OSU team wins Australian National Meat Judging Contest

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Oklahoma State University Meat Judging Team traveled to the Australia to represent the U.S. in the Australian National Meat Judging Contest.  The contest was somewhat different than contests in the U.S.  It consisted of beef carcass and cuts judging, pork carcass judging (whole carcasses/unsplit), lamb carcasses, written reasons, questions, and retail and primal identification.   Ten teams from Australia competed, along with the national team from Japan, and OSU.

The OSU team flew into Brisbane QLD for a few days of practice on the way to the contest at the University of New England in Armidale NSW and Cargill in Tamworth NSW.  The first few days at the university was a meats conference with presentations about the meat industry in Australia and some practice classes.  Competition began on Friday morning and concluded on Saturday.  

The OSU team won the contest by over 80 points and won The Roy McDonald Shield.  The team also won Beef Judging, Lamb Judging, Placings, and Reasons/Questions.  The team placed second in Pork Judging and third in Retail Identification.  Kelly Manke of Marlow, OK, dominated the contest winning every division except Lamb Judging winning the high individual buckle.  Breanna Winters of Old Washington, OH, was 4th high individual, Brendon Lowe of Chickasha, OK, was 7th high individual, and Kashen Urban of Roosevelt, OK, was 8th high individual. Lacey Vedral of Midlothian, TX, placed 2nd in Beef Judging. Other team members include Jill Fletcher, Paradise, TX, Kacie George, Walworth, WI, and Carrie Highfill, Enid, OK.  Coaches of the team are Dr. Gretchen Hilton and Andrea Garmyn.

The team would like to say a special thank you to BPI and owner Eldon Roth for the generous support and contribution to help fund the OSU teams’ trip.