WA talent shines at this year’s Sydney Easter Royal Show with wins in dairy, poultry, cattle and more

WA’s most talented agriculture industry representatives did their state proud at this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show, taking home prizes and bragging rights in the dairy, cattle, young farmer and poultry competitions. Nearly a million people turned out to this year’s Show between April 8 and 19, proving the event run by the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales is still a winner 200 years on. Well-known Boyup Brook Venturon Livestock owner Harris Thompson, a regular at the Perth Royal Show, took out the grand and senior champion prizes in the Charloais cattle section. His 964kg, 27-month-old bull Raise The Bar R1 won its class for bulls aged 25 to 30 months before being sashed the senior and grand champion Charolais after being praised by the judges for its movement and muscle. The bull was sold for $36,000 at Venturon Livestock’s on-property sale in February, and was bought by Minne-Vale Charolais Stud in Narrabri, New South Wales. Mr Thompson drove for 52 hours to represent WA at the Sydney Royal Show, saying the reward of being named the most successful exhibitor in the Charolais breed was a real honour. He said it was the best group of cattle the Thompsons had ever prepared and entered in the Sydney Royal Show, after first exhibiting at the show in 2011. They took nine Charolais to the event, including three junior bulls, one senior bull, three junior heifers and a cow-calf unit, as well as two junior Angus heifers. Mr Thompson has a long history with the Australia’s royal shows, after being named the 2019 National Ambassador and this year handing the title to 2022 recipient Dione Howard, of New South Wales. WA’s four-person team in the Australian Young Farmer Challenge scooped second after narrowly being defeated by a Queensland team, while a South Australian team placed third. The WA competitors won their spot in the national competition after success at last year’s Wagin Woolorama and Perth Royal Show, showing they had what it takes to compete on the national stage. The team included Wagin livestock project officer Kelly Gorter, Carlton Hull — who grew up in Tambellup but works in mining — Mt Barker stockperson Natasha Hull, and Beverley farmer Cameron Broun. The competition is jointly funded by Agricultural Shows Australia and the Federal Government’s National Landcare program and aims to showcase the diverse skills required to make a living from the land. Teams compete at a local level and a regional level, before going on to the State finals at each royal show, with state winners invited to the national finals to compete for money and bragging rights. WA College of Agriculture — Harvey student Sam Cox was named Australia’s sharpest dairy cattle judge and took out the top prize in the Young Dairy Cattle Judges competition. The finals of the annual contest run by Agricultural Shows Australia bring together the best young judges and cattle paraders from around the country after winning regional and state competitions. Entrants in the dairy cattle parading and judging competitions must be aged between 15 and 25. Ms Cox, a Year 12 student from Stratham, beat five others for the 2022 title after judging cattle for five years, and last year qualifying for the state finals in meat sheep at the Perth Royal Show. She grew up on a small farm and plans to study animal health and science at university next year. Muchea youngster Thomas Spencer, age, proved he was among Australia’s best and was named runner-up in the 2021 National Young Poultry Judges Competition, honing his 12 year craft. He was also a finalist in the Beef Young Judging Competition. A swathe of competitions — including the poultry contest — played catch up at the Sydney Royal Easter Show after the cancellation of the Ekka event in Queensland last year. Royal Agriculture of WA chief executive Robyn Sermon said it was an incredible effort from all of the WA competitors, noting the success had created a buzz ahead of this year’s Perth Royal Show. “Our industry is indeed looking bright with people,” she said. “We are now looking forward to the 2022 farming competitions at the upcoming Perth Royal Show later this year.” Australia’s 572 agricultural shows attract more than six million visitors and contribute more than $1b to the national economy each year. A swathe of competitions played catch up at the Sydney Royal Easter Show after the cancellation of Ekka —Queensland’s royal agricultural show — last year. WA finalists for the 2021 competitions included Joshua Antonio (Rural Ambassador), Makayla Brice (Merino Sheep Young Judges), Hayden Baker (Merino Fleece Young Judges), Brendan Lamont (Sheep Meat Breeders Young Judges), Jai Thomas (Dairy Paraders) and Tanille Hughes (Dairy Cattle Young Judges). Other 2022 finalists, who did not place, included Ms Gorter (Rural Ambassador), Jorja Hamersley (Merino Sheep Young Judges), Oaklee Treasure (Merino Fleece Young Judges), Chloe Taylor (Sheep Meat Breeds Young Judges).