Learning how to pick a good quality steak can take quite a bit of skill and months of practice.

Just ask the 180, mainly agricultural, university students who have been taking part in the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging competition in Wagga Wagga.

Meat judging coach Tim Ryan said the students were required to evaluate animal carcasses to work out which ones had the highest commercial value.

"It's all about evaluating quality and yield," he said.

"It's all grounded in meat science, so with beef they're looking for things like colour and marbling.

"That all ultimately underpins a positive consumer experience when they eat that meat."

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Mr Ryan said the students competing in the meat judging competition had put in a lot of effort to get to this point.

"These students have spent weeks visiting abattoirs in the early morning and late at night looking at meat and training for this competition," he said.

"The competitors we've got here are the cream of the crop of Australian meat judging.

"Each university sends a small group of their best students to compete and there are around 130 students from across Australia."

Coaches of the Australian meat judging team Nick van den Berg and Tim Ryan. ( ABC Riverina: Verity Gorman )

The Australian students also competed against students from overseas.

"Australia is a massive meat trading nation so ultimately our biggest trading partners are represented here," Mr Ryan said.

"We've got teams from Japan, Korea, Indonesia and the United States.

"Ultimately it's about us telling our story and exposing them to our industry as well and us learning about their markets and their own meat industries."

Overseas competitors

Colorado State University student Jazmine Brown has learnt a lot about Australian agriculture. ( ABC Riverina: Verity Gorman )

Jazmine Brown from Colorado State University said she had learnt a lot about Australian agriculture.

"For some people in our team it was their first time eating lamb and I think that's been a pretty good experience," she said.

"We don't see many sheep in the United States."

But when it comes to beef, Ms Brown knows what to look for in a good steak.

"We're looking a lot at the marbling, so the fat within the muscle," she said.

"The more marbling usually the higher quality and it's a better eating experience because it's more tender.

"We try to balance that with the least amount of fat on the outside of the steak because you want to be paying for muscle, not fat."

Meat industry careers

Students from across Australian and overseas competed in the 2018 meat judging competition. ( ABC Riverina: Verity Gorman )

The aim of the competition is to engage young people and get them to consider a career in the meat industry.

"If they can walk away from this experience with an improved understanding and a passion for the industry that's a win for us," Mr Ryan said.

Charles Sturt University student Karissa de Bell said it had been a big learning curve, having never been to an abattoir.

"Originally I wasn't looking for a career in the meat industry, but this has definitely opened my eyes to it," she said.

"I think there are lots of opportunities; it's forever growing, people need to eat no matter what."

Out of the 130 Australian competitors, five will be chosen to represent Australia at a meat judging competition in the United States early next year.

"They'll spent four to five weeks touring ranches, feedlots, food service and retail outlets, and also taking part in a few competitions," Mr Ryan said.