IN his 14 years at the SA Junior Heifer Expo, Christopher Muller (pictured), Rellum Farms, Mount Gambier, has developed an enviable knowledge of the cattle industry and built a valuable network of close friends.
"I've been leading cattle since I was five or six, and I started at the heifer expo when I was eight years old," Christopher said.
"I plan to keep on coming back until I'm either too old or I've won the competition.
"It's a great chance to catch up with mates and the atmosphere is fantastic.
"It's probably got the best curriculum – in terms of the lectures and things – of any camp in Australia that I've been to. I've been to a fair few camps in Qld in the past couple of years and this is right up there at the top, if not right at the top.
"I always enjoy the clipping and the handlers competition, and I found the Meat Standards Australia lecture very interesting this year. It took it to a different level that we haven't had at a camp before."
Christopher's heifer – Rellum Farms Oddy J5 – came fourth in her class, while Christopher finished fifth in a closely-contested senior handler heat. He says competitions are often won and lost by the smallest of margins.
"You've got to always keep your animal presented well, and you've got to just keep an eye on the judges because if you miss one of their signals you'll be down the back of the line," he said.
"Sometimes it comes down to the smallest of things that can be the difference between getting a ribbon or not.
"The animals can also often throw up a bit of a challenge. The heifer I've got here is probably not the quietest heifer I've got – normally I go home and pick the best heifer out of the paddock and usually she turns out to be one of the spirited ones, but that's all part of the fun."
Having grown up at Mount Gambier, Christopher now spends much of his time away from the farm and in Adelaide, completing a double degree in commerce and applied finance.
Jacinta Rose
Stock Journal's online editor.
Stock Journal's online editor.
