Murray Grey Youth Camp 2022

The 2022 Murray Grey Youth Camp was a huge success, hosting 25 youth aged 8-25 years old at the Mt Pleasant Showgrounds from the 29th-30th of October. We had participants come from all over the state & even a few from Tasmania to join in on the educational weekend. They all varied in their level of experience with cattle, with the majority never having been to a cattle show before. Participants were not required to bring an animal, which made it easier for those with little experience to ‘get their foot in the door’. It was such a thrill to be back together after 3 years of no Murray Grey Youth Shows. 

We started the weekend with some introductory games, followed by a full day of interactive lectures. Touching on the topics of clipping and fitting cattle, structure and junior judging, ruminant nutrition, basic veterinary husbandry and herd health, and understanding BREEDPLAN figures. We were able to run these topics in groups of less than 10 kids, making it easy for them to ask questions in a relaxed environment. A big thanks to Anthony and Claire Pearce, Rebecca Brookes, Hannah Hogg, the Palk family, and Darren Koopman for making these lectures happen. 

We were fortunate to have a delicious lunch donated by Mt Pleasant Butcher. The dinner for the night was a great pub meal by the Mt Pleasant Hotel, followed by camping out – we were fortunate the weather held off for this! By the end of the evening, a big bunch of kids that had made friends only that day were enjoying each other’s company by having a dance party to their favourite country music. It was thrilling seeing the kids make new connections, friendships, and memories. 

Sunday morning, we played some more interactive games, a favourite being musical hay bales. This was followed up by a quiz on the topics they were taught the day earlier – all kids scored well, proving they did in fact listen! We were fortunate to hear from six different Murray Grey breeders and get their take on why they chose Murray Greys, what they look for in their breeding program, and encourage the kids to pursue a career in the beef cattle industry. 

Our major awards for the show included entry next year’s SA Heifer Junior Expo, which was won by Hanna Lovell (Tasmania); entry to the TAS Junior Heifer Expo, won by Shayla Lepse (SA); and entry to next year’s MG Youth Show as well as $500 to go towards furthering their cattle prospects was awarded to Amy Smith (SA). A huge thank you to Cratloe Murray Greys for sponsoring the major award. There were also other various prizes kindly donated by our sponsors. 

Another huge thank you goes out to all the Murray Grey studs that were involved in the weekend, whether it was bringing heifers as demonstration animals, helping set up or pack up, cook the BBQ, sponsoring the event, or holding heifers for hours while each participant had a go at junior judging – we couldn’t have done it without you. 

Thank you to all who made this event such a great success. The youth absolutely loved it, with all of them listening diligently, asking thorough questions, making the most of their “cow” time, and most importantly, having fun.

Murray Grey Youth Award:

Hanna Lovell

TAS Junior Beef Expo Award:

Shayla Lepse

Cratloe Murray Grey Award:

Amy Smith