Thousands of telephone calls and emails ricochet between the planners and organisers of the Regional Exhibits at each Sydney Royal Show for months before the actual event. Designs are plotted and planned, produce and products are prepared and thousands of kilometres are travelled to attend meetings.
Then, as if by magic, over two weeks before the grand opening of the show, the dioramas emerge to show each region’s finest produce designed into a theme.
The schedule is the bible of each of the five regions, Central NSW, Northern NSW, South East Queensland, Western NSW and Southern Districts, as strict guidelines determine what produce can and will be included for each exhibit.
Every item in the exhibits are judged in their specific categories, adding to the overall point score with awards going to best overall exhibit and popular choice. Judging of the competition takes place over seven days with about 50 or more judges awarding points based on produce and display. The displays are judged first to fifth for produce and first to third in display. A total of 11,657 gross points are up for grabs so sourcing and selecting prime produce is paramount.
Categories include dairy produce, foods (hams and bacon, eggs, honey and olive oil), wines, preserves, fresh fruit and nuts, vegetables and ginger, cucurbits, grains. stock fodders, commercial fibres and tropical products, pasture grasses, legumes and herbages and wool. The quality and presentation of the overall display means the theme needs to engage the audience and effectively explain a contemporary issue.
Manager of the Southern Districts team, Ken Hewitt from Crookwell, is a fine-wool breeder and sources the fleeces from fine, super-fine and British breed producers. He is the co-ordinator of people responsible for sourcing the various sections across the breadth of the Southern District. Draw an imaginary line from Wentworth in the west to Wollongong, and from Liverpool to Nimmatabel in the south and this is the rich geographic and climatic areas from which produce can be acquired.
Jim Higman first became involved in the Southern Districts Exhibits when he was farming at Rannock and grew a dryland eight-tonnes-to-the-hectare prime hard wheat crop. He was approached to supply some wheat and was none the wiser until advised his wheat had won champion hard wheat. That was in 1993 and, subsequently, he supplied more wheat, field peas and lucerne hay the next year.
“I was a good farmer and knew how to grow high-quality crops. Once I knew what the Regional Exhibits was all about I became very involved.
“At that stage the others on the Southern Districts committee were all graziers and didn’t know much about grains so I took on that role. Between Rob Hartwig at Temora and me, we know many of the farmers in the Southern District and hunt around to find the best from this region,” Mr Higman said.
“At present we are looking for wheat with high protein, oats, barley (preferably malting with bright appearance and no black tips), and legumes including field peas, lentils, lupins and chick peas. We need about 15kg of each so we can grade and select accordingly. I can be contacted on 0429 708 001.
“It is a thrill to have your produce included in these exhibits and be part of a team.”
Sourcing and acquiring the produce is but one part of the overall exercise. Getting them to Homebush in perfect condition is imperative and, as many of the components are highly perishable, the design of the display must allow replacement so if any items deteriorate, they can easily be changed.
We need 15kg each of high protein wheat, oats, barley, field peas, lentils, lupins and chickpeas for this years Southern Districts exhibit. Being part of this interesting group of people is great fun and the two weeks spent preparing the display is the best team-building experience.
- Jim Higman
Underneath each regional display in The Dome are large storage areas with stocks ready to be transferred when required to ensure the displays are always looking their best.
“Our team gets to Sydney two weeks before the show to put everything together then spends another 14 days meeting all the people coming through.
“We start at 6.30am and, until we finish at 8.30pm, we meet hundreds of people of all ages, backgrounds and languages every day and teach them about agriculture and how that is connected to the foods they put in their mouths,” Mr Higman said.
“Yes, we do get some interesting questions which need to be answered patiently but, we all love being part of this.”
Pennie Scott
I am an independent scholar with interests and expertise in regenerative agriculture, equity and justice for farmers, functioning healthy landscapes and the culture in agri-culture. My aim is to inform holistically and honestly to ensure readers have access to what they need, now.
I am an independent scholar with interests and expertise in regenerative agriculture, equity and justice for farmers, functioning healthy landscapes and the culture in agri-culture. My aim is to inform holistically and honestly to ensure readers have access to what they need, now.
