Over the course of the next week, the World Angus Forum is taking place in Australia and a team of young Aberdeen Angus breed enthusiasts from both Ireland and the UK have won a fully-sponsored trip to the event which takes place once every four years.
The World Angus Forum will see events in both Sydney and Brisbane as competitors and visitors from all over the world visit a host of shows, demonstrations, herd visits, technical meetings and presentations plus a variety of other beef and Angus-related events.
Speaking to Agriland, the Irish Aberdeen Angus Association’s Youth Development Programme (YDP) coordinator for Ireland, Niall Lynch, explained who the representatives are and what the Irish and UK delegates will be involved in at the global cattle breed event.
The YDP is a joint venture between the Irish Aberdeen Angus Association and the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society UK. This year marks the 25th year of the programme which hosts workshops in Ireland, England and Scotland.
As part of the world forum, there is a youth competition for teams from all over the world where the competitors will compete to become the World Angus Forum Champions. Competitors are aged between 18 and 25 years.
All the teams competing in the world forum have to take part in numerous competitions from Ringcraft clipping and grooming along with tractor skills as well as fencing.
Knowledge of meat production and identification of different beef cuts is also tested in the competition.
The Aberdeen Angus Youth Development Programme is sending a four-person Irish and UK team to compete and also a representative to compete on a barbarians team that is made up of representatives from four other countries.
All the representatives that have been chosen by the YDP have taken part in YDP workshops and some have competed at the yearly international finals.
The Irish/UK team for the 2025 World Angus Forum is:
- James Morrison Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland (team captain);
- Ellie Westaway, southern England;
- Graeme Rhind, Aberdeenshire, Scotland;
- John Smyth, Co. Cavan, Ireland;
- Oisin Keogh, Co. Meath, Ireland.
Due to the world forum being cancelled in 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of YDP participants missed out and were over age to take part in this year’s competition.
Lynch said: “It was decided that we would also send out three over-aged competitors to experience the world forum environment.”
These participants were put through the same interview process as those taking part in the competition side of the forum.
The three over-aged delegates selected to travel to the World Angus Forum are:
- Catherine Smyth, Co. Meath;
- Sean McEnroe, Co. Meath;
- Richie Lombard, Co. Kerry.
Catherine Smyth from Co. Meath is currently farming at home with her dad Phil and also works as a college lecturer at Ballyhaise Agricultural College.
Sean McEnroe is also from Co. Meath and works as a feed sales and advisor for Kiernan Milling and also farms at home with his father John who is the owner of the Liss Aberdeen Angus herd.
Richie Lombard is from Co. Kerry and works at home where he has established a red Angus
herd.
Team for the 2025 World Angus Forum
James Morrison is the team captain and is from Co. Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. He is currently studying agriculture while also farming at home with his father Alan on their mixed Angus and Charolais herd. He is also training to be auctioneer in his spare time.
Ellie Westaway is from southern England on the Welsh border. She currently works full-time at Genus ABS as an advisor and also farms at home alongside her father Paul managing their Angus herd.
Graeme Rhind is from Aberdeenshire in Scotland and is currently farming at home with his father and brother where they have a suckler and tillage enterprise and also a contracting business.
John Smyth is from Co. Cavan and is currently doing his masters with Teagasc. John also farms at home with his father Noel on their suckler farm.
He is no stranger to the show ring or the YDP and is the YDP champion from 2024. He hopes to travel to Argentina in 2026 with his travel bursary that he won.
The fifth member who was selected will compete with a barbarians team that comprises two New Zealanders, one Czech Republican and one Irish representative – Oisin Keogh.
Oisin is from Co. Meath and is currently studying agriculture at Waterford IT. He also farms at home with his father and grandfather on their mixed suckler enterprise and vegetable-growing farm.
Oisin recently set up his own pedigree herd of Angus and hopes to grow this over the next number of years.
World Angus Forum youth competition
YDP coordinator Niall Lynch explained that planning for this world forum team began in September, 2023.
In March 2024, applications were opened and anyone who had participated in a YDP workshop or YDP senior conference since 2019 was eligible to apply.
All applicants were then given a subject to cover in a five-minute presentation to a panel of interviewers and were then put through a 20-minute questions and answer session along with having to identify different cuts of beef by the panel.
After a long day of interviews which took place at Pedigree House in Perth, Scotland, the panel of interviewers, with the help of the YDP coordinator for Ireland Niall Lynch and Scotland’s Stephanie Dick, selected the five winning candidates.
Training for the YDP representatives
The selected team then had various training weekends over the past 12 months in three different countries.
Last October, the representatives spent an afternoon at The Liss Herd owned by John
McEnroe in Co. Meath, Ireland.
Here, the five representatives engaged in stock judging and presenting reasons. The next day, the group visited local butcher Declan Flood where he showed them how to cut up a beef carcass and the outlined the various cuts that come off each carcass.
It was then back to the Liss Angus Herd farm where the team practiced tractor and fencing skills.
The next training weekend in February 2025 took place at both Perth and Stirling in Scotland.
Participants got a full tour of the ABP factory in Perth and then went to Pedigree House where they were put through some team-building exercises.
The next morning, the team visited the Nethertin Herd where, after some more stock judging, they had a lecture on estimated breeding values (EBVs) before a debate on the pros and cons of figures.
The third and final training weekend was held in England on the herd of Rosemead Aberdeen Angus.
Here the team had to show their skill in team-clipping two heifers and also had to prepare and cook a three-course meal for their host as a team-building exercise.
The final day of training was debating and presenting a topic with only a limited amount of time to research.
The Irish Aberdeen Angus Association’s YDP coordinator Niall Lynch said: “We would like to thank all of our hosts and trainers for helping our team over the past 12 months.
“None of any of this could be possible without the hard work of the Aberdeen Angus cattle Society and the Irish Aberdeen Angus Association for setting up a great initiative such as the Aberdeen Angus Youth Development Programme.
“We would also like to thank our main sponsors ABP Food Group and Showtime UK who also helped with training over the past 12 months and also kitted out our team with branded clothing.”
