• More than 130 students and their coaches will attend the 30^th Intercollegiate Meat Judging conference and competition in Wagga
• Students from University of Tasmania will attend for the first time
• The competition will run from Tuesday until Saturday

Students will gain valuable industry experience when they put their skills to the test in the 30^th Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) conference and competition in Wagga.

Charles Sturt University will host 130 students from 12 Australian universities, including the University of Tasmania for the first time, and four international universities from America, Japan, Indonesia and Pakistan.

ICMJ president Peter McGilchrist said the conference assists to develop young future professionals from a pool of agriculture and veterinary students to network, learn, showcase and communicate with others at the same level.

Mr McGilchrist said being able to celebrate the event’s 30^th year was a testament to the volunteer committee and industry professionals.

“Original alumni are getting quite influential in companies so it’s getting a strong feedback loop,” Mr McGilchrist said.

“It’s been heralded as one of the most successful capacity and capability building programs in the industry.

“It highlights the different requirements that are needed in the red meat industry.”

The four-day conference and competition starts on Tuesday night with an introductory dinner followed by industry-focussed guest speakers on Wednesday and Thursday.

A careers expo with a record number of 44 companies will be held Friday morning before meat judging begins on Friday afternoon with small stock.

Judging will continue on Saturday morning with beef at Teys.

Workshops and conferences will be held on the Wagga Charles Sturt University campus while Teys have also partnered with the event and offered the use of the abattoir for the last day of judging.

Students will use skills they have learned in their studies and during the conference to assess the quality and yield of the product, meat colour, fat cover and muscling.

The top 10, who will go to Brisbane for a training and development week, will be announced at a dinner on Saturday night.