Plenty of this promising young talent was on display at the 2024 Young Judges Championships hosted by Agricultural Shows Australia (ASA) at the Melbourne Royal Show this spring, with three competitors from NSW taking out titles in the beef cattle, grain and meat sheep judging.

Quipolly’s Mitchell Taylor took out the honor of champion young beef judge at this year’s show following several wins at state-level judging competitions.  

Already operating his own poll hereford and shorthorn stud at just 18 years of age, ASA Executive Officer Katie Stanley said Mitchell’s commitment to the beef industry had made him a standout among judges in this year’s competition. 

Mitchell’s sister Emily also secured success in the 2024 Young Judges Championships, taking out the title of Champion Young Grains Judges at the show this year.  

Currently a second-year Bachelor of Rural Science student at the University of New England, 20-year-old Emily operates her own stud, Eclipse Poll Herefords, as well as serving as the chief beef cattle steward at the Quirindi Show.  

The Taylor family’s success at the championships was joined by that of Cobbitty’s Christine Sutton, who was sashed winner of the Meat Breed Sheep Young Judge Competition at the Melbourne Royal Show.  

At just 15 years of age, Christine was the youngest competitor in her category and takes the crown in her very first year of competing in the Young Judges Championships.  

NSW also saw a strong performance from its team in the Australian Young Farmer Challenge National Finals held alongside the Championships at the Melbourne Royal this year.  

Drawing in 20 competitors across five states, the relay-style event included a short quiz on agriculture-related topics as well as a practical challenge where participants navigated a course and completed a series of simulated on-farm tasks, such as weather patterning.  

This year, NSW’s team consisted of 24-year old Wingello farm manager, Chloe Sawell; 27-year-old Goulburn farmer, Cooper Mooney; 25-year-old businesswoman and Goulburn Young Woman of the Year 2023, Katie Beresford; and 25-year-old Merino wool grower and Elders Sales Support Officer, Claire Liversidge.  

While team Western Australia took the crown in this year’s Young Farmer Challenge, there’s no doubt Chloe, Cooper, Katie and Claire did NSW proud. 

Amid an incredibly impressive lineup of finalists and champions, NSW’s next generation has continued to shine on the national stage, and we can’t wait to see what they achieve at next year’s agricultural shows. Our industry is certainly in safe hands.  

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This month, Aldi joined Coles and Woolworths in dropping the price of their one litre, generic brand milk from $1.60 to $1.55, with two-litre and three-litre milk bottles also experiencing price reductions of five cents across the board.

NSW Farmers Dairy Committee Chair Malcolm Holm said while the price cuts would bring a welcome reprieve to households in a cost-of-living crisis, it was critical Australian dairy farmers did not bear the brunt of discounted prices on supermarket shelves.

“The cost of producing fresh Aussie milk is only going up and up for our industry, and yet the supermarkets are putting their milk prices down,” Mr Holm said. 

“While cheaper milk is good news for consumers, it’s important that farmers do not foot the bill for these price drops, especially as input costs keep climbing higher and higher in their businesses.

“Consumers are in a cost-of-living crisis – but so are our farmers, and we can’t let the dairy farmers bear the cost of these discounts when they’re already under such pressure.” 

As the nation’s competition watchdog continues to investigate the behaviour of the major supermarkets, Mr Holm said keeping a close eye on the pricing practices of the grocery sector would remain essential.

“We want checkout prices to come down because inflation is reducing and supermarkets are pricing their products fairly, not because farmers are paying the price,” Mr Holm said. 

“Milk prices that don’t cover the costs of production are forcing many farmers out of the industry, and as a result, milk production in Australia has hit a 30-year low.

“Our dairy farmers are incredibly tough, but the reality is they need fair prices to keep farming, and to keep putting that fresh Aussie milk in fridges day in, day out.

“We don’t want a future where milk prices for consumers skyrockets again because farmers have gone out of business and our milk supply has dried up.”

Read more:

• CHOICE releases first quarterly report on supermarket prices
• FLASHBACK: Woolworths increase milk prices | 2021

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NSW Farmers Business Economics and Trade Committee chair John Lowe said the changes to the Treasury Laws were set to impose new taxes on unrealised gains in superannuation holdings, including family farms – meaning farmers could be taxed for income they will never see.

“This law is not going to affect the people with hundreds of millions of dollars in their superannuation accounts, but rather the hard-working Australians who own their businesses or farm assets in structures such as self-managed superannuation funds,” Mr Lowe said.

“Self-managed superannuation funds are a common tool farmers use to manage their farms and aid business succession, and now, their farms are at risk because the government wants to rush through new tax laws without considering how agriculture operates.”

As several accounting bodies and financial associations also raised their concerns around the bill, Mr Lowe said it was critical that any changes made to tax laws did not place unfair financial pressure on family farms among other small, family-owned businesses. 

“These proposed changes could well force many farmers to sell the farm they operate or lease to their children, unless they’re able to take out even more loans to try and meet new tax obligations,” Mr Lowe said. 

“NSW Farmers supports sensible amendments to super – not taxes that will enable the super-rich to continue unaffected, while the small businesses and farm family businesses suffer.

“Aussie families and young Aussie farmers all deserve to be able to run their own businesses without crippling bureaucracy and taxes and there’s no doubt we need our family farms to stay if we want to have our own, homegrown food and fibre.”

Read more:

• National Farmer Rally in Canberra
• NSW Farmers secures win on property tax

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