Southern Beef Sales Representative Ashlea Cross has developed new skills in assessing cattle after attending an intensive training course.
As one of five recipients of an Angus Youth Foundation scholarship, Ashlea attended the December 2024 Tocal Beef Cattle Assessment Course, which she described as an incredible experience.
Ashlea applied for the course with the goal of improving her cattle assessment skills, particularly in evaluating steers and heifers for different markets and refining her judgment on breeding animals.
It worked. “Though I don’t own cattle, the knowledge I gained has proven incredibly valuable in my role,” she said.
The course combined theory classes, practical judging sessions based on industry scenarios, and group discussions. Over three intensive days, it focused on key areas such as carcass, structure, maturity pattern and condition assessment, and identifying cattle that best suit specific market requirements across commercial cattle and breeding animals.
Ashlea said the learning environment was intensive and engaging, allowing participants to apply what they learned in practical judging classes.
“I saw a vast improvement in my decision making and cattle assessment skills from day one to day three,” she said.
The course provided opportunities to ask questions and discuss reasoning with the overjudges and fellow participants and was a fantastic opportunity to network and exchange experiences and gain insights from different career paths within the beef cattle industry.
“Since completing the course, I have already noticed a significant difference in my confidence and ability to perform my sales role,” Ashlea said. “The knowledge gained at Tocal has enabled me to better assist producers in selecting semen sires suitable for their specific markets and breeding objectives.”
