THOUSANDS of locals and visitors braved the cold weather on Sunday and flooded the Hamilton Showgrounds to celebrate the long-awaited return of Sheepvention, after three years of COVID-19 cancellations.

The official event launch took place in the Sheep Pavilion, with Sheepvention president, Kathryn Robertson, addressing the crowd and expressing her excitement at finally being able to hold the event after such a long hiatus.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome you all here today to Sheepvention 2022, we are so pleased to return after three years,” she said.

“It’s great to have our prestigious event returning for us all to enjoy.”

Southern Grampians Shire Council acting mayor, Cr David Robertson, said it was “a great privilege” for the town to be able to host the annual event again and celebrate farming and the agriculture industry.

“It’s been a long three years, we’ve been missing it and so it’s a great reward to see it here for the next two days,” he said.

“Hamilton always was the epicenter of pastures, animal husbandry, (and) productivity, an example of this is Lifetime Ewe Management which I think many people here would know about and have participated in.

“It originated 21 years ago (Lifetime Ewe Management), today it’s still the biggest selling educational program in the sheep industry.

“I think the most exciting thing about agriculture today is we have a new generation of farmers - young, enthusiastic, thirsty for information, technologically savvy and business focused.

“What we see here in Sheepvention is where people come to source out that information, the technology, the innovations, that’s what it’s all about.”

State Agriculture minister, Gayle Tierney, was also present for the official opening and labelled Sheepvention as “one of Australia’s biggest and most prestigious sheep and agriculture field events”.

“Like you, I am so very pleased that Sheepvention is back on the calendar after the hiatus we’ve had - it represents a perfect opportunity for the local community and the sheep industry to connect, collaborate and celebrate,” she said.

“Events such as Sheepvention epitomise the great spirit, incredible innovation and talent of the agriculture community.”

With the sheep industry being a key driver for employment and the economy across the south-west, Ms Tierney reassured locals the government was “taking action” to help protect the sector in light of new biosecurity threats.

“The sector has experienced one of the most challenging periods over the last few years, encountering a number of hurdles including bushfires, trade shocks, storms, floods, and drought,” she said.

“Not to mention the unprecedented pandemic which posed so many challenges for so many Australians.

“More recently the agricultural sector has had to shift its focus to the onslaught of biosecurity challenges including the avian influenza, the Japanese encephalitis, and of course, the varroa mite situation in New South Wales.

“We are preparing for the escalating prep of foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease, as it is present in the Asian region.

“We are establishing an emergency animal disease task force to continue the planning for a rapid response if an outbreak were to occur here in Victoria.”

Renowned journalist and presenter of ABC television show ‘Landline’, Pip Courtney was also involved in the official opening and said she was a “big believer” of participating in industry events and was excited to be back after attending her last Sheepvention in the early 90s.

“The brief of Landline is to find the best farmers in Australia and tell their story, and there’s a very common denominator in the best farmers that I meet and they go to events like this,” she said.

“They are always looking for that extra one per cent in increase, in yield, or saving one per cent, maybe dropping one per cent in costs, and getting off the farm is how you do that.

“No matter how good you are, you can always learn something.

“I really get the feeling that I’m in a town where there is a lot of volunteering across the board.”

 After the opening speeches, attendees were treated to an industry-focused question and answer session hosted by Nick Reid of Reid Stockfeeds, where Ms Courtney shared information such as where her love of sheep originated from and how she came to be known as “that lady in the hat”.

“I don’t believe in God but I do when I see three things; horses, Burmese cats, and sheep,” she said.

“I do love these animals, I don’t know why but I do.” 

Held since 1979 by the Hamilton Pastoral and Agricultural Society, Sheepvention encourages networking, highlights excellence within the agriculture industry, and promotes innovation.

This year the show is host to over 400 traders, with the return of the renowned Hamilton and Western District Sheep Show, the popular Ram Sale, the Coprice Victorian Farm Dog Championships and the Wool Handling competition, as well as so much more.