YOUNG people involved with sheep or wool have until Monday, May 6, to enter this year's National Merino Challenge.
The 2019 National Merino Challenge will be held at Sydney Showgrounds on Saturday and Sunday, May 25 and 26, with participants undertaking seven challenges over two days, testing their knowledge of Merino fleece, production, breeding and selection.
There are two sections of the challenge, one for years 11 and 12 secondary students and one for tertiary students.
Last year teams from WA College of Agriculture Cunderdin, Harvey and Narrogin competed in the challenge held as a part of the Adelaide Royal Agricultural Show.
Murdoch University School of Veterinary and Life Sciences student Madison Carter placed third in the tertiary section which was dominated by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture.
Schools on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia dominated the secondary section.
More than 120 students from five States learned and competed over the two days.
The National Merino Challenge will provide teachers and trainers with materials and techniques to prepare students for the event, as well as providing students with materials they can use to practice for the skills tests.
A compulsory component of the National Merino Challenge is that entrants must attend an industry dinner to meet key industry figures and to learn from them about career opportunities in the sheep and wool industries.
Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) general manager of operations Nigel Gosse said the National Merino Challenge had established itself as a leading education program for students interested in a career in the wool industry.
"During the two-day event, students are introduced to and then assessed on their skills across a wide range of areas such as feed budgeting, condition scoring, breeding objectives, wool harvesting, together with the commercial assessment and classing of animals and fleeces," Mr Gosse said.
"The program has a strong history of success and continues to grow in popularity each year, delivering late-secondary and tertiary students the knowledge and skills involved with producing Merino wool.
"While AWI has developed valuable educational resources and projects for primary and secondary students, transferring best-practice breeding skills and knowledge to future Merino industry participants is an important part of the future of our industry."
To be eligible, students must be active in the Merino industry with skills and experience and be associated with a commercial Merino producer, TAFE teacher, secondary teacher, university lecturer, wool exporter, broker or agent, sheep classer, Merino ram breeder nominated through a State or national stud association or have wool or sheep extension skills.
More information: visit awinmc.com.au
