The two Generation Angus teams representing New Zealand at the World Angus Forum young competition in Tamworth in May did very well, says Rockley Stud’s Kath McCallum, who accompanied the nine young people to the event for 10 days.

“Its not easy for them to attend a contest overseas, they were away from home, sleep deprived and up against 12 teams from around the world, but I was so proud of them and they finished in the middle of the field and all learnt so much and grew in different ways.”

Twelve teams came together for 10 days of competition and learning about the business of producing and showing and judging Angus cattle, along with wider skills like public speaking and debating.  Organised by a team including Kiwi Nancy Crawshaw, who works for Angus Australia, the competition allowed for lots of time for networking and making connections and building wider industry knowledge. The young people even had downtime for an overnight bushcamp to bond and form connnections.

Teams attended from UK/Ireland, a team from the USA (who are hosting the 2029 Angus World Forum and youth event), two Canadian teams, one from Uruguay / Argentina, three from the US and the two Kiwi teams, Team Infinity and Team Legacy. Kirsten Devery, who was the Kiwi reserve, was asked to captain the mixed Barbarians team, including two young people from Indonesia who spent six weeks learning English before the competition and were totally new to leading and showing cattle.

Dougal Gibson from Team Legacy was highly commended for the Spirit of Angus award and did very well in the competition, coming 5th in the heifer leading and showing and Team Legacy captain Caitlyn Rhodes came 6th in the heifer leading contest.

“The teams did really well in some modules and they all got a lot out of it and represented New Zealand really well,” Kath said.

She was very impressed with the  support of the World Forum Kiwi participants, in that they made an effort to come along to Tamworth and support the young Kiwis endeavours.

“It was really special that the team were so well supported by New Zealand breeders, and also the fantastic support from Boehringer Ingelheim in helping them get to the event.”

“The young Kiwis have all made wonderful connections with other Angus breeders and young people that will stand them well in their developing careers.”  

• Read more about the experiences of Gen Angus Youth at the World Forum in the upcoming Spring AngusNZ magazine