The document summarizes the experiences of students who participated in a learning partnership program between high schools and a university to raise prime beef cattle. Over 14 years, the program has given agriculture students hands-on experience managing cattle for 100 days from receipt to show. Key activities included monitoring growth, training animals, managing costs, grooming cattle, and competing in shows with prizes. Students learned skills like controlling large animals and developed respect for animal welfare. The program helped students understand the realities of meat production, including environmental impacts and economics of the beef industry.

1. DO YOU KNOW
WHERE YOUR MEAT
COMES FROM?

2. I’m Laura,
too!
Hi! I’m
Laura I’m Alex
We are here to tell you how a LEARNING
PARTNERSHIP between High Schools
and a University has given us
AUTHENTIC experiences in Agricultural
education!

3. Our story is about linking the real world experiences with our in
school experiences in raising prime beef.
Do you know where your meat comes from?

4. The partnership between The University of
Western Sydney and Secondary Schools in
the same region began 14 years ago.
It is organised and managed by volunteer support from Agriculture
Teachers, Staff and students from the University and NSW TAFE,
and others who promote, judge the events, and sponsor the
schools to help cover feed and transport costs.

5. The aim of the Uni-Schools Steer
competition is to encourage agriculture
students in High Schools in Western
Sydney region. Each school receives a
Poll Hereford Steer and has 100 days to
raise the steer to its full potential…
…but what does that mean?
For more information about the project you can go to:
http://www.uws.edu.au/unischools_steer/unischools_steer_project

6. Monitoring
growth and Training
developmen the
So, what do t students
we need to to lead the
do with the animal.
steer
girls??
Balancing Lots of
our teamwork
production
costs like
real farmers

7. May 2009 – Our Show team boarded
the school bus and went to an
official Opening Ceremony at the
University of Western Sydney.
We checked out our
competitors from other
schools, collected our
steer, and brought him
back to our farm to start
the 100 day challenge.

8. Transforming
from a skinny
This is our
to a beefy steer
steer called
Optimus
Prime
(….beef)
He weighed x 364 kgs
when we picked him
up, and we got him up
to 497 kgs ready for
the Show Days.

9. The Show Days
were our real tests.
We were judged on
our parading skills,
animal management
and welfare
knowledge, as well
as the weight and
appearance of
Optimus Prime
himself.

10. Getting the steer AND the paraders
trained was hard work, but fun!

11. We used the halter
to gain control of
the steer.
These are some of the actions we used to train Optimus.
It took time and patience and practice!

12. Paraders need to show off their You also have to securely
animal to the judge, keep his hold the leads, keep eye
head up, and under control at all contact with me, and keep
times…AND you have to look your steer calm, all while
like you are enjoying yourself! walking around looking
confident!
At least
I’m
standing
square

13. Part of the Showing experience was the grooming process,
making him look bigger then he already is…
Trimming the fur to
make it all even and
feel like velvet 

14. Our challenge included managing risks
and dangers, and over-coming any fear
of handling large animals
Working with large animals has advantages and
disadvantages. Our steer weighed over 460kg, so
learning to control him was extremely difficult.
As some students feared the steer, it was a challenge for
them to work up the courage to lead him and show him
who was boss. Learning to lead him enabled us to
develop our self confidence and self-respect.
We learned to respect animal behaviour and manage for
risks by having the right equipment, being aware of
possible dangers and having lots of support from
teachers and fellow students.

15. Accidents did happen, However, in the end, it
including the occasional became second nature to
head-butt and being lead him and have
dragged across the school control to get him to walk
oval! This was entertaining – stop – stand.
for students doing sport on It proved to an enjoyable
the school oval! experience for all.

16. Where Will This Lead Us In The Future?
Hello! We are
Ag teachers at
Caroline
Chisholm
We LOVE
College.
agriculture
!
This competition gave us a thorough understanding of
Australia’s agriculture industries, animal welfare and
ethical concerns, and what it takes to enhance the
quality of Australian produce.
Real possibilities of working in Agriculture include areas
such as: education, animal welfare and ethics,
advertising/marketing, research into genetics,
breeding, nutrition, pest and disease management, and
sustaining farming to make sure Agriculture can
survive into the future.

17. While taking care of our steer, we learnt about some
environmental impacts of beef production which must be
managed to sustain the industry into the future…
• Protect vegetation cover by not overgrazing
• Limit soil compaction from hard hooves and machinery
• Rotate paddocks regularly to allow pasture recovery
• Balance the mix of native and exotic plant species to
drought-proof the farm and improve biodiversity
• Manage water pollution from manure-contaminated
runoff by contouring the land into holding ponds

18. Meet Ag Found independence
students from
other schools
Gained
Talked with
confidence
experts in
in ourselves
the field
On a personal level, we are now more aware of the
environmental and health concerns of meat production.
Buy food locally to avoid over-using fossil fuels for
transport, and to ensure fresh produce.
We now know where our food comes from and
the effort needed to grow it.

19. We also learnt about the
economics of the beef industry
INPUTS such as the costs of feed, medical
treatments, and transport must be less
than how much income is made from
the OUTPUTS such as the meat,
leather, and fertilizer products sold.
This is why farmers must always monitor
how much they spend in growing their
produce and continuously check
the quality of their animals.

20. We are often asked, “How did the
Unisteer Challenge reflect Reality?”…
The Unisteer experience allowed us to come
to terms with the question “Do you know
where your meat comes from?”
We now understand the costs and risks
involved in being cattle producers. We are
also aware of the amazing scientific
research and development that has
contributed to breeding and growing the
best beef in Australia.

21. Just
chillin’
with my
peeps!
It is important to decrease stress, make
sure our animals have water and nutrients,
and they are comfortable in their
surroundings. It improves the meat quality –
but more importantly it is ethically right.

22. Saying Good-Bye to
“Optimus-Prime.”
It was hard not to
humanise our
steer – we got
emotionally
attached to him.
But this made us
more aware of the
welfare and ethical
issues around
raising animals for
meat.

23. Thanks for
watching!
Thanks to the Uni-Steer Competition
for real-world, AUTHENTIC
experiences in Agriculture!

24. PLATINUM GOLD SILVER
BRONZE MEDIA SPONSOR

25. This is
a
Laura, Alex and Laura
Presentation for the
2009