After entering the competition for five years, Adam Bennett has topped the Victorian Stud Merino Sheepbreeders' Association’s junior judging state final.
The 17-year-old said the field of 17 young judges had to put four ewes in order from the best to the worst.
Their results were then compared to those from a panel of experienced stud breeders, who then judged the youths’ performances.
“It was pretty hard; they were four very even sheep,” Adam said.
He managed to get them in the same order as the judges, but Adam said being able to clearly articulate why you put the sheep in a particular order was the most important part of the competition.
He first entered the competition that is held at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show, at Bendigo, when he was 13 and “just loves it”.
“I always wanted to do it and hopefully one day I can be an official judge at Bendigo.”
Adam’s strategy is to walk around the sheep and the place them in his order, and he conceded that the middle sheep were usually the hardest to place.
His next step is to work out the positives of the sheep he places in first and any faults; and then he repeats that for the subsequent sheep. He said he’d usually describe more faults than positives of the last sheep.
“At Bendigo, I was looking for good, white wool on a good-sized, correct-framed sheep.”
To go onto the next level of the competition, people have to be from Victoria and aged 16 to 25. Adam was the highest-placed Victorian in the competition last year, so won the opportunity to compete at Melbourne later this year, abd because of his win last weekend, he will go to Adelaide next year.
Adam works full time on his family’s farm at Everton Upper, where parents Dean and Charmane established a Bennmann Merino stud.
Adam said in the past decade, they had slowly build up flock numbers, while maintaining high quality.
“We’ve bought stud ewes and rams, but it takes a while, and I’ve been going to ram sales since I was a little tacker, now when Dad and I go, we look at the rams and we make our pick separately, but it’s great that now we always select the same rams.”
Adam said while he’s enjoyed working on the farm full-time, he said once he gets his driver’s licence he hopes to go shearing.
Tom Lilburne (left), NSW, came second in the competition, and Kaidan Johnston, WA, came third.
The competition was helped by George McKenzie, Montrose Hill stud, Warren Russell, Melrose stud, John Barty, Beverley stud, and Alan Harris, Koole Vale stud.
