I’ve only been in Australia for 4 days now but what a
whirlwind it has been! I started my travels on the 6th and arrived on the
morning of 8th and I’m sure everyone there could tell I was Canadian because
for the flights I had donned a Canucks T-shirt, Lululemon leggings, and
Manitoba mukluk moccasin flats. When I finally arrived in Rockhampton (the beef
capital of Australia) my friend from the World Angus Forum last year, Chloe
Gould, picked me up and we went straight to the show grounds.
Tuesday consisted of meeting people around the barns and
touring the grounds. Being that Rockhampton is farther north in the country the
number of Bos Indicus breeds vastly outnumbered the number of Bos Taurus breeds
however, there was still a good representation of Angus cattle. In Australia
the Red and Black Associations are separate but interestingly enough the
Brangus breed recognizes reds and blacks together. This was my first time seeing
breeds like the Brahman, Brangus, and Droughtmaster among others and they have
a number of impressive outfits at this show.
Wednesday was an early morning as I helped Chloe and her
crew get their 14 head ready for the day. After the cattle were washed, fed,
and watered I headed to the show rings to watch the Brangus show. I was
fortunate enough to have a great view of the show from the comfort of the
international lounge in the shade and air conditioning as the weather was a
humid 29 degrees. It was evident that the Angus influence added improved
muscle, shape, and maternal characteristics to the cattle while also being more
heat tolerant because of the Brahman influence. After this I watched the Red
Angus show which was small in numbers but the quality wasn’t compromised.
Thursday was a very early morning as it was Angus show
morning. We were at the barns by 1 am to start washing the cattle and from
there the day sped on. I wasn’t able to watch the entire show as I was fitting
but from seeing the cattle in the barns there was a competitive and impressive
line-up. The farm did quite well and won several titles including Grand
Champion Female with their two year old pair. Promptly following the end of the
show we had to gear up for the Interbreed Supreme Championship in the late
afternoon. I had the honour of showing the calf on the pair during the Supreme
show and we made the top 10, but a Charolais two year old pair won the Supreme
Female title. This was truly a once in a lifetime experience. Showing in a Supreme competition overseas
isn’t something I had even thought of prior to this.
Today, because the cattle shows are over, I had a chance
to tour through the penned show cattle and visit some of the booths around the
grounds. I met some wonderful people with Angus Australia and saw some cutting
edge technologies for autonomous handling being developed by the University of
Sydney, among numerous other exhibits.
I will be staying in Rockhampton area until the 13th and
then I will travel down to Sydney area for some farm tours and a few days of
tourist things until the 25th when I return home. The heat has taken some
getting used to but besides that I have been having the most amazing time here.
Everyone’s so hospitable and welcoming -
it has been outstanding and I’m looking forward to the rest of my trip!
Regards,
Macy Liebreich
Junior Ambassador
 |
| Macy Leibreich, Junior Ambassador |
