Back to the farm focus for this year’s Ballarat Show

HOW the things we eat and wear get from the farmgate to our plates and wardrobes will take centre stage at this year’s Ballarat Show.

The three-day event kicks of this Friday and while there’s still all the carnival activities we’ve come to expect, organisers are working hard to reconnect with the Show’s farming beginnings.

“A show for me is about agriculture,” said Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society executive officer Lucy Quartermain.

“Your Melbourne Show, Sydney Show, Adelaide and others, a big part of why they started was to promote agriculture, and we just weren’t doing it.

“We needed to bring agriculture back into it, it is a big part of most shows.”

There’s a wide range of animals being shown including sheep, goats and beef and dairy cattle.

But there’s also hands on experiences, especially for kids. They can find out what it’s like to milk a cow, shear a sheep and even learn the fine art of fleece tossing.

“People get a bit mesmerised when you see a sheerer up there, sheering a sheep,” said Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society president Geoff Fisken.

“It’s a fluid movement, it’s colour and movement and it’s going to try and teach kids how to throw a fleece and handle wool and sheer sheep.”

Fourteen-year-old Charlie Savage will be showing Corriedale sheep, a meat and wool breed.

“If you get the sheep right, they are a really beautiful sheep,” Charlie said.

“Nice long wool and they stand well.”

The Damascus College student, who lives on a sheep farm, said many hours went into preparing the animals for display.

“It’s a lot to do with before show,”

Charlie said. “Getting the sheep prepared, opening all the wool up, cutting around the outsides to make it look the best they can and when it comes to show day it’s all on.

“I just love how it all works, it’s something I’m really passionate about and when you go to the shows you speak to a lot of people and you’re always learning.”

Kerri Gallagher runs a dairy farm, Kelenmar Holsteins, with her brother Glenn Ross in Bald Hills.

She’s brining cattle to this year’s Ballarat Show for both competition and so people can interact with them.

“They’ll be an attraction in the Cattle Pavilion for kids to come in and pat and help feed them at certain times of the day,” Ms Gallagher said.

For Ms Gallagher there was also a benefit back on the farm.

“I love the breeding side of things and trying to improve the animals you’re showing and milking,” she said.

“We want really pretty cows to get out of bed to milk in the morning. If their ugly there’s not much joy in it.”

For Charlie, who’s family also run a sheep stud, doing well has economic benefits.

“That’s one of the big reasons you take sheep to show, to sell sheep,” he said.

While winning isn’t everything, Charlie said landing a blue ribbon was worth the effort.

“It’s a big Toyota jump,” he said. “It’s a great feeling.”