Scholar winner finds inspiration at Northern ICMJ Conference
Article: Abigail Johnston
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of being selected as the recipient of the Brangus Australia Youth scholarship to attend the ICMJ Northern Conference in Rockhampton. The annual event is an initiative of the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging Association that aims to educate attendees about northern beef production and provide networking opportunities. I am currently studying a Bachelor of Agriculture at CQUniversity, and saw the event as an invaluable learning opportunity.
While I was initially hesitant about my lack of meat judging experience, these concerns quickly dissipated once I arrived. The meat judging competition was only one part of the four-day event, with the first three days consisting of a wide range of educational sessions and self-development workshops. These included industry speakers, leadership workshops, and talks on topics such as career progression and land ownership.
On the third day, we followed a rotation of meat judging “crash-courses” and practice classes to prepare for the competition. The meat judging competition involved identification of retail cuts and saleable items, beef pricings and eating quality calculations, and placing and questions for two carcass classes and two primal classes. This took place on the final day and was followed by a gala dinner and awards presentation.
During his talk, Dr John Langbridge, General Manager of Industry Affairs at Teys emphasised the importance of providing producers with accurate feedback data that can be used to improve carcass quality. He explained that the variation in quality within each line of cattle from a single producer is one of the major limits on profitability. While it costs the same to process a low-quality animal as a high-quality animal, there is a significant difference in the end value.
Dr Langbridge pointed out that there needs to be a focus on selectively breeding animals that provide the maximum opportunity for creating value throughout the supply chain. We also considered the challenges which correlated traits pose in selective breeding. These correlations may be positive, as in the case of rib fat and marbling, or negative, as in the case of carcass yield and quality. Peter McGilchrist, Associate Professor of Meat Science at UNE and National ICMJ President, emphasised the need to separate individual traits in order to apply the desired selection pressure.
Adam Coffey, director of the national peak body Cattle Australia, gave a very interesting talk on the environmental responsibility of the Australian red meat sector, particularly in relation to methane emissions. He suggested that the short-term cyclical nature of beef emissions is not currently recognised in considerations of the industry’s environmental impact. He also discussed opportunities in the area of soil carbon sequestration. I have been privileged to have further discussions with him on these topics, and I anticipate seeing research in this area in the future.
This highlighted to me that while we can estimate these traits in live cattle, there is always some uncertainty associated with such visual appraisal.
Another major highlight was the introduction of a’ hoof and hook’ class to the competition. This involved judging a class of live heifers during sessions at CQLX on Thursday, and then judging their carcasses during the competition in the chillers at Teys. It was very interesting to see the actual muscling and fat cover of the carcasses, then compare this with notes of observations from the live class.
This highlighted to me that while we can estimate these traits in live cattle, there is always some uncertainty associated with such visual appraisal.While at CQLX, there was also an informative session on the role of seedstock in the supply chain. We were presented with four yearling bulls and asked to decide which had the best growth, fertility, and carcass quality. This led into a discussion on the benefit of EBVs as a way to create a short-list of bulls, allowing buyers to spend more time assessing the structure and temperament of those with the genetic potential most suited to their requirements.
I cannot recommend highly enough the experience of attending the ICMJ Northern Conference to anyone interested in any area of the northern beef industry. It was a great learning experience, and I was able to build on the content of my study.
I also enjoyed the opportunity to meet so many like-minded people and make useful connections within the beef industry. I would like to thank Brangus Australia for this incredible opportunity, as well as everyone else involved in making it possible.
