• Students at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga selected to take part in Angus Australia’s Sire Benchmarking Program

Two Charles Sturt University students have been selected as part of an internship program to assist Angus Australia with research.

Ms Georgia Smith in the Charles Sturt School of Agricultural and Wines Sciences and Ms Ginger Soames in the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences will become part of the internship program, an initiative with Angus Australia and the University, which provides cattle for the Angus Sire Benchmarking Program.

The 14-month program will involve cutting-edge research with the aim to maintain and grow the comprehensive phenotype and genotype reference population on contemporary Australian Angus animals for enhanced genetic evaluation, research and innovative development.

The interns assisted with artificial insemination of cattle in the Charles Sturt Angus herd in late October 2020, will complete a placement at Angus Australia and assist to monitor calving in August and September 2021 at the University.

Charles Sturt Farm Manager Mr James Stephens said the partnership, which is in its fourth year, gives students a chance to learn from industry experts in a real-world setting.

“The internship program has provided a great opportunity for many students to get hands-on with the farm commitments associated with the benchmarking program, but more importantly, it has exposed them to a range of highly-respected beef industry experts in a range of fields,” he said.

“This has led to honours projects and industry relationships that will help kick-start their beef career while studying their undergraduate degree.

“It has been great to watch these students gain skills and self-confidence throughout the year while helping on the program and I hope that this can continue to give more students this experience in the future.”

Ms Smith is a second-year Bachelor of Agricultural Science student from Orangeville, NSW, studying in Wagga Wagga.

She applied for the internship to gain experience and network with industry professionals in the beef cattle industry.

“It is an honour to be selected to take part in such an amazing internship program,” she said.

“I hope to take the knowledge and skills that I gain and use them to help further the skills I will develop while studying at university in my future career.”

Ms Soames is from the Hunter Valley and is currently studying a Bachelor of Veterinary Technology in Wagga Wagga.

She is hoping to develop her understanding of the genetic technologies used by Angus producers and take it back to her family’s commercial beef farm.

“The Angus Australia internship will enable me to expand my knowledge in the cattle industry and learn about what is involved in running a successful Angus beef stud,” she said.

“The opportunity to work alongside some very knowledgeable people in the industry is something I am very grateful for as this will allow me to learn as much as I can and apply my new skills in practice.”