Ekka 2023: Hannah Powe ticks off cattle judging in every state and territory

She beamed with pride as she thanked the RNA for the opportunity to judge the Devon and South Devon breeds at the Royal Queensland Show on Saturday, August 12.

"I'm absolutely humbled and I feel really privileged to get the opportunity to be judging this year and tick off a big bucket list item for me in judging at the Ekka - and now all states of Australia," she said.

It's clear Ms Powe has come a long way in her confidence and ability to share her opinions in the ring, as she retells what it was like when she first started judging.

"Most juniors coming through can probably relate to the petrifying experience of speaking on a microphone and putting your opinions out there, having people judge you can be daunting."

At first she preferred handling in the ring, but when she realised the key to judging was just having the confidence to share your opinions on stock assessment, something she was naturally passionate about, she found her voice.

"I really loved being able to get in there and analyse cattle and have really in-depth conversations with a lot of people about cattle so I really took to judging as I wanted to listen and learn as much as I could."

Ms Powe said the stand out experience judging so far was at Alice Springs in 2018 when she was invited to judge at the show and at the saleyards.

"I loved just being able to fly in and see a totally different type of cattle and really appreciate what they're targeting for."

She said she benefited from seeing a wide variety of cattle in Alice Springs, both local and South Australian, and was able to talk to producers about what they were selecting for.

She said she also loved seeing kids get in the ring with their poddies and also taking part in the junior judging.

Assessing at the saleyards during the trip was a big bonus, with Ms Powe appreciating the ability to assess massive runs of cattle, with 200 cattle in one run alone.

"It was incredible to see the differences in breed and type and see how that all differed in weight-for-age and what they were targeting," she said.

"How I ended up placing them depicted the prices they then made."

Ms Powe grew up with stud Murray Grey cattle on her parent's property, but she now breeds Angus and Red Angus cattle.

She said being able to assess and judge across a spectrum of breeds in a variety of states was down to always looking out for fundamental qualities, such as structural integrity.

One of Ms Powe's major achievements as a judge was placing reserve in the state final for cattle judging at Sydney Royal Easter Show.

She has also been an Angus Youth scholarship recipient and received the Stewart Award in 2020. She now takes mentorship in her stride through her involvement with the Angus Youth program.

"I love working with kids, especially when a kid comes and talks to me about junior judging or what they could tweak, or we sit down together after judging a class," she said.

"I want to give them a non-judgement zone to speak about cattle and catch up, or even just working with them to develop the public speaking side of things."

After previously working for The Land newspaper, Ms Powe now works as the NSW genomics territory manager for Neogen Australasia.