My Royal Showgirl Experience

Attending the Sydney Royal Easter Show as a State Finalist in The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl Competition would have to be one of the best and most memorable times of my life. I always had always aspired to be a part of the Royal Show as a showgirl and in 2010 I did just that. The year prior to that, I won the local showgirl competition at the Kempsey Show. The following year, in my first year at university I was a Zone Showgirl finalist at Gloucester. I was very excited as I prepared for the State Finals at the Sydney Royal Show.

The competition involved many aspects, including public speaking skills, personality and rural knowledge-anywhere from a local to a national and international level, after all, the aim of the competition being to find a rural female ambassador for NSW. There were many functions that we attended where we were able to meet many distinguished people who were involved in agriculture or involved with the Sydney Royal Show.

Overall, I had some fantastic experiences. However, one of the highlights for me was visiting the Westmead Children's Hospital to deliver showbags to the many children that weren't able to make it the Easter Show. This is where a fellow showgirl and myself were about to be shown how precious life and good health really was. We were in the oncology ward and were handing out showbags left right and centre, putting smiles on the children's dials. It was upon meeting a young boy, no more than three years old I'd say, that we felt so moved. We had a selection of showbags for the little boy to choose from who was suffering Leukaemia at the time. He got so excited he grabbed the Ben10 showbag off us and begged his mother to put his new Ben10 watch on his little wrist. His mum did so and then proceeded to ask him what the time was. "37.8" he said. For a moment there I was stunned wondering how this young child knew about decimals. It wasn't until a little while later that his mother explained to us that he has his temperature taken everyday and watches the nurse look at her watch and read out his temperature. This made me feel saddened that this disease was part of this little boy's life but in other respects made me so happy that I was able to bring a small bit of excitement to some very ill children. I think the showgirl visit to the hospital is very symbolic of the compassion and selflessness that is displayed by everyday people in rural Australia in times when support is needed.

There was so much fun had in the week that I spent with my fellow showgirl finalists at the show. We went to The Land at Camden and saw how the newspaper is produced. We also learnt about the history of agriculture in Camden as well as visited the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute which was very interesting. There were many functions at the show that allowed us the opportunity to meet some very well respected people.

The showgirls had the opportunity to go behind the scenes of the district exhibits. The work that goes into these exhibits is incredible!

I would strongly recommend this competition for young women that are passionate about agriculture. It really motivates you and inspires you to work hard to better the industry of which there are so many people that are so proud of it! I know I had the best experience and I want more young women to be able to share the same experience that I had.

Meat Science: looking at marbling in hot-boned beef carcasses.

For the past 12 months as part of my final year of rural science I have been working on an honours project in meat science. Since I have been wrapping it up in the last little while I thought I would share it with you!

At the moment there is industry interest in determining the financial benefits of hot meat processing (hot-boning) as opposed to the more conventional methods used in Australia (cold-boning).

Hot-boning is gaining interest because of potential environmental and economical benefits. Hot-boning involves the removal of meat (muscles) from the carcass prior to chilling. The advantages in this is that the only parts of the carcass that are chilled are those that are edible. This reduces the space needed for chilling and means that the space can be used more efficiently. This then has flow on effects for the reduction of energy consumption and associated costs. There is also less weight loss with hot-boning as meat is packaged before chilling as opposed to cold-boning where carcasses are subject to evaporative losses through chilling.

Currently, cold-boning plants utilise trained meat graders to visually assess marbling (intramuscular fat), which is a standard practice. This is a problem in a hot-boning scenario because the fat is not in its solid state and cannot be seen with the naked eye as easily. So.... there has been investigation in my experiment into the use of CT scanning to assess marbling. This idea raised the questions though, can the CT scanner accurately detect the marbling in the meat at different temperatures and is there a solid relationship between MSA Grading (visual assessment), chemical fat analysis and CT analysis?

Whilst the visual grading method is used for chilled carcasses, it is a subjective measurement. This experiment looks at using technology such as CT analysis as an objective measurement of marbling in a hot processing plant situation.

Whilst the results are at a preliminary stage, I am very excited that I will have contributed to an industry project!

In a nutshell, these photos explain what my project was all about. Check them out!

Many hours were spent in the chiller doing temperature trials- best place to be in summer!

Ever had a CT scan? This is the same scanner used for humans!

Certified Australian Angus Beef was used in my experiment!  All I wanted to do was eat it!

This is just one of the thousands of scans that were analysed. You can even see the marbling (dark grey streaking) right away!

What happened to waste not want not?

Food security is on the agenda in agriculture not just in Australia, but around the world. When I started researching this topic, it was interesting to read some of the articles that were looking at the flip side of food production - food wastage!

When you think of food wastage, what do you think of? I know myself, the first thing I think of was when I was a kid, piling up the dessert bowl on Christmas Day after a big lunch, only to realise part-way into the Pavlova that there was no way I could possibly fit it all in. My eyes were far too big for my belly and of course, coming from a family of farmers, I was not to waste a mouthful!

I stumbled across a study in the UK in 2010 that looked at the many aspects of food wastage. Instead of just over indulgence, there were many relevant factors that contributed to wastage. Here are some that I thought were concerning to say the least:

• 49% of respondents didn't understand the meaning of 'best before date' of which 36% of these people were confusing 'best before date' with 'use by date'.
• 75% of respondents were wasting food because of poor home economics skills, that is poor shop planning and recombining leftovers into new meals.
• 60% of respondents found their food was going 'off' - due to not knowing to maintain correct fridge temperature.

These findings raise some very important questions. If we look at food wastage do we start to look at labelling associated wastage in order to slow down the occurrence of a potential food crisis? If so how do we get that message across to our consumers? It certainly makes you start to wonder if we should be addressing inefficient food usage as well as efficient food production?

Rural Science...So you're a vet?

Each year there are hundreds of students that graduate with an agricultural degree. This year, there are as few as 15 rural science students that will graduate from my university.

Some may ask why?
The degree is challenging. I'll be the first to admit it. Sure, it requires some level of intellectual ability, as do all degrees. However, I believe that it is the level passion and dedication to the degree that is what drives students to continue the course.

There are countless occasions that I have been asked whether or not I am going to be a vet. The simple answer is no. However, I do make sure that I take the time to explain to people what rural science is all about - whether they have a background in agriculture or not. I think this is really important. Not only to inform people that may be interested in studying the degree but also so that consumers know that there are qualified people in the agricultural industry that are helping the nation produce food and fibre for them day in and day out.

What is rural science all about?
To put it simply, rural science is a very broad agricultural degree. As the title suggests, it is science based and so there are many scientific principles that are learnt as well as how these can be applied to a farming system as a whole.

There has been many hours spent in laboratories learning about biochemical and physiological processes of animals as well as phenology of plants and crops. We have been on many field trips across the region and have been exposed to many different farming operations in areas such as:

• Horticulture (Fruit & Vegetable Production)
• Viticulture (Wine Production)
• Cropping - Grains & Fibre Production
• Pasture Production
• Beef & Lamb Production
• Wool Production
• Sugar Production
• Intensive animal systems such as Poultry and Beef Production

Below is just a snapshot of some of the things we have learnt about or been involved in:

What keeps these cattle happy? We have learnt about pasture production and utilisation in the New England.

This little chicken was part of an animal nutrition trial looking at different diets for broilers.

There is a fascinating world that exists underneath the surface of the soil.

Do you take sugar with your coffee? This is just one of the interesting industries that we learn about!

We learn about farming systems as a whole. Starting from the soil, to the plants, to the animal production systems, through to meat processing or crop harvesting and finally, the economics of the whole system. I think the key to all of this is being able to solve problems that exist on-farm. Unlike other industries, our clients/patients (i.e. animals and plants) cannot communicate with us, so we need to be able to use our problem solving skills to find the solutions to problems.

What can you do with a rural science degree?

As graduates, there are opportunities to pursuit careers in plant and animal production such as agronomy, animal and plant genetics, beef and lamb production, wool production, animal nutrition, intensive animal production such as poultry and pork and finally research in all of these areas....the list goes on and on! I think that the most exciting thing of all is that there could be jobs in this industry that do not even exist yet!!

Agriculture - a world of opportunity!

Agriculture is an industry that I have always been passionate about and certainly proud to be a part of. In the four years I have had studying a Bachelor of Rural Science at university, I have certainly come across many opportunities that are not only available to students, but to people looking for a career in agriculture as well as people who are already working in the industry. I anticipate these opportunities to become greater as Australian agriculture expands in years to come.

I am at a very exciting time in my life, where I will soon be wrapping up my studies here at the University of New England and I will be facing agriculture head on -with the industry being my chosen career path. I believe that those in my generation who are starting out a career in agriculture are entering the industry at a very exciting time!

My focus within the agricultural industry is centred around beef production and the beef meat industry. My enthusiasm for the industry has stemmed from my family, who are beef producers and butchers on the Mid North Coast of NSW. I have been exposed to agriculture from a very young age and fortunately I have found an industry that I am very passionate about.

Never too early to learn to ride a horse. Right?

There are many opportunities within agriculture for those that are thinking of considering entering the industry as a career path. I myself have taken opportunities to further my career prospects and have found that agriculture can take people many, many places!

One of the places agriculture took me was to the Sydney Royal Easter Show as a State Finalist in The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl Competition in 2010. Watch this space for future blogs about this great experience!

About to ride around the Main Arena in style at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, 2010.

Recently, I applied for the Angus Youth Kansas State University Scholarship. When I saw this advertised, I immediately thought of the wonderful opportunities that there are in agriculture and that this would be a fantastic scholarship to further my knowledge of a major beef player in the world.

Fortunately, I have been selected as one of the top three finalists! The scholarship offers a fantastic opportunity for a beef cattle enthusiast to study for a semester at Kansas State University. To me, it would mean being able to learn first-hand about the American beef industry and of course, beef production on a mass scale. I also see it as a great opportunity to network and build relationships with people involved in the beef industry in the United States.

As part of the selection process I am commencing a blog that will give readers an insight into the mind of a university student that is very excited about entering a career in agriculture. I hope to share this passion by being an advocate for agriculture and sharing with you what it really is about agriculture that makes me tick!

Keep an eye out for my blog as I will be sharing some great ag experiences that I have had thus far, as well as exciting articles or facts that make me all warm and fuzzy about the agricultural industry!