AGRICULTURE students and other interested people attended a wool classing workshop at an Elmore property on Wednesday.
The workshop included a presentation on the history of the Merino breed, and a hands-on session on wool classing.
Elders Bendigo district wool manager Adam Millard, who organised the event, said it was positive to see such a good turn-out of young people.
“We’re targeting that age group, because we need more young people interested in livestock and sheep,” Mr Millard said.
“There’s usually a generation gap because Dad would have done the sheep classing, so we need to change that and get more knowledge out there.”
Australian Wool Innovation sheep specialist Stu Hodgson, who conducted the presentations, said it’s important to get young people involved in hands-on learning.
“Since the wool industry has resurrected itself, we see that there is a massive gap in young people coming through,” Mr Hodgson said.
“As a company, we are committed to doing everything we can to help get more young people into the Merino industry.
“Universities run extensive agriculture studies, but students need to have hands on experience with the assessment of sheep, as well as theoretical knowledge.”