Ep 110: Lucy Godbolt

Most 13-year-olds are thinking about school, sport, social media, or what’s for dinner. But for Lucy Godbolt, a lot of her spare time is spent thinking about cattle, genetics, temperament, and what makes a great animal stand out in the ring.

Growing up in a livestock-focused family, Lucy has learned plenty from her dad, Pete Godbolt, a highly respected stud stock manager with Nutrien Ag Solutions. But she's also forging her own path in the industry.

At just 13, Lucy is already making her mark at major events such as the Sydney Royal Easter Show, competing in cattle showing and junior judging competitions, and collecting an impressive list of ribbons and achievements along the way.

In this episode, we chat about the excitement and nerves of show day, some memorable mishaps, her agricultural scholarship, and what keeps drawing her back to the cattle industry. We also find out her favourite cattle breed.

It's a great conversation with one of the next generation of passionate young people helping shape the future of Australian agriculture.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Welcome to Salt of the Earth Farm Story.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Heaps of people like look at the BBVs and genetics now of how impacts whether they buy balls or like from sales or anything now, really.

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Most 13-year-olds are probably thinking about sport, TikTok, or what's for dinner. But the very clever Lucy Godbold spends a fair bit of time thinking about cattle, genetics, temperament, and stock sense. Lucy's grown up around livestock, learning alongside her dad, Pete Godbold, who's a highly regarded stud stock manager with NutrientAgg. But she's also very much stepping into her own space in the industry. At just 13, she's already competing at major events like the Sydney Royal Easter Show, showing cattle and taking part in junior judging, and building an impressive collection of ribbons and results. In this chat, we talk about nerves when showing a few mishaps along the way, her ag scholarship, and what keeps her coming back to the cattle world. Plus, her favourite breed and why she rates it so highly. Let's go. Thanks for joining me on this podcast. I feel a bit lucky.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

That's okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

First up, what's your favourite breed of cattle?

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Um, my favourite's probably Hereford's because I've been to I've started going to Hereford youth shows since like 2022 and I haven't missed one since then. But I also like Angus and Black Cinn Tales as I've shown a few of them as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Black cinnamon tails, is that right?

SPEAKER_00 1:46

Not traditionals. I don't really not fond of the traditionals.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

So are the black cinnamon tails across?

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Yeah. So you've spent a lot of time around cattle already. When did you and mum and dad realize this wasn't just a phase?

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Well, my passion for used shows probably started in 2022 when I went to my first Hereford use show. But I've been doing also like with my school cattle club, my primary school cattle club, since 2019.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

So is there lots of talk around the dining table about cattle?

SPEAKER_00 2:17

Oh well, not really at the dining table, but at my grandparents' houses because they live on farms with talk about a lot of their cows and stuff there. And lots of time when I'm in their car with Dad.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

He talks a lot about cattle, doesn't he?

SPEAKER_00 2:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

When did cattle first become your thing?

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Well, probably in 2019 when I did my school cattle club. But I've been around cattle a lot before that as well.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Can cattle tell you a lot just by their behaviour?

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Yeah, you can tell both if they're like spooky or mad or if they're calm and like happy. Like when they're spooky and mad, they'll be really like tense on the halter and really spooky around you. But when they're happy, they'll just be sitting there chewing their cud and just really flexible, loose.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Is there a breed do you think that might be happier than another breed?

SPEAKER_00 3:08

It really just depends on how you handle them and work with them. Not really set on breeds.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

What makes a really good animal to you?

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Well, when I'm looking for animals, I look for structurally sound animals that can walk to feed and water easily. Calm temperament, so when like I'm working around them or when anyone else is working around them, they're like safe to handle. Um, good carcass quality, like express heaps of muscle so you can make you money. And most importantly, probably fertility, because if they don't get in cuff, they don't make you any money.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Well, that's a good point. So you've been to lots of shows. How old were you when you took your first cow to a show?

SPEAKER_00 3:53

I was around eight years old or so, but I've like been around cattle heaps before that.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Eight years old, was that a bit scary?

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Yeah, I was it was at Telangada Show, and I had a Charlie heifer from some of our friends, and she was really like quiet, so she was pretty easy to handle and boosted my confidence.

SPEAKER_01 4:15

Did it? You would have been tiny, but the cow would have been tiny. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 4:18

She was like m extra big though, like it wasn't like she was small, she was massive as well.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

And I believe you've done some junior judging too.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

Yeah, but I compare all the youth shows, I competed at junior judging at all the youth shows and country shows I attend around the country.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

So what do you look for when judging?

SPEAKER_00 4:36

As I said before, the best structured animal in the class walks around, tracks around the ring well, heaps of capacity, feminine heifers, and they have to carry muscle around easily throughout the whole body.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

So are you judging other junior competitors?

SPEAKER_00 4:53

So there'll be like four heifers in the class numbered one through four. And you and like it sometimes depends how big it is, people in your age group or like the whole amount of people that are doing it. All judge the same animals, and then you gotta place them the same way as the judge. And then if you do that at most like bigger shows, you'll get to do an oral where you like talk on the class and you explain your reasoning for why you put them in that order. Taking nothing away from this ball. It was a lovely muscular calf when you got a hand on top of him.

unknown 5:26

But I'd like to.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

And even if you didn't get it the same order as the judge, if you explained why you put it that way, you'll get extra points.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

That'd be a bit scary, wouldn't it? Talking in front of all those people.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Yeah, it was definitely scary the first time I did it. But I've probably grown in confidence now. And I probably like junior judging more than paraders, to be honest.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

Really?

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Once again, my name's Lucy Bunch.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Has stock sense got to be something you're born with, or can you learn it?

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Yes, it is also, it's bred into you, but it's also something you can learn. Like there's heaps of courses around of flight zones and how to safely handle your stock.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

And what's the biggest event you've competed in?

SPEAKER_00 6:07

Well, the Upper Hunter Beef Bananas are held at Scone for the numbers of people. There was about 750 people or so there last year. I attended that with my school St. Paul's. But the New South Wales State Final held at Sydney was the most prestigious event I've attended. And my goal one day is to win that.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

And you've been to the Sydney show this year?

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Yeah, this year. And that's where I competed at the state final.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

So you were showing an animal or you were judging?

SPEAKER_00 6:38

I did, so the state final you I was in the parades, so I showed an animal and I was lucky enough to get second. But also at Sydney I competed in the the youth show and I got first in my paraders heat. Pulled up into top five for champion, and I got third in junior judging there as well.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Congratulations.

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

Do the nerves kick in before stepping into the ring?

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Yeah, they definitely kick in before, but once I'm in there I settle and just try to do my thing, and then it sometimes it works out.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

So, how much preparation goes into getting cattle ready for a big show?

SPEAKER_00 7:15

So much preparation goes in back to like three or four lines of breeding before. You have to pick out the heifers or steers or bulls you want to use, you have to feed them up, break them in, clip them and do heaps of hair work with them so they look presentable at the shows. You take them to break-in shows before like rural shows like Sydney. And like if the break-in shows, you go to multiple of them just to make your animals really settle in.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

I guess spending a lot of time with them's important.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

Yeah, definitely. Like, I don't personally live on a farm, but you gotta put in heaps of like effort pretty much every day to just make them pretty calm and tell me about the hair work you said.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Do you wash them and then you've got to cone them?

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Yeah, you wash them like at first pretty much every day. Once you tie them up, you should like rinse them off with water. Then you can start like shampooing their hair and washing them all out, and then once they get to quiet enough, you blow dry them and put like product in like revive or show sheen.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

Really? And that shines their coat up.

SPEAKER_00 8:21

It shines their coat and helps add oil to really make the hair pop.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

Right. What's your favourite part? The competition, the people, or just being around good cattle?

SPEAKER_00 8:31

I like competing and watching the judging, but I also really like catching up with my friends that I've met like through the industry.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Is there something your friends say at basketball wouldn't realise about showing cattle?

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Pretty much everything because like they they're from town and they've never like been in the egg industry before and they've never done cattle showing before.

SPEAKER_01 8:51

Have you had any funny moments or disasters while showing?

SPEAKER_00 8:55

Well, at the 2025 Hereford Youth Show in Golden, thanks to Tim Reed, the fence fell over and all like the heifers in a big class of like 10 or 12 all got off and it was just like chaos because like the built-in fence just tipped over and everything was just loose all over, including my heifer.

unknown 9:14

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

So thanks to who?

SPEAKER_00 9:16

Tim Reed from JTR.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

And what did he do wrong?

SPEAKER_00 9:19

Well, he's like son's like five or six, and they just got out of their class beforehand and they were working were like walking back to the shed, and her the heifer got a fright, and Tim grabbed it off Harry, the son, and it just started bolting into straight like back into the fence and all the awards table and just fell over.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

That would have been a good chance to go and pinch a few awards.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

My heifer did end up getting second in the class though, after.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Oh, well done. I've seen you come home with lots of ribbons. What's your favourite ribbon or achievement so far?

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Well, there's actually a couple from the 2026 Northern New South Wales Hereford Year show. I was lucky enough to win uh all the awards in my age group from Champion Parade, Herdsman and Junior Judging. Then I went on to win Grand Champion Junior Judge at this show.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

That's a pretty good day out.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

It was pretty, pretty fun.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Well done. Can cattle work out if you like them or not?

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Yeah, cattle can read if you're scared or not, and they really play on your emotions. So just when you try to like be around them, try to be confident and just hide your nerves and be calm, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

Yeah. So the last few years you've had at St. Paul's Walla Walla. Can you tell me about that?

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Yeah, I have an ag scholarship there and I'm an active member of the cattle and sheep show team, but I also participate in the auctioneering comp.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Right. And St. Paul's has a strong focus on equine and ag studies.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Yeah, I'm not personally in the equine, but it's like really vital for our school. And the ag studies, you don't do ag in year seven, but in year eight you do uh two terms of like a little trial basically of like before you pick the electives. And I'm probably gonna pick AG as one of my electives.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Pretty good school?

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Yeah, it's really good.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

And you're boarding out there a few nights a week.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Yeah, I do flexi boarding on a Tuesday and Wednesday, it's really good. It's definitely boosted my confidence. But the only bad thing, I'm really picky, like a really picky eater, so I barely eat any of the food they cook.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

Oh, loose.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Because I don't really like steak or anything, so and they only really cook that.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

So And yet you're a cattle person. You don't like steak.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Yeah, it's kind of weird.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

Maybe that's a good thing you love cattle too much.

SPEAKER_00 11:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

So boarding life at 13, this is might be a little bit scary sometimes.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Yeah, it does get a bit scary sometimes, but the like staff and all the kids there are really like nice and they comfort you if you're feeling bad or about something and that.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

So do adults sometimes underestimate young people in agriculture?

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Yeah, they definitely do, but like some older like people who've been in the industry for a long time don't really want to change how they do stuff and they don't like intake new ideas and stuff.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

So we need people like you to bring in these new ideas, don't we?

SPEAKER_00 12:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Your mum and dad are very clever with stock and have been a great guide. What's the best lesson your dad's taught you?

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Like, never let go of your animal, and second sucks. No one remembers who comes second. You may as well come last.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

But mum says put the work in, it'll pay off.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

That's exactly right. Who do you look up to in the agricultural world?

SPEAKER_00 12:42

Yeah, I've got heaps of mentors, but mainly my pop Barry got bot, he's been a huge impact to my effort in the industry. Uh, Mark and Charlotte Stevens, I've been to countless Hereford Youth shows with them, Tim and Gemma Reed, my school teachers at St. Paul's, Miss Bailey and Miss Everingham, and the Miller family for their help getting to the Northern New South Wales Hereford Heffer Show.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Does your dad get a mention anywhere?

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Yeah, he's he's pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

Well, if we want to learn more about your dad, they've just got to go back a previous episode and we'll hear all about him. What do you love most about cattle?

SPEAKER_00 13:18

Um, I've like how I've made it a huge passion of mine, but I've also made heaps of friends, and I like going to heaps of shows to catch up with my all my friends. They're like another family to me.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Well said. You've kind of answered this, but we'll go over it again. Is it important to observe animals closely? And is that something young handlers are good at?

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Yeah, young people are sort of good at it. Like young people like me are still learning though, and they can miss science. No, and no matter how quiet an animal is, you can never really trust them because something can always go wrong.

SPEAKER_01 13:52

Is animal welfare important?

SPEAKER_00 13:53

It's very because when you have healthy cows and happy cows, the more weight and better production, which means more dollars in your pocket.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

I like your thinking, Luce. All right, Lucy. I've got a quick test. What's an EBV?

SPEAKER_00 14:08

Uh EBV stands for estimated breeding values.

SPEAKER_01 14:11

All right. EMA?

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Eye muscle area. It's done. It's actually pretty cool how they scan for eye muscle area. It's done with an ultrasound, and I've been lucky enough to see this happen a few times. It's really interesting.

SPEAKER_01 14:24

So this scans around a certain part of the meat and works out the size of it.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:29

Do you know I used to think it was something to do with the eye years ago? Alright. IMF sounds complicated.

SPEAKER_00 14:37

Well, it's intramuscular fat. It's like includes it helps the eating quality, and wag is uh pretty much one of the best in the industry for this. And they add in heaps to the eating quality.

SPEAKER_01 14:52

Okay. BW.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

Uh birth weight. You don't like you don't want it too low, but you also don't want it too high.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

So we don't want it too high, so it's gonna be an easy car.

SPEAKER_00 15:03

Yeah, you want it to come out easy around 35 to 42 kilos is pretty around the area for me.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

Golly, you're clever. E.T.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

embryo transfer. You flush eggs out uh of your donor cows and you implant them into other females.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

That's pretty clever stuff, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 15:22

Yeah, it's pretty cool. I've never really seen this happen too much before, but you could be doing it.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

Are genetics becoming a bigger part of cattle breeding?

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Yeah, heaps of people like back in the old days I've heard that people didn't really care about EBVs and they were kind of just there for people. But heaps of people like look at the EBVs and genetics now of how and it impacts whether they buy bulls or like from sales or anything now, really.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

So, any ideas what you might do after year twelve?

SPEAKER_00 15:55

I'll probably go to uni and most I'll most probably study something in AG, like genetics or something around that lines.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

Cool. Could you ever see yourself auctioneering like your dad?

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Yeah, I can definitely see, probably not as a job, but I've done it in the like school, interschool auctioneering competition before. Have you? Yeah, uh so it's like a annual yearly competition started last year, yeah, or a couple years ago. And I started it last year, and it's held at TRAC, the Riverina Anglican College in Wagga. And it's like you have two sections of novice and advanced, and you there's three pens of sheep, and you just auction them off, and then you get judged, and you can go to like different levels, like Guermain show and then Sydney show.

SPEAKER_01 16:41

Well, in last episode, I only just learnt what a patter is. Have you got a fast pattern or a slow patter?

SPEAKER_00 16:47

I wouldn't say too fast, but I also wouldn't say it's really slow.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Your dad's got a fast pattern.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

Yeah, he does. He's very fast. 11 pound now, that little half silly.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

Lucy, we're up to the off-the-wall questions. Are you ready?

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Yep, ready as I can be, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

If cattle could talk, what do you reckon they'd say about you?

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Um, I reckon they'd say, like, I'm really nice and caring, and I've got really soft hands when I like parade and lead.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

Have you ever given a favourite cow a nickname?

SPEAKER_00 17:18

No, not really, because I don't physically breed the cows myself at the moment, but most of the ones I've been given already have nicknames like Peaches, Pepper, Princess, a lot of peas. Yeah, but most of them come with nicknames already along with their stud names.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

What's more stubborn, cattle or people?

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Oh, it's very close on this one, but I feel like cattle would just get the edge over because if they don't want to go somewhere, they're not gonna go. And people you can kind of negotiate with a little bit to a certain point.

SPEAKER_01 17:48

That's well said. Have you ever walked into the showroom acting confident while panicking inside?

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Yeah, pretty much every single time. Because like you see who you're up against and you just like the nerves start to roll in.

SPEAKER_01 18:03

Yeah, if you could swap jobs with your dad, Peter Godbolt, for one day, what would go wrong first?

SPEAKER_00 18:09

I feel like everything could go wrong. Probably like I'd get caught driving a car to go somewhere by like going the wrong speed or getting pulled over.

SPEAKER_01 18:17

We've got to remind our listeners here that you actually are only 13.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:22

What else could go wrong?

SPEAKER_00 18:23

I lose my voice because dad always complains how his voice always gets sore after he does long sales and long days of sales.

SPEAKER_01 18:31

Imagine losing your voice just before an auction.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

That'd be so painful.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

Do your friends fully understand how much cattle people talk about cattle?

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Well, some of my friends that are involved in the ag industry understand completely to like some points, because most friends that I have at school aren't really in like cattle, but they still kind of understand because I talk about it that much. But like other people have really no idea what happens or what goes on, and like they kind of just ignore it when I say like I'm going to a cattle show, like they don't really understand what it means. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

What's something only ag kids would understand?

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Well, getting up early every day to care for your stock and care for your land. Like, cause getting up early one like one day just to like play a game of netball or something's not that big a deal, but like dairy farmers get up at like three o'clock every morning, every single day of the year to milk their cows, and like they go to bed at late times at night as well.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

It's a tough gig.

SPEAKER_00 19:37

Yeah, it'd be pretty hard to do.

SPEAKER_01 19:39

Now, this is a question I ask most people at the end. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

SPEAKER_00 19:45

Well, I am only 13, as you mentioned before, so I couldn't really go anywhere to live at the moment. But when I'm older, I want to go to America or Canada to do the show season there and then come back to Australia.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Well, thanks, Lucy, for traveling all this way to come and talk to me.

SPEAKER_00 20:00

No worries, thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

And to let our listeners know you are right next door.

SPEAKER_00 20:05

Yeah, only next door neighbours, not too far of a hike.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

Well, thank you, Lucy. You've been a fantastic guest. You're incredibly knowledgeable for 13, and it's been a lot of fun hearing about your passion for cattle and agriculture. I've got no doubt we'll be hearing plenty more about you in the future. Good luck with everything ahead, and hopefully, we'll have you back on the podcast in a few years' time. Yeah, hopefully.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

Hopefully, one time in a bit a few years.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

Thank you, Lucy.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

Thanks for listening to this one with Lucy Godbold. What an impressive young mind and a real passion for cattle and the egg industry. If you haven't already, make sure you go back and listen to the last two episodes with her dad, Pete Godbolt. There's some great insight into those conversations too, and it really rounds out the story from both sides of the family and the stud stock world. Thanks for listening. And remember, keep your hands dirty and your spirits high.