TEXAS A&M University have been crowned Australian Inter-Collegiate Meat Judging Competition champions for 2025, finishing just 15 points ahead of the University of Queensland in the annual event in Wagga Wagga that concluded on the weekend.

The winning team, made up of Bryce Borchardt, Harper Parson, Grace Real and Taylor Colvin were judged champion team in the beef judging class and were runners-up in the lamb judging, commercial evaluation and overall placings classes.

Grace Real was also awarded the John Carter ICMJ Founder’s Buckle as the Overall Champion Individual with 1146 points out of a possible 1250. University of Queensland’s Kathryn Fisher was runner-up with 1131 points.

It was the second year in a row a team from the US has taken out the competition and the fourth year in a row the UQ team has finished in second place.

This year’s UQ team, made up of Piper Christensen, Kathryn Fisher, Will Lawrence and Andrew Thomson topped the retail cuts and saleable item identification categories and the pork judging classes.

Marcus Oldham College was named champion team in the lamb judging class while Murdoch University won the overall placings class and the University of Sydney took out the commercial evaluations class.

The meat judging competition is one of the main components of the ICMJ National Conference held annually in July at Charles Sturt University and Teys Australia.

Participants in ICMJ Wagga held last weekend

ICMJ President Professor Peter McGilchrist said the passion and dedication shown by this year’s competitors reinforced that the future of the red meat industry is in incredibly capable hands.

“ICMJ is more than just a competition; it’s a launchpad. It provides unparalleled opportunities for students to connect with industry, gain hands-on experience, and ultimately shape their future in the red meat industry,” Prof McGilchrist said.

“To see these students, many of whom start with limited industry exposure, transform over five days into confident, knowledgeable future leaders is incredibly rewarding. That’s the true power of the ICMJ experience.”

Following this week’s conference and competition, a group of 19 Australian university students were also selected to participate in the ICMJ Intensive Industry Training Week in Brisbane later this year. Some will then be selected to represent Australia on the National ICMJ Team to tour the United States early next year.

The ICMJ National Conference is supported by foundational partners Meat & Livestock Australia and Australian Meat Processor Corporation. It is also supported by a range of industry partners including Teys Australia, Australian Pork Limited, Thomas Foods International, JBS Australia, NH Foods, Australian Poll Dorset Association, Australian Meat Group, Fletcher International, Rimfire Resources, Angus Australia, AusMeat, Gundagai Meat Processors, SunPork Group, Harvey Beef, Australian Agricultural Company, Allflex, Bindaree Food Group and AgriTalent/AgriLabour Australia.

Class results

Beef Judging

Individual Runner Up: Taylor Colvin,Texas A&M University

Individual Champion: Grace Real,Texas A&M University

Runner Up Team: Murdoch University

Libby Hardingham, Mackenzie Pratt, Amber Turton, Zoe Skinner

Champion Team: Texas A&M University

Bryce Borchardt, Harper Parson, Grace Real, Taylor Colvin

Pork Judging

Individual Runner Up: Will Lawrence, University of Queensland
Individual Champion: Grace Real, Texas A&M University

Runner Up Team: University of Melbourne
Duncan Highes, Tobey Jeffrey, Tom Johnstone, Campbell Macalister

Champion Team: University of Queensland – 668/800 Points
Piper Christensen, Kathryn Fisher, Will Lawrence, Andrew Thomson

Lamb Judging

Individual Runner Up: Piper Christensen,University of Queensland
Individual Champion: Kathryn Fisher, University of Queensland

Runner Up Team: Texas A&M University
Bryce Borchardt, Harper Parson, Grace Real, Taylor Colvin

Champion Team: Marcus Oldam College
Penelope Crothers, Thomas Kelly, Cooper Pearson, Alicia Nixon

Overall Placings

Individual Runner Up: Amy Collins, University of Queensland
Individual Champion: Michael Jansen, University of Adelaide

Runner Up Team: Texas A&M University
Bryce Borchardt, Harper Parson, Grace Real, Taylor Colvin

Champion Team: Murdoch University
Libby Hardingham, Mackenzie Pratt, Amber Turton, Zoe Skinner

Overall Questions

Individual Overall Runner Up: Kathryn Fisher, University of Queensland
Individual Overall Champion: Grace Real, Texas A&M University

Runner Up Team: University of Queensland
Piper Christensen, Kathryn Fisher, Will Lawrence, Andrew Thomson

Champion Team: Texas A&M University
Bryce Borchardt, Harper Parson, Grace Real, Taylor Colvin

Retail Cut and Saleable Item Identification

Individual Runner Up: Andrew Thomson, University of Queensland

Individual Champion: Kathryn Fisher, University of Queensland

Runner Up Team: University of Sydney

Catherine Baxter, Jade-Lily Jonovski, Jessica Vaughan, Lara Ri

Champion Team: University of Queensland

Piper Christensen, Kathryn Fisher, Will Lawrence, Andrew Thomson

Commercial Evaluation

Individual Runner Up: Kathryn Fisher,University of Queensland

Individual Champion: Bryce Borchardt,Texas A&M University

Runner Up Team: Texas A&M University

Bryce Borchardt, Harper Parson, Grace Real, Taylor Colvin

Champion Team: University of Sydney

Catherine Baxter, Jade-Lily Jonovski, Jessica Vaughan, Lara Ri