2019 National Merino Challenge shepherds in next generation
161 students from around the country have enjoyed a weekend of wool industry education, demonstrations, presentations and a series of mini challenges at the 2019 National Merino Challenge.
Celebrating its seventh year, the National Merino Challenge provided young people with an understanding of the career opportunities within the sheep and wool industries and delivered practical instruction on the basic skills of appraisal using both traditional and modern methods.
AWI’s General Manager of Operations Nigel Gosse said throughout the two-day event, students were introduced to and then assessed on their skills across a wide range of areas including feed budgeting, condition scoring, breeding objectives, wool harvesting together with the commercial assessment and classing of animals and fleeces.
"While AWI has developed valuable educational resources and projects for secondary and tertiary students, transferring best practice breeding skills and knowledge to future Merino industry participants is an important part of the future of our industry,” Mr Gosse highlighted.
“It was great to see the National Merino Challenge giving young people an understanding of the career opportunities within the sheep and wool industries and deliver basic skills of appraisal using both traditional and modern methods.
“The competition was strong, and it was encouraging to see the energy and enthusiasm of the students as they developed their knowledge and learnt new skills.”
2019 Tertiary Winners |
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| Positions | Name | School |
| Overall Champion | Pat Crawley | Charles Sturt University |
| Overall Second Place | Mitch Rubie | Charles Sturt University |
| Overall Third Place | Matthew McCauley | University of New England |
| Minor Wool Winner | Matthew McCauley | University of New England |
| Minor Production Winner | Florance McGufficke | University of New England |
| Minor Breeding Winner | Pat Crawley | Charles Sturt University |
2019 Secondary Winners |
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| Positions | Name | School |
| Overall Champion | Megan Seis | Calrossy Anglican School |
| Overall Second Place | George Gray | Launceston Church Grammar School |
| Overall Third Place | Jed Murnane | Cummins Area School |
| Minor Wool Winner | Jed Murnane | Cummins Area School |
| Minor Production Winner | Megan Seis | Calrossy Anglican School |
| Minor Breeding Winner | Jed Murnane | Cummins Area School |
2019 Tertiary Team |
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| Charles Sturt University | |
| Pat Crawley | Charles Sturt University |
| Mitch Rubie | Charles Sturt University |
| Kayla Kopp | Charles Sturt University |
| Karissa de Belle | Charles Sturt University |
2019 Secondary Team |
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| Flinders Christian Community College | |
| Erin Douglas | Flinders Christian Community College |
| Cassie Goding | Flinders Christian Community College |
| Caitlin Morgan | Flinders Christian Community College |
| Kasey Shields | Flinders Christian Community College |
AWI would like to thank its 2019 National Merino Challenge partners Stud Merino Breeders Association, Department of Primary Industry NSW, Australian WoolNetwork, Fox and Lillie Rural, The Australian Association of Stud Merino Breeders (AASMB), TechWool.
