Prestigious invitation for judges
Wimmera agricultural judges attending prestigious national livestock competitions at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show have demonstrated the region’s agricultural talent remains pride-of-place.
Poultry judge Michael Lloyd, 21, of Quantong placed second at Agricultural Shows Australia: National Young Judges and Paraders Competition at the show, having competed against Australia’s best young poultry-judging state representatives.
Mr Lloyd said the Sydney judges and paraders event was a ‘great’ experience and a chance to judge in front of a city-based crowd, largely unfamiliar with agriculture.
“Usually at poultry shows and the state shows I go to, there won’t be a crowd – just exhibitors about the place. But that is a benefit of a royal show with such an agricultural feel – you get so many people who wouldn’t see that sort of stuff normally, so they are very enthusiastic,” he said.
“They had on display the little white chooks that lay commercial eggs. They were on display near where we were judging and it does a good job of getting the commercial side of the industry in front of city people.”
He said while he did not win overall, he was happy with how he performed.
“You don’t get the points form back to see how you did afterwards – you
just have to go with the decision – but it was a good show for me,” he said.
He said a professional judge offered him a judging contract for one of Australia’s biggest duck shows – a New South Wales Waterfowl Breeders Association show in Goulburn on May 7.
Meanwhile, Aurora Park and Burrandool Studs owner Matt Hill, of St Helen’s Plains, was invited to professionally judge dual-purpose sheep for Royal Agricultural Society of NSW for the first time.
He said he became involved in sheep judging after a Horsham College agricultural program introduced him to junior competitions.
“It was always daunting as a young person to judge an animal, write it all down, talk to a judge and then with a microphone tell the crowd about your judging decision. They are all judging you while you are judging the sheep,” he said.
Mr Hill was invited to his first royalshow judging position after being accepted by a NSW show committee and a royal show committee.
“There are a few processes to be involved, and it is all invitational. It is great to get my name up there,” he said.
“It is also an advantage for me as a breeder to meet other sheep breeders,
become more well-known myself and to constantly talk about what other people constitutes a perfect sheep.
“Even though there is a standard that tells you what that is, everyone still interprets it differently.”
Nsw-raised Longerenong College graduate and wool handler Helena Fischer represented the college in the show’s National Graduate Wool Classer competition.