GOVERNOR-GENERAL Sir Peter Cosgrove toured Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange on Wednesday to meet farmers and observe stock sales.
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Sir Peter paid tribute to farmers in the region, acknowledging their skill in the face of adversity.
“I wanted to come to Horsham and I wanted in particular to see an area that’s renowned as one of the bread baskets of rural Australia and one of the top producing areas of what I would call modest rainfall,’’ he said.
“I wouldn’t call it a dry area but it certainly isn’t lush. Yet the technical prowess of the land users is such that it is a very productive area, so hats off to those who farm out here.”
Sir Peter said he was impressed by the way experts at the livestock exchange assessed stock.
“Just imagine all the work and expertise that goes into presenting these sheep and lambs that have been developed on farms to a point where they’ll end up as part of our diet,” he said.
Tooan farmer Chris Toet said meeting the Governor-General was an honour and privilege.
“He’s come to meet the common people and the farmers – it’s been great,” he said.
“It’s good to see dignitaries come to the country and it’s good to see him out and about.”
Mr Toet said he was able to outline the season to Sir Peter.
“I talked about our overall experiences on the land and how the year’s been going for us,” he said.
“We’ve had a good harvest, good crops, the stock are selling well, so that sort of puts a bit of cream on the cake for us.”
Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange onsite manager Paul Christopher led the saleyards tour.
“He was accommodating and easy to talk to,” Mr Christoper said.
“He was interested in what was going on and what prices were bringing and he was interested in farmers.”