The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Canterbury farmer wins NZ Young Farmers stock-judging comp

Otago Daily Times
7 Aug, 2018 11:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Melissa McMullan demonstrated her sheep-judging skills at last month's New Zealand Young Farmers stock judging competition. Photo: David Hill

Melissa McMullan demonstrated her sheep-judging skills at last month's New Zealand Young Farmers stock judging competition. Photo: David Hill

A love of sheep led to a Canterbury woman winning a New Zealand Young Farmers stock-judging prize last month.

Christchurch City Young Farmers Club member Melissa McMullan (25) won the sheep section in the national stock-judging competition, which coincided with the FMG Young Farmer of the Year grand final in Invercargill.

Ms McMullan, the Christchurch City YFC vice-chairwoman and Tasman region secretary, first tried her hand at stock judging at the Ellesmere A&P Show last October, at the invitation of club patron Neville Moorhead, a Southbridge sheep breeder.

She then competed in the New Zealand Young Farmers beef and dairy stock judging competition at last year's Canterbury A&P Show and visited ''a few shows in between'' with Mr Moorhead to hone her skills.

''We spent a number of hours engaged in conversation over sheep.''

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

At Invercargill she was one of 20 competitors testing their skills in judging deer velvet, Friesian calves, sheep and wool.

While she struggled with deer velvet and got the Friesian calves in the wrong order, Ms McMullan excelled with the sheep.

''It was pretty good. It was a pretty tough class to judge,'' she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

''When they gave the feedback a lot of people hadn't got the placings around the right way.

''I managed to get the second and third-placed sheep around the wrong way, so my reasoning must have been sound.''

She said she had never seen deer velvet before and despite the best efforts of her father, Peter McMullan, in ringing around his deer farmer contacts the weekend before to get some tips, the section proved to be a challenge.

Ms McMullan said the national stock-judging competition was a valuable experience and she hoped to return with the aim of taking top honours.

''I hope to drive stock judging in the Tasman region because it's a good thing to do and it teaches people skills which are invaluable, like when they are buying or looking at stock.

''It also gives you the experience of public speaking and thinking on your feet, because you've only got eight minutes in the pen with the animals and then you've got to get up and explain your decisions.''

Ms McMullan grew up on a 50ha sheep and beef farm at Chertsey, near Rakaia.

She studied history and law at the University of Canterbury, before working in employment law.

She has reduced her hours to part-time while she studies a for a masters of planning degree at Lincoln University, with the goal of becoming a resource management consultant.

Ms McMullan also wants to have her own sheep stud one day.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

''I like the merino. They are a really beautiful breed, but they're not really suited to Canterbury.

''I like all the wool breeds, but I will probably end up getting into a meat breed, depending on what the market's doing.''

-By David Hill

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

'Stems with a story' to get second chance to brighten NZ homes

09 Jun 05:00 PM
The Country

Over 1200 exhibitions to open at Fieldays 2025

09 Jun 05:03 AM
The Country

Sam Carter wins Hawke's Bay Young Grower title

09 Jun 04:17 AM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'Stems with a story' to get second chance to brighten NZ homes

'Stems with a story' to get second chance to brighten NZ homes

09 Jun 05:00 PM

Wonky Box will launch flower subscription boxes this month.

Over 1200 exhibitions to open at Fieldays 2025

Over 1200 exhibitions to open at Fieldays 2025

09 Jun 05:03 AM
Sam Carter wins Hawke's Bay Young Grower title

Sam Carter wins Hawke's Bay Young Grower title

09 Jun 04:17 AM
Rebecca Fisher wins lifetime achievement award for horticulture leadership

Rebecca Fisher wins lifetime achievement award for horticulture leadership

09 Jun 03:28 AM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP