Madalyn Bignell, Jack Jansen, Anna Johnston and George Simiana, took out Overall Champion Team in the Overall Questions and Eating Quality Evaluation categories, and was named Reserve Champion Team in the Pork Judging category. Meanwhile, Bachelor of Agriculture student, Madalyn Bignell, was named Individual Runner Up in the Pork Judging and Overall Questions categories.
In addition to these impressive results, six UNE students were among the top 15 placegetters overall.
UNE Associate Professor in Meat Science and ICMJ President, Dr Peter McGilchrist, says the talent on display at this year’s event was off the charts.
“The attention to detail of the students was very impressive,” he says.
“They were totally focused on determining the value of the carcasses and primals by weighing up yield and quality attributes.Talent and enthusiasm of the students for the red meat industry was spread right across all the universities which is reflected in the spread of competition results.”
The competition is part of a larger five-day conference which includes seminars, Q&A panels, interactive workshops, a careers expo, social events and the 2022 National Meat Judging Contest held at Teys Australia.
Dr McGilchrist says the annual conference provides students with a hands-on look into the challenges and opportunities across the industry.
Image: Two UNE students judging carcasses during the competition.
“15 of our students attended the conference, and during the week, the UNE team were fortunate enough to be given a tour of meat processing company, Teys Australia, as well as Gundagai Meat Processors, where multiple of our Rural Science graduates now work,” he said.
“Opportunities to look inside the inner workings of the industry is important, as it helps to expand students’ knowledge around the facets of the value chain that impact production and meat quality, while exposing them to the exciting range of career prospects on offer.”
While the week in Wagga Wagga might be over, four UNE students have been selected to attend an Industry Development week later this year, which will see them further their skills in the field.
From there, a team of five will be selected to represent Australia in an international meat judging competition in the US in January.
These results follow an impressive performance from UNE at the ICMJ Northern Competition earlier this year. Read more about it here.
2022 ICMJ National Competition full results
(UNE winners in bold)
Overall Championship – Individual
John Carter Founders Buckle
Sponsored by AMPC Australia and presented by ICMJ Australia founder, John Carter.
- Individual Overall Runner Up: Cole Petit, West Texas
- Individual Overall Champion: Katja Zapf, University of Queensland
Overall Championship – Team
Roy McDonald Shield
Sponsored by Meat & Livestock Australia and presented by MLA’s Mel Smith.
- Overall Team Runner Up: University of Queensland - Lawton Elliot, Nick Loughan, Samuel Turner, Katja Zapf
- Overall Team Champion: West Texas A&M - Caleb Baker, Jacob McMillan, Carter Mortensen, Cole Petit. (Coached by Loni Lucherk)
Tom Carr Award for Coaching Excellence
- Will Sylvester, Marcus Oldham College. Presented by Demi Lollback from ICMJ
Finalists Selected for Industry Development Week.
- Lawton Elliott, UQ
- Rachel Franklin, USYD
- Jack Jansen, UNE
- Anna Johnston, UNE
- Callum Melton, UNE
- Austin Smith, Murdoch
- Harriet Taylor, Marcus
- Samuel Turner UQ
- Jasmine Wholton, CSU
- Katja Zapf, UQ
Coaches XI selected for Industry Development Week.
- Li Li Diu, Uni Adelaide
- Meg Kennett, Marcus Oldham
- Jillian Burgess, USYD
- Lachlan Young, UQ
- Kaitlyn Adesson, Murdoch
- Chloe Sansom, UMEL
- Jasmin Campbell Brown, CSU
- James Palmer, LaTrobe
- Connie Blake, UNE
Pork Judging
Sponsored by Australian Pork Limited and presented by Rachel Bryant.
Carcases for the competition were sponsored by Rivalea Australia
- Individual Runner Up: Maddie Bignell, UNE
- Individual Champion: Cole Petit, West Texas A&M
- Team Runner Up: University of New England – Maddie Bignell, Jack Jansen, Anna Johnston, George Simiana.
- Team Champion: West Texas A&M - Caleb Baker, Jacob McMillan, Carter Mortensen, Cole Petit
Lamb Judging
Sponsored by Fletcher International Exports and presented by Gab Ryan.
Lamb carcases for the competition were sponsored by Coles.
- Individual Runner Up: Cole Petit, West Texas A&M
- Individual Champion: Austin Smith, Murdoch
- Team Runner Up: West Texas A&M - Caleb Baker, Jacob McMillan, Carter Mortensen, Cole Petit
- Team Champion: Charles Sturt University - Sophie Hanna, Olivia Henzen, Angus Pilmore, Jasmine Wholton.
Retail Cut and Saleable Item Identification
Sponsored by Coles and presented by Georgia Eastwood.
- Individual Runner Up: Nick Loughlan, UQ
- Individual Champion: Katja Zapf, UQ
- Team Runner Up: West Texas A&M - Caleb Baker, Jacob McMillan, Carter Mortensen, Cole Petit,
- Team Champion: University of Queensland - Lawton Elliot, Nick Loughan, Samuel Turner, Katja Zapf
Eating Quality Evaluation
Sponsored by NH Foods Australia, presented by Maria Thompson, Agstar Projects
- Individual Runner Up: Harriet Taylor, Marcus Oldham
- Individual Champion: Jasmine Wholton, CSU
- Team Runner Up: University of Sydney - Rachel Franklin, Jessica Hua, Ryan McCluskey, Alice Shirley.
- Team Champion: University of New England - Maddie Bignell, Jack Jansen, Anna Johnston, George Simiana.
Beef Judging
Sponsored by Teys Australia and presented by Stephen Thomson.
- Individual Runner Up: Sophie Angus, USYD
- Individual Champion: Lawton Elliot, UQ
- Team Runner Up: West Texas A&M - Caleb Baker, Jacob McMillan, Carter Mortensen, Cole Petit
- Team Champion: University of Queensland - Lawton Elliot, Nick Loughan, Samuel Turner, Katja Zapf.
Overall Placings
Sponsored by Kilcoy Global Foods and presented by Jemma Harper at AMPC
- Individual Overall Runner Up: Caleb Baker, West Texas
- Individual Overall Champion: Katja Zapf, UQ
- Overall Team Runner Up: University of Queensland - Lawton Elliot, Nick Loughan, Samuel Turner, Katja Zapf.
- Overall Team Champion: West Texas A&M - Caleb Baker, Jacob McMillan, Carter Mortensen, Cole Petit.
Overall Questions
Sponsored by Australian Agricultural Company and presented by Laura Garland from MLA.
- Individual Overall Runner Up: Maddie Bignell, UNE
- Individual Overall Champion: Lawton Elliott, UQ
- Overall Team Runner Up: West Texas A&M - Caleb Baker, Jacob McMillan, Carter Mortensen, Cole Petit.
- Overall Team Champion: University of New England - Maddie Bignell, Jack Jansen, Anna Johnston,
George Simiana
Beef Pricings
Sponsored by JBS and presented by Aaron Graham.
- Individual Overall Runner Up: Cole Petit, West Texas
- Individual Overall Champion: Katja Zapf, UQ
- Overall Team Runner Up: University of Queensland - Lawton Elliot, Nick Loughan, Samuel Turner, Katja Zapf.
- Overall Team Champion: University of Sydney - Rachel Franklin, Jessica Hua, Ryan McCluskey, Alice Shirley.
