Four scholarships awarded by the Angus Foundation to the Tocal Beef Cattle Assessment Course

Dzintra Menesis, Marketing Officer – Graphic Design

Angus Youth members will take to the Tocal Beef Cattle Assessment Course again thanks to the Angus Foundation scholarships, with William Crane, Meg Kealey, Hannah Bamford, and Nicola Miller all set to attend the Tocal Beef Cattle Assessment Course in December 2022.

The Tocal Beef Cattle Assessment Course, run by Angus NSW Committee, is widely recognised as the most practical and hands-on beef cattle selection course of its kind in Australia and covers a wide range of topics. Participants will learn about EBVs, structural conformation, and market selection using Bos Taurus and Bos Indicus breeds and their crosses as well as gain valuable skills, information, and networking opportunities throughout the course. "Although each of our scholarship recipients have different levels of experience and backgrounds, they all share the same enthusiasm for learning about cattle assessment and judging through this scholarship opportunity," said Angus Australia Extension Manager Jake Phillips. "Throughout the two-day course, recipients will learn practical skills they can immediately apply to their farming operations." Participants attending the course will gain practical experience and information regarding beef cattle selection, including but not limited to practical knowledge of breeding stock analysis and modern breeding technologies. In addition, the Angus Foundation Scholarship recipients will learn practical cattle assessment and judging skills. The 2022 winners will join Candina Crowden, Charlotte Nugent, Hamish Smith, Kristen Fredericksen and Liam Mowbray who were selected for the Tocal Beef Cattle Assessment Course scholarships in 2021.

William Crane

During his gap year, 19-year-old William Crane worked for Texas Angus. At Texas he has had the opportunity to expand his knowledge of all things Angus and the importance of keeping the land in good condition. William plans to take another year off so that he can experience some of the large-scale cattle farming of Northern Queensland. Like his parents, he plans to study agricultural science when he begins university studies.

Meg Kealey

Born in Walcha NSW and raised in a commercial cattle operation, Meg Kealey has always been involved in the beef industry and feels fortunate to be mentored by great people within the Angus breed. She is entering her final year of high school at TAS in Armidale. After school, she plans to work at the Top End of Australia in large-scale beef production before earning a university degree in the agricultural field. Through the Angus Youth program, she's developed her judging skills and competed in Roundups. She's grateful for this opportunity provided by Angus Australia to expand her knowledge of beef selection across a range of aspects within the industry and looks forward to the Tocal Beef Assessment course as a chance to meet new people and further develop as a young judge.

About the participants:

Hannah Bamford

Hannah entered the agriculture industry only 3 years ago and has not looked back. Previously, Hannah worked for the government on patrol boats, and her first day at an Angus stud was helping put CIDRs in Since then, Hannah has started her own Rural contracting business and spends much of her time working alongside a cattle vet. AI programs are her current primary focus, and at the start of 2022, she sowed 5,500 hectares, calved down 600 head for another farm, and weaned and weighed numerous cattle. Hannah finds working with cattle to be an enriching experience, a passion that she looks forward to broadening for many years to come.

Nicola Miller

Nicola is from Dubbo NSW. At the age of 5, Nicola's parents purchased a small mob of Black Angus cattle. Little did she know that this would be the beginning of her journey within the Australian beef industry. In 2018 she had her first experience with show cattle, and by 2020 she was a member of her school cattle show team. By the time Sydney Royal 2022 came around, Nicola managed to be awarded Reserve Champion Junior Judge, and has since begun her journey in establishing her own Angus stud. As a result of attending the Tocal Beef Cattle Assessment School, Nicola believes she will gain valuable insight into the Australian beef industry, establish valuable connections, and improve her judging skills.