Mingenew Midwest Expo: Dempsters win first prize for prestigious Flock Ewe Competition

A last minute decision to enter the Flock Ewe Competition at the Mingenew Midwest Expo paid off with a first prize ribbon for the Dempster family of Mingenew.

Nari Plains crop and sheep farmer James Dempster said after some encouragement to enter the competition by Elders livestock agent Ross Tyndale-Powell, he was glad he did — especially to help out due to the lack of entries.

“We’ve been in the competition quite a few times, but had a break for a few years,” Mr Dempster said.

“We’ve never won before.”

He said it was nice to get a “bit of recognition” for the work they do running sheep.

“I went through the sheep pretty thoroughly, selecting the right ones,” Mr Dempster said prior to the show.

Mr Dempster said in selecting the ewes they were aiming for a “nice, bright wool”, with easy care maintenance, which must have caught the competition judge Nathan Teakle’s eye because that’s one of the reasons his pen was selected for the first prize.

The Flock Ewe Competition was held in the Elders Livestock Arena and attracted just three entries this year, while the planned Heifer Competition failed to get enough support to run.

Both events have been an important part of the Mingenew Midwest Expo since 2017, after a hiatus of more than 10 years, but with less and less livestock producers in the area it has become harder to keep the competitions going.

The Flock Ewe Competition was overseen by Expo committee member Billi Marshall as well as Mr Tyndale-Powell, who said the three pens of eight ewes were presented by Mr Dempster, Gavin Elsegood, Mingenew, who placed second, and David and Brad Spencer from Gymbowen, Perenjori, who received the third place ribbon.

In the flock ewe competition, teams of maiden Merino ewes showing no more than two permanent teeth are judged on their wool and commercial qualities, conformation, structure, and size for type.

In the heifer competition, cattle of any breed, including crosses, have been judged for structural soundness, femininity, carcase quality, uniformity and temperament.

Mr Teakle said he was looking for quality ewes across the pen, with a good wool length.

“I was looking for overall evenness,” Mr Teakle said.

“The winning pen came down to the ewes being very even across the pen, with good wool length that was nice and white.

“The other pens (second and third) were slightly different in consistency.”

Elders Mingenew livestock agent Ross Tyndale-Powell said it had been harder to attract competitors to the competition this year due to “less sheep around”.

“It’s getting harder to have the competition,” Mr Tyndale-Powell said.

“They were good quality sheep presented by all contestants, but hopefully there’s more confidence in the industry next year.”

He said issues such as low meat prices and the Federal Government’s plan to phase out the live sheep trade by sea were impacting confidence in the sheep industry in the region.

Mr Dempster said having livestock on display at the Expo was good for the event because it was “something different”, and there was a lot of interest — especially from younger attendees.

He said his rams were sourced from the Wagin area and in recent years, like other producers in the area, he had cut back on sheep numbers to operate a “mainly cropping business”.

“We still run some sheep to graze pastures and the crop stubbles in summer,” Mr Dempster said.