17 states, 15,000 miles, countless cattle ranches, the University of Illinois and a damn good time sums up the last 9 months I've spent in the US ! I will attempt to give you an overview of the opportunities the University of Illinois scholarship has given me, but it really will be impossible in one short report!

I started my trip in July 08 with Shelley Piper (MSU Scholarship winner) at the National Junior Angus Show in Des Moines , Iowa . Wow!!!! So many kids, so many cattle and so many interesting ideas! After this I spent the next 3 months visiting several ranches, feedlots and breeding facilities across the US . The main Angus ranches I visited included TC Ranch & Connealy Angus in Nebraska , Sitz Angus & Leachman Angus in Montana , Belle Point Angus in Arkansas as well as Express Angus Ranches and Limestone in Oklahoma whilst we were on the National Angus Conference and Tour. Other places I visited were Darr Feedlot in Nebraska , Wildberry Farms in Illinois, Little Cedar Cattle Company in Michigan & Gateway Simmentals in Montana . Visiting and working on these different seedstock, commercial breeding and feedlot operations gave me a good understanding of the differences between US & Australian beef production and an appreciation for top quality cattle.

I also spent 2 weeks at TransOva Genetics which is a company that specialises in cattle reproductive technologies. I found this extremely interesting and I got the chance to learn about ET, In-Vitro Fertilisation, semen sorting, cloning and recipient care & management. Both Shelley & I also travelled to several bull studs, including the ORIgen & Genex/CRI facilities, looking at Angus bulls. We saw bulls such as Bando 9074, Bennett Total, PVF Payday, BC Lookout, BC Matrix, Objective 3J15, HARB Pendleton, Gardens Prime Star & Sitz New Design 458N. It is certainly interesting seeing the bulls in the flesh compared to a picture in a semen catalogue.

In addition to visiting Angus ranches I also got the opportunity to visit some Santa Gertrudis ranches including Dan Wendt & King Ranch in Texas . King Ranch is the biggest ranch in the US with 825,000Ac. and we were fortunate to get a personal tour through their 1000 registered cows, feedlot and the historical buildings on the ranch.

Both Shelley & I attended the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville , Kentucky and before classes started at U of I we also went to the Denver National Western Stock Show in Colorado . This is the largest livestock show in the world and the line up of cattle was certainly impressive.

I then had a cold introduction to the University of Illinois with -30'C temperatures and a bucket load of snow! Dr. Parrett was extremely helpful in introducing me to campus, organising my classes and getting me started at the AGR house. It was recommended to me by a past winner that I take on the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity experience.....and I must say at first it was different living with 65 other guys but it has been a great experience. As it is an agricultural fraternity I have enjoyed talking with many of them and learning about their farming backgrounds and I have made some great mates.

Of my classes the most enjoyable has been Market Animal Evaluation with Dr. Carr & Breeding Animal Evaluation with Dr. Shike. Dr. Carr's class involves evaluating and pricing live animals every Monday and then assessing them on the hook every Wednesday. This has been a great way to improve my livestock evaluation skills and learn about the US grading system. In Dr. Shike's class we judge breeding cattle, swine & sheep each week and also learn about EPD's & breeding for different environments. Both of these classes tie in well with the Livestock Judging Team and both the professors are the team coaches. I am also taking more general classes in Beef Management and Sheep Production which has given me a good overview of US livestock production.

Being on the Livestock Judging Team has been very demanding but I am enjoying it and have learnt a lot. We practise 15 hours a week outside class time and have travelled to several competitions. My best achievement has been winning the Beef Evaluation section and placing 12 th Overall out of 100 competitors at the Meat Animal Evaluation Triathlon. Our main competition is at the National Meat Animal Evaluation Contest in Oklahoma City in a couple of weeks. Here we have to judge a total of 48 classes including feeder cattle, market animals, breeding animals and also evaluate carcasses as well as questions on some classes. I am really looking forward to this contest and hopefully our practise will pay off after the 2 days of competing.

The challenges, the opportunities and the whole experience of being in the US has been invaluable to me. I've greatly broadened my knowledge and understanding of not only the beef industry but agriculture in general and I know this will be a huge benefit for me in the future. I am looking forward to sharing the experience & knowledge I have gained with others when I return. The biggest thank you must go to Angus Youth for giving me the opportunity to learn so much through the University of Illinois Scholarship . I have had a great time and have learnt a lot and I encourage other young people involved in the beef industry to apply for this scholarship in the future. I would also like to thank Dr. Parrett, Dr. Shike & Dr. Carr at the U of I for their help & guidance during my time here. A special thanks must also go to Bill Cornell & Dr. Lipsey for their help organising several of my ranch visits. Finally, I would like to thank my parents for their ongoing support throughout my trip.