THIS year’s Sheepvention will include the inaugural Peter Schroder Lecture with Aggregate Consulting director/owner, Sandy McEachern, speaking on the subject of ‘what happens to farm wealth when we get all the pieces of the puzzle together’.

Peter Schroder died just over a month ago on June 2, aged 78, having become a legendary name in the district, and Southern Grampians Shire mayor, David Robertson, said it was high time his contribution to the region and the “influence he had right across the farming community” was recognised, with Mr Schroder’s background as an agronomist going back to the 1970s.

“For probably the first 30 years he concentrated in that area,” Cr Robertson said.

“He identified the lacking element of most soils here was P (phosphorus).

“Peter was probably the main man behind making Hamilton the epicentre of pastures in Australia.”

Cr Robertson said he knew such a claim was not a minor thing to say but pointed to how innovative Mr Schroder’s methodology was with plenty of experimentation on soil to get the best possible result.

“Back in the 70s, and 80s, test strips were common on people’s properties,” Cr Robertson said.

“You’d set up test strips with different fertilisers, combinations of them … a whole lot were put out and we’d see the difference.

“The proof was in the pudding. Peter was a very practical person (and) down-to-earth and wasn’t just (informed) out of a textbook – he made it happen.

“He persisted with people and the people who listened became the most productive farmers around.”

Cr Robertson said Mr Schroder eventually progressed from just “producing productive pastures to utilising productive pastures” by covering topics such as correct stocking rates and grazing management.

Hamilton P&A Society life member, David Jenkin, said Mr Schroder “was a pioneer” and “way ahead of his time”.

“His contribution to the whole district was just immense,” Mr Jenkin said.

Booked to deliver the lecture on the Monday morning of this year’s Sheepvention, Mr McEachern said Mr Schroder was “initially a bit of a mentor” when he started in his business in 2002 as “a bit of a young bloke, wet behind the ears”.

“He was also a large supporter of our business, down there locally, and encouraged people into what we do, and came along to all the meetings up until just recently,” Mr McEachern said.

“He would have attended every meeting for the last almost 20 years with clients, and so he had a huge input into those clients’ businesses along the way.

“He was one of the few agronomists that actually took an interest in the profits and I think that’s what set him apart.”

As an extension of that mindset, Mr McEachern said he was looking forward to sharing what his farming business consultancy company experience along with their financial and production database had taught him to inform farming clients of their opportunities.

He was hoping to pull “some examples out of our benchmark data that show just how well businesses have performed when they do get it right and talk a little bit about what are the key things about getting it right”.

In reference to Mr Schroder, Mr McEachern said he was excited to deliver the first of these lectures and that it was “an honour”.

Cr Robertson said the Peter Schroder Trust Fund was being set up and the lecture was hoped to be an annual event, with many local businesses being “very kind and charitable … to get this thing rolling”.

He said Mr Schroder’s work was instrumental in making “this region number one agricultural producer in Australia” and hoped many people would come along as part of attending Sheepvention.

“It’ll be informative, it’ll be punchy,” Cr Robertson said.

“It’ll be right at the cutting edge of information today and putting it all together and making it happen.”

The Peter Schroder Lecture will be held at the Red Shield Hut on Monday, August 7 at 9.30am with $10 tickets available online, and entry to Sheepvention 2023 required to gain access.