[MEDIA RELEASE] The next crop of talent: Young judges named for national finals

Announcement posted by Writers Who 29 Jul 2025

Lawson Grains sponsors national championships for young grain judges aged 15-25

The best young grains judges in Australia have been announced to compete in the national finals in September hosted by Agricultural Shows Australia.

The 2025 National Championships is being hosted by South Australian Country Shows at the Royal Adelaide Show from 1-6 September 2025 and includes 11 competitions spanning dairy, beef, poultry, wool, and sheep featuring talented young judges and paraders aged from 15 to 25 representing each state.

Grain judging is the newest competition at the prestigious national championships, and is sponsored by Lawson Grains. Spanning 90,500 hectares of arable land across 10 aggregations in NSW and Western Australia, Lawson Grains produces more than 200,000 tonnes a year of wheat, barley, canola and pulses, making it one of the country's biggest corporate grain growers.

Meet the six finalists in the National Grains Young Judges Championship final:

QUEENSLAND | Beau Stephan, 17, Boonah

Beau is completing a school-based apprenticeship as a carpenter and is heavily involved in his school's cattle club, crediting his agricultural teacher for encouraging his entry into the competition.

"My teacher Mr Aiden Richters is the backbone of our cattle club and encourages our team to try everything that we have an opportunity to, so as the grain judging became an option, he told our team to grab at the chance to compete."

WESTERN AUSTRALIA | Murray Findlay, 23, Albany

Murray grew up on and around farms, where a love for agriculture took root early. His interest deepened during his time at the WA College of Agriculture - Denmark (2018-2020), and through school holidays spent working on a local dairy farm.

After a gap year on the farm, Murray moved to Perth to study a Bachelor of Agribusiness, graduating in 2024. Alongside his studies, he's spent the past three harvests working on a broadacre cropping farm and recently completed a seeding season.

Now, he's excited to bring that hands-on experience to the grain judging competition.

"Since 2019 I have shown for multiple exhibitors at the Albany Show, Harvey Show, WA Autumn Fair, and the Brunswick show as well as showing beef cattle while I was at ag school. I have competed in a number of state finals and last year I competed in the national dairy paraders competition and represented Western Australia at Melbourne Royal. My show highlights are winning the Highest Dairy Achiever at Cattle Camp and my first handlers class at the Brunswick Show."

NEW SOUTH WALES | Heather Walker, 24, Grenfell

Heather Walker's love for shows began in primary school, from pavilion displays to performing in the marimba group at her local show's opening. In high school, she joined the school show team, embraced junior judging and Showgirl competitions, and quickly fell in love with the show ring.

Now an active member of her local show committee, Heather regularly competes and volunteers at shows across the Central West, determined to give back to the community and share the joy of showing with others. She credits Carolyn Baker for guiding and shaping her love for the agricultural industry.

"As a passionate young woman in the ag industry, I remember sitting in my agriculture class in Year 12 and deciding that becoming an ag teacher was where I wanted to be. I was heartbroken to hear that the year below me had to complete the subject online because not enough students selected it. That really stuck with me. I didn't want this subject, or the opportunities it offers, to fade away. The passion my ag teacher had, and the incredible experiences we were given, inspired me to keep the subject alive for future students."

TASMANIA | Dylan Bellchambers, 25, Ulverstone

Dylan Bellchambers grew up surrounded by vegetables and mixed livestock production. He works as a Field Officer in vegetable production at Harvest Moon and aspires to one day run his own farm.

Since 2018, Dylan has been actively involved with Agfest and now proudly serves as its Chairman. A proud member of Kingborough Huon Rural Youth, he's been encouraged by many mentors along the way.

"My favourite show would have to be the Campbell Town show in Tasmania. As the oldest continually running agricultural show in the Southern Hemisphere, it has a huge history but is relevant and has strong local roots. The Show atmosphere in general and grand parades are hard to go past but the way they connect with communities, particularly for agricultural communities, is really important and gives them an opportunity to come together where they otherwise may not."

VICTORIA | Caitlin Grieve, 25, Clarkes Hill

Farming runs deep in Caitlin's veins - she's a sixth-generation farmer, with both sides of her family working the land since the 1800s. Her family's Dorset Horn stud, registered in 1931, is the oldest surviving one in Australia, and showing sheep has been part of her life for as long as she can remember.

Caitlin studied agricultural science at Lincoln University in New Zealand on a leadership scholarship, gaining hands-on experience on a sheep and beef station in Hawke's Bay.

"In ten years time I would still like to be showing the family's stud Dorset Horns with my sister, judging at shows around the country, and working in a field where I can combine my passion for history with my love of agriculture and sharing peoples stories. My favourite subject at uni was soil science and it's amazing how science and history combine to inform sociological trends and patterns."

SOUTH AUSTRALIA | Victoria Clarke, 24, Urrbrae

Victoria Clarke is no stranger to the show ring, having previously represented South Australia in the alpaca young judges competition.

A graduate of Urrbrae Agricultural High School, Victoria got involved in all aspects of animal husbandry and was especially active in the alpaca club.

Now turning her attention to the grain industry, she's excited to apply her judging experience to a new field and continue learning through competition.

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 National Grains Young Judges Championship will be held at 2pm on Wednesday, September 3.