Students from WA College of Agriculture - Harvey shine in 2023 Harvey Beef Gate 2 Plate Schools Challenge

Students at a Harvey school have experienced a first-hand taste of the WA cattle industry after putting in a strong showing in a Statewide contest. Nine students from the WA College of Agriculture - Harvey competed in the Harvey Beef Gate 2 Plate Schools Challenge at Albany’s Willyung Farms late last month, competing against fellow Year 12 students from across the State in six categories: all topics, general knowledge, feed nutrition, cattle handling, animal health and animal welfare. Georgia Buchanan, 17, was the highest achiever of the college’s contingent, taking home first place in the animal welfare category and preventing the WA College of Agriculture - Denmark from taking a clean sweep of the individual awards. Koltyn Te Haara and Tyson Wallinger, both 17, came second in their respective categories of cattle handling and animal health. Tessa Clifton, 17, also performed well to finish third in the feed nutrition category. For the first-place award winner, her accolade came as a bit of a shock. “I was really surprised — I didn’t really expect it,” Georgia said. The students said they all appreciated the experience, taking away improved knowledge of their skillsets. Attendees heard from industry leaders and young people within the agricultural industry, and were provided with opportunities to network with representatives from the entire beef supply chain. “We do not have that experience with the industry, so it was great to get that exposure,” Tyson said. The school placed third overall in the challenge, which was the first to be held in two years after last year’s event was cancelled. More than 55 students from five schools took part in this year’s event.