University of Queensland student Katja Zapf was crowned overall individual meat judging champion at the 2022 ICMJ National Competition held in Wagga Wagga last week.

Katja finished five points ahead of Cole Petit from West Texas A&M University, with a total score of 1087 out of 1247.

Overall champion team was West Texas A&M University, with University of Queensland earning the runners-up honours, just 49 points behind.

ICMJ President Dr Peter McGilchrist said this year’s competition was fierce, despite a two-year gap since the last event due to COVID.

“The attention to detail of the students was very impressive. They were totally focused on determining the value of the carcases and primals by weighing-up yield and quality attributes,” he said.

“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 this year’s competition results.”

Dr McGilchrist said it was encouraging to see the collegiality between teams and competitors throughout the week. The top 17 placegetters at the Wagga Wagga competition were whittled down to a top ten after a round of interviews.

“There has never been a more impressive group of students coming through,” Dr McGilchrist said.

Those 10 students, along with nine others selected for the Coaches XI, will attend the ICMJ Industry and Development Week later this year.

The coaches XI are selected for their leadership skills and dedication and their potential to have a positive impact on the red meat industry. From there, a team of five will be selected to represent Australia in an international meat judging competition in the US in January.

Finalists Selected for Industry Development Week included: 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’ selections for Industry Development Week included: 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.

The ICMJ National Conference is an annual event for university students and recent graduates from around the world. The program includes seminars, Q&A panels, interactive workshops, a careers expo, social events and the 2022 National Meat Judging Contest held at Teys Australia.

ICMJ activities are supported by foundation partners MLA and the Australian Meat Processor Corporation.

It is also supported by conference partners including Teys Australia, Coles, Australian Pork Limited, NH Foods, Kilcoy Global Foods, AACo, Fletcher International Exports, Grad Link, JBS, Herefords Australia, Fulton Market Group, AMIST Super, Angus Australia and Allflex.

 ICMJ 2022 National Competition results:

Overall Championship – Individual

Individual Overall Runner Up: Cole Petit, West Texas

Individual Overall Champion: Katja Zapf, University of Queensland

Overall Championship – Team

Runner Up: University of Queensland – Lawton Elliot, Nick Loughan, Samuel Turner, Katja Zapf

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.

Beef Judging

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.

Pork Judging

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.