The 2025 National Championships is held in a different location each year and this year is being hosted by South Australian Country Shows at the Royal Adelaide Show from 1-6 September.

The championships include young judges competitions for Merino sheep and fleece, meat sheep, beef and dairy cattle, grain and poultry; plus paraders’ competitions (beef and dairy cattle), the Australian Young Farmers Challenge and National Rural Ambassador Award.

The national championships brings together the best of the best in youthful rural talent, community spirit, and industry excellence. Young judges and paraders aged from 15 to 25 in each state gather to compete in the annual competition. Qualification is via success in competitive regional and state competitions.

The prestigious competitions highlight the incredible reach and rewards of agricultural shows, from connecting communities to agricultural education.

Here’s the six finalists in this year’s National Merino Fleece judging final:

TASMANIA – Olivia Baker, 16, Oatlands

Year 11 student Olivia Baker works in shearing sheds as a wool handler while completing a Cert 4 Wool Classing at TAFE. She began competing in the Young Judges competition in 2024 at Campbelltown Show in Tasmania to gain experience in judging fleece and meat sheep – and was instantly hooked.

Olivia enjoys helping her Pop on the farm, crediting his love of agriculture as one of her biggest motivations.

“I have always loved being on the farm with my grandfather and learning from him, he has been a huge inspiration to me and I will be forever grateful for his knowledge and what he has passed onto me. Placing in the Young Judges and getting the opportunity to go to South Australia in 2025 is by far my proudest show achievement so far.”

NEW SOUTH WALES – Miranda McGufficke, 24, Cooma

Miranda McGufficke manages genomic data for her family’s seedstock business and recently completed a Bachelor of Animal Science at the University of New England. She’s now working on a remote NT cattle station as part of a graduate program with an agricultural investment group.

A lifelong show supporter, Miranda grew up entering cooking and wool exhibits with her grandfather and now volunteers alongside her sisters running entertainment, school art projects, and the farmers challenge.

The former New South Wales Rural Achiever also runs an art business with her two sisters called 3 Little Sheep inspired by their flock of playful poddy lambs.

“I am very thankful for all the opportunities that have been created by having a go and participating in the junior judging. The personal development I have seen is one of the key reasons why participating and learning from these competitions is so important for young people. It is more than judging well-presented animals and commodities, it is about gaining confidence in public speaking and stepping out of your comfort zone.”

WESTERN AUSTRALIA –  Libby Hardingham, 19, Kojonup

Libby Hardingham spent her childhood helping out on her grandparents farm and later worked on family friend’s farm’s, where she helped with stud and commercial sheep work. Now in her second year of a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, Libby hopes to become a livestock vet in the agricultural industry.

Libby credits her agricultural teacher, Mr Colin Batt, for shaping her love of the Young Judges competition.

“Mr Batt taught me all the things I needed to know about showing sheep, judging wool, merinos and meat breeds. Better known to the students at the Western Australian College of Agriculture Narrogin as ‘Batty’, he ran the sheep show team and looked after the school’s Suffolk stud. He took them, as well as us students, to as many shows the school would allow him to. He ensured we had the necessary skills to make the stud sheep look best on show day and that we gave everything a go, even if we were unsure of our own abilities.

“Batty encouraged me to compete in the young judges competitions at all the shows and he has continued his support even after my graduation. If it wasn’t for Batty I would not be where I am today, with the skills to pick out the best sheep or fleece in a group and without the networks he has helped me build within the sheep industry.”

SOUTH AUSTRALIA – Celia Collins, 17, Waikerie

Celia Collins was encouraged to enter the Merino Fleece Judging competition by her agriculture teacher Mr Paul Tripodi – and she hasn’t looked back.

“My first ever competition for Merino wool judging was at the Royal Adelaide Show with my school and I won it. Since then I’ve done more shows close to me, and in the future I hope to be high up in the wool classing industry.”

QUEENSLAND | Jaime Colley, 24, Toowoomba

Jaime Colley is the Sheep, Wool and Goats Policy Director at AgForce Queensland, where she works closely with producers to advocate for the future of the industry. Raised on a sheep and cattle property in Texas, Queensland, agriculture has always been in her blood.

Jaime is the 2025 Darling Downs Rural Ambassador, a dedicated member of the Toowoomba Show Committee, and a two-time Queensland Junior Fleece Judging Champion.  From stewarding at the Ekka to championing regional shows, she’s committed to the show movement and the community it brings together.

“I started competing in Junior Fleece judging in 2024, where I was encouraged to step in and have a go by my local sub-chamber. Since then, I get my hands on fleeces wherever I can, and love being a part of the community it’s brought me closer to. I’ve taken the knowledge and experience it’s given me and started demonstrating the value of Merino fleece to younger generations.”

VICTORIA | Tiffany Maestrale, 17, Somerville

Tiffany’s connection to agriculture began with horses on her family’s racehorse agistment property and grew stronger through her involvement at school, where she captained the sheep showing team.

Tiffany first got involved with her local show through her school’s show team and she now helps out in the sheep section, judging, stewarding, emceeing, and organising ribbons.

This year, she stepped up to help run the sheep section at the Pakenham Show. Outside the show ring she’s a talented cheerleader who represented Australia at the World Championships in America.

“I first started competing in the Junior Judging and Handling events in the sheep section at my local shows and that slowly expanded into competing at larger shows and then State finals and National finals. My best moment at a show would have to be winning my first ever Junior Handler competition at the Red Hill Show in 2020. I’m so excited to have the opportunity to represent my state in the National Championships.”

Celebration of emerging talent

Jacqueline (Jac) Wilson-Smith, Chair of Agricultural Shows Australia – the peak body representing 572 agricultural shows that attract six million visitors annually and contribute nearly $1 billion to the national economy – describes the competition as a celebration of emerging talent in livestock judging across the country.

“This is an incredibly prestigious event, and earning a spot in the nationals is highly sought after,” Jac said.

“These young competitors represent the future of agricultural show competitions, which play a vital role in advancing Australia’s food and fibre industries. The nationals offer an exciting chance for participants to grow both personally and professionally while testing their skills against the very best.”

The Merino Sheep Judging final is sponsored by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to research, development, and marketing across the global supply chain for Australian wool. Backed by approximately 60,000 woolgrowers who contribute to its funding, AWI works to advance and promote the wool industry.

The Merino Fleece Young Judges will be held at 2.30pm on Thursday 4 September. More on the competition here.

Source: AgShows Australia