The two-year-old, housed, March shorn ram from Royalla that won supreme exhibit in Yass Show's merino sheep competition was so big it filled the whole pen.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Judge and chief steward, Sam Bucknell said the supreme exhibit's size and wool were of "amazing quality".
The supreme exhibit has been housed for 12 months by owners, Winston and Sue McDonald, who have been entering sheep into agricultural shows since 1984. Shows depend on people like the McDonalds, with the number of exhibits generally declining. Entries to Yass Show's merino sheep and fleece competition were down this year.
Mr McDonald said it was important to him to support shows like the one at Yass: "Not many studs exhibit anymore, it's too costly and younger farmers are not as into the shows as the older ones were."
Today, both paddock-run and housed sheep are accepted into Yass Show's merino competition. It's a sign of the times, shifting from the days when paddock-run sheep were frowned upon.
Housing sheep (inside of the shed) for a year at a time, the usual period before competition, is a costly exercise, judge Mr Bucknell said.
"Grain prices are expensive," he said, explaining that housed sheep require feeding all of the time because they are not grazing outside. The drought has not helped either.
