WIMMERA sheep farmers walked away with a bunch of ribbons at this year’s Australian Sheep and Wool Show held in Bendigo.
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Wimmera studs Metex Texel and White Suffolck, Glenpean and Aurora Park Hampshire Down studs were just some of the show’s big winners.
Aurora Park Hampshire Down owner Mathew Hill said he was very pleased with the outcomes of this year’s show.
“This was my third time I went to the show and it was by far the most successful one for me,” he said.
“I managed to win the Australian Champion Hampshire Down Ram and Most Successful Hampshire Down Exhibitor.”
Mr Hill also walked away with five first places, four second places and one third place.
“I took a team of 10 Hampshire Down sheep and every single one of them placed,” he said. “I really enjoyed the show and was happy with how I went. It shows that I’m going in the right direction with what I’m doing with my breeds.”
He said he was attending the Ballarat Sheep Show next weekend, and Hamilton’s Sheepvention event the following weekend.
Mertex Texel and White Suffolk Stud, Antwerp, principal Tim Joregensen said this year’s show had been highly successful for the stud.
The stud walked a long list of ribbons including Champion Texel Ewe, Most Successful Texel Exhibitor, Best Strike Rate, Junior Champion Ram, Reserve Senior Champion Ram, first 2 Tooth Woolly Ram, first 2 Tooth Woolly Ewe and first Milk Tooth Shorn Ewe, among others.
Overall, the stud had five second placings and two third placings.
“We’re really please with how we went this year, although it probably wasn’t as good as last year’s,” he said.
“It was good to catch up with some fellow breeders meet some of our clients and meet prospective buyers.
“We’re heading off to Sheepvention in two weeks time. Hopefully we’ll come home with a few ribbons, but you never know what the judges’ views will be on the day.”
The National Merino Pair competition was one of the show’s main highlights.
Rod and Sue Miller of Brimpaen’s Glenpean stud were awarded reserve champion for a pair of “very productive, well put together sheep”, according to the judge’s comments.
This is the second time Glenpaen has taken out reserve champion in the pairs competition at Bendigo.
Mr Miller said this was exactly why they show, “to benchmark against the best sheep in the country”.
He said the ewe, who won her fine medium ewe class earlier in the day, was a standout of the pair.