Comparing notes during an ICMJ conference break were Melbourne University team members Matt Dunstan and Mitchell Priestly, left, with Texas Tech University team members Abram Chaparro and Grant Kitten. Click on images for a larger view.

AGRICULTURAL students from universities and colleges across Australia and overseas have converged on the Charles Sturt University campus at Wagga Wagga in New South Wales this week for the 30th annual Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging Association conference, workshop and competition.

The 30th anniversary celebration is also the biggest ICMJ event to be held in Australia, attacting 150 students and 38 coaches from 12 agricultural learning institutions in Australia and four from overseas including the US, Japan and Indonesia. A team of observers from Lahore is also attending this week’s event with the view to launching a similar initiave in Pakistan.

This year, a new team from the University of Tasmania is competing for the first time, while an associated careers expo year has also attracted 40 companies from throughout the supply chain.

The ICMJ is considered one of the red meat industry’s most successful capability-building programs.

The initiative was  established in Australia after NSW Southern Tablelands beef producer, John Carter, saw the enormous contribution the program made to the US industry while on his 1983 Churchill Fellowship in meat marketing.

When he became chairman of the NSW Meat Industry Authority, Mr Carter gathered support to establish the program in Australia. As the inaugural Australian ICMJ president, Mr Carter said he was proud of what the program had achieved.

The program now boasts more than 2500 alumni, including current ICMJ president and UNE Meat Science senior lecturer, Dr Peter McGilchrist.

Reinforcing the signifiant impact the ICMJ initiative has had on the Australian red meat industry, most of the industry leaders addressing this week’s ICMJ conference are all former ICMJ graduates.

A celebration for ICMJ Alumni is being held at 9am this Saturday, 13 July, commencing with a brunch at the Uneke Warehouse in Wagga Wagga, followed by the option to participate in an Alumni Meat Judging competition at Teys Australia and the 30th Anniversary ICMJ Awards Dinner at the Rules Club.

Australian ICMJ national team coach Sarah Stewart, Australian ICMJ Association president Peter McGilchrist, Dr Dave Pathick from Murdoch University and Will Barton from Gundagai Meat Processors.

Jake Bourlet and Kate Webster from Charles Sturt University.

Part of the 190-strong audience of young tertiary students from across Australia and overseas attending the ICMJ conference in Wagga this morning

Hannah Cummins, Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture and Tayla Smith, University of Adelaide.

Guest speakers at this morning’s ICMJ conference in Wagga Wagga included MLA’s Tim Ryan and Jason Strong, LambPro’s Tom Bull, AMPC’s Amanda Carter, Australian Pork Limited’s Rachael Bryant and Gundagai Meat Processors’ Will Barton.

Rebecca Pulsford, UQ; Tommy Fletcher, Texas Tech, United States and US student Mia Doering from Moree in NSW.

Visiting from Lahore in Pakistan were M. Salman Khalid and Zahid Iqbal.

Murdoch University’s Dr Dave Pethick

Australian ICMJ team coach Nick Van Den Berg with Murdoch University team member Claudia Neilsen

Guest speaker Tim Ryan from MLA, left, with international contestant Cole Perkins from Texas Tech University and Emmy Bechtold, University of New England NSW

• More conference and meat judging reports from ICMJ in coming days