WESTERN Australian Sam Cox has claimed top spot in the Agricultural Shows Australia (ASA) young dairy cattle judging championship at this year's Sydney Royal Easter Show.
Agricultural Shows Australia (ASA) staged the national championships of young judges and paraders competitions, with finalists from each State joined by New Zealand competitors.
Ms Cox, 16, grew up and still lives on a small farm at Stratham with a few cows.
"It wasn't until I was about nine that I started helping out at a friend's dairy in the calf shed," Ms Cox said.
"From there I became interested in the dairy industry as a whole and began showing cattle at the local shows."
Runner up for 2022 was William Dudfield, 19 from Somerset, Tasmania and third was Jerry English, 20 from Malanda, Queensland.
This year the Sydney Royal Easter Show celebrated its bicentenary and also hosted the 2021 finalists who were unable to compete at Ekka (the annual agricultural show of Queensland) due to COVID-19 cancellations last year.
Zoe Hayes, 22 from Gingarre, Victoria, was the winner of the 2021 young dairy cattle judging championship.
"Entering the dairy judging competition was something I always wanted to do when growing up, however it's something that takes a lot of confidence," Ms Hayes said.
"My dad is someone I grew up watching as he travelled to New Zealand and England where he was invited to judge.
"Being around my dad Tony Hayes and nan Gloria Hayes seeing and listening to their passion for breeding and looking at good cows is something that I have also developed a passion for, and why we show cows as a family today."
While there are characteristics about an animal to look for, the competitors are also judged on how they express and validate their decision as well as their own presentation.
The championships are held at a different location each year and the national judges and paraders competition combines the best young judges and paraders, aged from 15-25, from each State to compete.
There are nine categories for judging and parading each year under the ASA national competition program - beef cattle, dairy cattle, alpaca, poultry, Merino sheep, meat breed sheep and Merino fleece judging, as well as parading competitions in beef and dairy cattle.
ASA is the peak pody that oversees 572 agricultural shows in Australia, attracting six million visitors annually and contributing almost $1 billion to the national economy.
ASA chairman Rob Wilson said the competition, designed to recognise the best new talent in livestock judging, was an extremely prestigious event with positions at the nationals keenly contested.
"These young people are the future of agricultural show competitions which are crucial to the continual improvement of Australia's food and fibre," Mr Wilson said.
"The national competition is a coveted opportunity to grow personally and professionally by practising skills against the cream of the crop."
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