Entries are flowing in for the 2019 SA Sheep Expo to be held at the Adelaide Showground in the upcoming school holidays.
Seventeen-year-old Jack Walker from Lucindale has been to the three previous expos but was among the first to register for the April 15 to 17 event.
"It is great meeting new people and good fun and a chance to learn new things with the topics changing every year," he said.
Last year he won the Heiniger Learner Scholarship, including a shearing tool kit.
As part of the requirement for the award he attended a week-long tafeSA learners school at Furner late last year learning how to shear.
He went on to compete in the Lucindale shears competition finishing fourth and the following weekend placed third in the Edenhope,Vic,shears.
"I always wanted to do a bit of shearing so this has steered me in the right direction," he said.
Jack's younger sister Milly is excited about being a first-time competitor.
"I would like to do something working with animals so it will be a good experience," she said.
The Expo, inspired by the long-running SA Junior Heifer Expo, is open to young sheep enthusiasts from 12 to 23 years of age.
This year’s theme will be lamb production and industry innovation with educational sessions including virtual fencing, butchering demonstrations and nutrition, as well as showing sheep.
For the first time senior entrants will get an opportunity to visit Michell Wool mill at Salisbury.
Expo chairman Brenton Lush says the event is about providing a “foundation for the future of the industry”
“At the moment the sheep industry is in a really strong position but the one question mark is who are the people that are going to be driving it forward,” he said.
‘In 20 or so years time these people will be the ones running the industry so if we can give them an understanding from a young age and the more connections they can have the better.”
He hopes it will encourage the next generation of sheep producers but also stock agents and wool brokers with a careers panel one of the most popular sessions.
“For many of them it is their first time dealing with sheep and they get a chance to learn about all the different breeds (of sheep) and what they offer,” Mr Lush said.
“We started with only 60 and then 70 in the second year , it was 90 last year and this year we’re hoping for the 100 to 120 mark."
Merino SA has established a new award for 2019 giving an entrant the chance to undertake a week’s work experience on a Merino stud near their home.
The major award for the winning senior will again be a study tour of New Zealand, valued at up to $4500.
- Online entries close on Friday, March 15 at: sasheepexpo.com.au