Tongala’s Angus Fraser is looking forward to heading to Melbourne at the end of September to take part in the National Dairy Cattle Young Judges Championship finals at the Melbourne Royal Show.
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Angus, 20, describes his love of cows as something that came out of the blue considering he grew up in northern Queensland and his parents are teachers — although they both did come from farming backgrounds.
He said taking part in some youth dairy events when he was young ignited his passion.
“When I was 14 I came down to International Dairy Week to show cows and I developed some contacts through that,” Angus said.
And then at 16 he left home to follow his dairy farming dream.
He said looking back now it was a pretty big deal, but at the time he didn’t think much of it.
“It does sound pretty scary that I had the courage to move, but I have made it work for me,” he said.
Currently employed at Gordon Pastoral at Tongala, Angus is working as a dairy hand doing a little bit of everything.
“I like dairying and all the variety that comes with it — it’s all I have thought about for the last seven years,” he said.
“There is so much more dairying opportunity here in northern Victoria and there is a lot of energy and appeal in this region.”
Angus runs a small stud of his own — Montrose Cattle Company — and he has 20 stud cows, all Holstein except for one Jersey.
“I get a lot of joy out of showing my Holsteins,” he said.
“On a global scale they are at the cutting edge of technology and Jerseys aren’t quite as prevalent, but if I was miking a herd of cows of my own, the majority would be Jersey.”
Angus said the goal since he left school was to one day own his own farm, acknowledging that will not be an easy feat.
“Long term I will keep growing my herd and hopefully move into a sharefarming role,” he said.
“I think that is the most viable way in a capital-heavy industry, but right now it is all about continuing to work, learn and build up my skills.
“Dairying is a wonderful way to spend my life and eventually raise a family.”
Angus said this was the second time he had qualified for the judging competition.
“I qualified last year but had a three-month internship in Canada and I was unable to attend,” he said.
The time in Canada was spent working on a farm and following the show schedule.
“The dairy industry has certainly opened a lot of doors for me and there has been some global opportunity come with that, along with Australian opportunities through events like dairy week and the Gardiner Foundation,” Angus said.
“I don’t have too many expectations when it comes to Melbourne, I just hope to do well and get some experience on the microphone.
“It’s an honour to represent Victoria.”
Agricultural Shows Australia executive officer Katie Stanley said the competition was designed to recognise the best new talent in livestock judging nationwide.
"It's an extremely prestigious event and positions at the nationals are keenly contested," Katie said.
"These young judges are the future of agricultural show competitions.
“The national competition is a coveted opportunity to grow personally and professionally by practising skills against the cream of the crop."
The winner of the dairy cattle young judges is determined by who can accurately place the animals from first to fourth, according to form and characteristics, justifying their assessment.
Qualification is via success in competitive regional and state competitions and the national competition is held in a different location each year.
Read about the other finalists on page 27.
Another finalist is Macs Rubain, from NSW.
Zoey Morris will represent Western Australia in the final.
