By DAN RYAN
Young people from across the region packed into the sheds at Cowra Showground last Thursday, August 7, for the Central West Poll Dorset Youth Day - an event designed to give students a hands-on look at careers in agriculture.
Schools from as far as Sydney to Mudgee joined the program, with many students coming from agricultural backgrounds and others getting their first real exposure to the industry. While some participating schools, such as The King’s School, Forbes High, Cowra High, Canowindra High and Orange High, already offer agriculture-based curriculums, the day provided valuable insight for students without a direct connection to farming.
Ruth Klingner from Ridge Haven Poll Dorsets in Cudal said the event’s reach was one of its greatest strengths.
"There's eleven different schools, kids from as far away as Sydney with the Kings School, St Pauls, TRAC, Cowra, Yass, Forbes, Orange, Mudgee and Grenfell," she said.
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With so many different backgrounds represented, the day offered a broad view of the industry, highlighting that there are more pathways into agriculture than simply working on a farm.
"If someone's interested in the Poll Dorset stud, then they'll get a little bit out of it from that perspective. But we focus on the whole lamb industry – yes, working on a farm is a fantastic job, but there's a whole lot more in agriculture than working on a farm," Ms Klingner said.
Hands-on sessions and rotating stalls guided students through every stage of the lamb industry from lambing and raising livestock to processing. For those not destined for a farm career, the lessons still connected them to the source of their food and clothing.
"Not all these kids will work in agriculture, but hopefully most of them eat lamb," said Ms Klingner. "So it's still helping them to know what a good chop looks like versus a not so good chop might look like."
With the average age of an Australian farmer now 56, industry leaders are aware of the pressing need to encourage young people into agriculture.
"A lot of people are talking about farmers getting older and older, but we don't do stuff for the youth it's only going to perpetuate," Ms Klingner said.
"We want people to open their eyes, see that ag is an opportunity, sheep is an opportunity, and it's just something worth considering because if you don't get exposed to it you don't even think of it."
