HOW the things we eat and wear get from the farmgate to our plates and wardrobes will take centre stage at this year\u2019s Ballarat Show.<\/p>\n
The three-day event kicks of this Friday and while there\u2019s still all the carnival activities we\u2019ve come to expect, organisers are working hard to reconnect with the Show\u2019s farming beginnings.<\/p>\n
\u201cA show for me is about agriculture,\u201d said Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society executive officer Lucy Quartermain.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour Melbourne Show, Sydney Show, Adelaide and others, a big part of why they started was to promote agriculture, and we just weren\u2019t doing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe needed to bring agriculture back into it, it is a big part of most shows.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a wide range of animals being shown including sheep, goats and beef and dairy cattle.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s also hands on experiences, especially for kids. They can find out what it\u2019s like to milk a cow, shear a sheep and even learn the fine art of fleece tossing.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople get a bit mesmerised when you see a sheerer up there, sheering a sheep,\u201d said Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Society president Geoff Fisken.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a fluid movement, it\u2019s colour and movement and it\u2019s going to try and teach kids how to throw a fleece and handle wool and sheer sheep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fourteen-year-old Charlie Savage will be showing Corriedale sheep, a meat and wool breed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you get the sheep right, they are a really beautiful sheep,\u201d Charlie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNice long wool and they stand well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Damascus College student, who lives on a sheep farm, said many hours went into preparing the animals for display.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot to do with before show,\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlie said. \u201cGetting 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\u2019s all on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just love how it all works, it\u2019s something I\u2019m really passionate about and when you go to the shows you speak to a lot of people and you\u2019re always learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kerri Gallagher runs a dairy farm, Kelenmar Holsteins, with her brother Glenn Ross in Bald Hills.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s brining cattle to this year\u2019s Ballarat Show for both competition and so people can interact with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll be an attraction in the Cattle Pavilion for kids to come in and pat and help feed them at certain times of the day,\u201d Ms Gallagher said.<\/p>\n
For Ms Gallagher there was also a benefit back on the farm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the breeding side of things and trying to improve the animals you\u2019re showing and milking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want really pretty cows to get out of bed to milk in the morning. If their ugly there\u2019s not much joy in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Charlie, who\u2019s family also run a sheep stud, doing well has economic benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one of the big reasons you take sheep to show, to sell sheep,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While winning isn\u2019t everything, Charlie said landing a blue ribbon was worth the effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big Toyota jump,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HOW the things we eat and wear get from the farmgate to our plates and wardrobes will take centre stage at this year\u2019s Ballarat Show. The three-day event kicks of this Friday and while there\u2019s still all the carnival activities we\u2019ve come to expect, organisers are working hard to reconnect with the Show\u2019s farming beginnings. […]<\/p>\n