The weather gods were kind for the 2022 Wingham Beef Week held May 16 to 20, with four out of the five days being fine and sunny.
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Around 30 schools from throughout NSW attended the event at Wingham Showground, the first full Beef Week since COVID-19 caused chaos. A carcase-only competition was held for the previous two years.
While Beef Week is an educational event for schools to compete against each other, for Wingham Beef Week president Merv Presland, the biggest highlight had nothing to do with cattle or competition.
"I had breakfast with a guy one morning, he's a dad from a school at Tamworth. And he'd taken a week off to come over because his son is autistic. And Simon desperately wanted to come. And he said, 'Well, really, if you go, I'll have to go'," Merv said.
"And the dad was sitting there at breakfast saying, 'this is just so great. There yesterday was my little boy, who's socially awkward and just doesn't socialise with anybody, and he's walking around with groups of kids from other schools, interacting and being part of the whole thing'.
"I choke up every time I think about it," Merv said.
Eleven schools took part in the School Steer competition, which showcased the rare British white breed. Steers were donated to each of the schools from the British White Cattle Society months prior to Beef Week to prepare for the hoof and hook competition.
"The School Steer challenge went really well. The British White Society was very happy with how that turned out," Merv said.
Lindsay Murray, president of the British White Cattle Society of Australia said the experience of Wingham Beef Week was fantastic.
"I've never been to Wingham before and it's a lovely town. I was actually very impressed." he said.
Lindsay was one of six members from the Society who attended Beef Week, and all were excited to see so many British whites being shown at the same place at the same time - a first in Australia.
I've never been to Wingham before and it's a lovely town. I was actually very impressed.
- Lyndsay Murray, president British White Cattle Society of Australia
"That was good, to see all 11 steers parading. And it was great to see how enthusiastic the children were. It was quite inspiring, really.
"I think it's an ideal breed for students easy to look after. And they seem to have (become) very fond of their steers.
"It was a very positive experience. And I hope we'll do it again one day," Lindsay said.
Lindsay did express disappointment that the animals donated to the schools didn't look as good as they good have. However, he explained that this was simply because the schools didn't have enough time to prepare the cattle. They had hoped to get the steers to the schools before Christmas, which didn't happen because of logistics, and the company donating the feed were delayed in delivering to the schools.
Related: Wingham Beef Week returns full steam
"Only six of the 11 made MSA rating, which was a bit disappointing," Lindsay said. "We'd like to do it better next time," adding that it had been a learning experience.
St Paul's College at Kempsey won the School Steers competition. Locally, Chatham High School came third, Taree High School sixth, and Manning Valley Anglican College 11th.
A student from Scone Grammar School took out Grand Champion Parader, with a Kempsey High School student winning Champion Junior Parader.
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The big prize, Grand Champion Led Steer, went to St Joseph's High School Aberdeen.
"The champion steer's always a close competition. That was a tough decision for the judge," Merv said.
St Mary's College Gunnedah took out Grand Champion Hook with a silver Angus beast.
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