The National ICMJ Conference Wagga 2023

Written by James White

From Sunday 2 to Saturday 8 of July, the Charles Sturt Meat Judging Team were at it again spending the last week of the university holidays diving into the Australian red meat industry.

The week consisted of meeting with producers, processors, industry leaders, executives, and fellow future industry professionals from most agricultural universities throughout Australia.

This was followed by the final competition, involving 3 hours freezing our butts off in the chillers at Teys Abattoir, as competitors from around the nation battled it out for a position in the top 15 to contend for the prestigious international tour in the United Sates.

Starting the week off strong

On Sunday at 9am, the team met on campus and travelled to one of our sponsors, Holbrook Veterinary Clinic.

Here, Dr Shane Thompson led us around HVC’s farm where they facilitate  breeding programs using Artificial Insemination, Embryo Transfer, and In Vitro Fertilisation for both local and interstate clients in the beef industry.

We had the chance to view sperm and embryos under a microscope, discuss Estimated Breeding Values and gain an appreciation for the technical side of genetic advancement.

Sunday evening was then spent back in the meat labs on Wagga Charles Sturt campus breaking down pork, lamb and part of a beef carcase into saleable items.

Our committee members Lauren McIlveen and Gab Goldsworthy amazingly managed to chase up the lamb and beef last minute, with the deal being we had to package them in to cryovac bags to send back.

Hence, this initiated a fun and late first night working to package this meat as a team.

Teys Abattoir

The next morning, we were all at Teys Abattoir by 6am for our last training session on beef carcass and primal evaluation.

Our team would like to thank Emily McLean for her dedication during our many educational visits and enthusiastic guidance through the processing plant.

We then left the chillers as the sun got out of bed and hit the road for Trigger vale poll merino stud in Lockhart. Here, Andrew Bouffler and family showed us  around his property, his rams and discussed breeding objectives.

Andrew is pushing the boundaries with his merino breed, delivering high lambing percentages, greater carcass yield, intramuscular fat and improving parasite resistance, all whilst maintaining a fine wool cut of 20 microns.

We then whizzed down to Holbrook on the minibus to visit another of our sponsors Rennylea Angus, where we were greeted by Ruth Corrigan and family. Rennylea seedstock business have a strong focus on data driven decision making.

We gained insight  into producing versatile cattle for commercial producers, in which emphasis is placed on traits conferring improved profitability and bull longevity. 

The Next Day

On Tuesday morning, we headed to Gundagai to visit lamb processor GMP.

Here, Jake Bourlet and Claire Marriot provided us with a tour of the processing facility and the opportunity to practise some lamb judging in the chillers. This was also integrated with a discussion on eating quality and GMP’s ability to offer significantly higher prices for lamb in comparison with other producers if quality specifications are met.

The assessment of meat quality is largely measured by laser technology developed by MEQ probe, which measures intramuscular fat in the loin of the carcase.

In the evening, the Charles Sturt team headed into the RSL for the meet and greet dinner. From this night onwards, all participants of the ICMJ competition were provided a delicious and meaty dinner which was sponsored by different organisations each night.

It was on these evenings at the RSL that we had the chance to meet participants from many universities including:

• UNE Armidale
• Sydney Uni
• University of Queensland
• Murdoch Uni, WA
• University of Adelaide
• University of Wyoming, USA

There were also many young competitors from industry representing their respective companies, typically as part of a graduate program.

Comp Day #1

On Friday morning at Joyces Hall on Charles Sturt Wagga Campus, we were able to talk personally with many of these leaders during the career expo which showcased 40+ businesses.

This was followed by some personal development and job readiness workshops provided by Rimfire Resources. After lunch, representatives of Lambpro and Fletcher International Exports provided some samples of lamb to evaluate quality under different IMF percentages.

Friday afternoon consisted of the first half of the judging competition for lamb, pork and associated retails cuts at the meat science facility on campus.

The 2023 ICMJ was also the first cohort ever to assess IMF as a quality trait in lamb, with a split carcass at the ribeye. This is due to new tech such as the MEQ probe providing the capacity for processors to pay producers according to quality rather than strictly yield.

Comp Day #2

With Saturday being the big competition day for beef carcase and primal evaluation, the team arrived at Teys by 6:45am to prep.

By 7:30am, over 120 students entered the chillers to place and answer 10 questions from each of the 9 classes. We were given 15 minutes to take notes and make our assessment before being given the questions.

We then had to answer these with our backs to the class and without notes. This took quite the concentration whilst working inside a room the temperature of your fridge!

Results were announced after lunch, with Angus Bartter, Stephanie Lezaich and Monique McKinley making the cut onto the top 15!

The final hurrah

The event was concluded once again at the RSL in one massive night of presentations, more networking and of course, hitting the dancefloor.

There was much to celebrate with our Charles Sturt team placing runner up for retail cuts and saleable ID, as well as commercial evaluation.

Additionally, Angus Bartter received runner up in pork and lamb judging, 5^th for retail ID and 4^th for individual overall questions. Bonnie Mitchell received the overall individual winner for lamb judging. Alana Plowright was also awarded the coaches pick, taking her to Brisbane on a sponsored industry tour alongside Angus and Stephanie who were selected into the top 10.

We wish Angus and Stephanie all the best in being selected for the top 5 after the Brisbane trip, which will make them eligible for the US industry tour in January 2024.

A huge thanks to the ICMJ committee, the Charles Sturt ICMJ committee, our coaches Jasmine Wholton and Lauren McIlveen, and of course all our generous sponsors. Be sure to check them all out on our Facebook page CSU ICMJ.

Stay tuned for our future activities and the chance to become involved with next year’s competition!

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