On the first day of the Henty Machinery Field Days (HMFD), the dog trials sponsored by Pedigree and Nature’s Table attracted a large crowd to watch the many dogs being put through their paces.
At the Murray Valley Championships for yard dogs, Peter Darmody from Ardlethan said there was 41 handlers with 160 dogs entered in the maiden, novice, improver’s and open sections to culminate on Thursday afternoon.
“We have competitors from Victoria, SA and all parts of NSW,” he said.
“There will be some strong competition throughout the three days.”
Across the paddock, where the sheep dog trial with three sheep was being conducted, Paul Darmody said 110 dogs were entered for the competition controlled by 42 handlers.
Also sponsored by Pedigree and Nature’s Table, the top twenty dogs will go through to the final with the top seven being judged on Thursday.
There was a large selection of heritage John Deere tractors and machinery celebrating the centenary of the brand.
John Kirkpatrick, Lake Goldsmith, Victoria bought his Waterloo Boy Tractor, No 8901 manufactured at Waterloo, Iowa, USA, on 2 April, 1918.
Mr Kirkpatrick imported the tractor five years ago.
“I’ve always had a soft spot for the Waterloo Boys,” he said.
“I’m the second generation collecting heritage machinery, and I simply like the design of the Waterloo Tractor … such a lovely old tractor.”
In the vintage farm machinery section at the HMFD, John Kingston, The Rock had his Model G 1947 John Deere on display.
He purchased the tractor in 2008 when he bought his farm and he admits it was in a state of disrepair.
“I always wanted a heritage John Deere and when I saw it in a shed on the farm I knew it was a great chance to restore it.”
Brendan Mott from Burrumbuttock proudly displayed the 1943 AR model John Deere which has been in his father-in-laws family, the Smiths near Shepparton, Victoria since it was brand new.
“It was last used 12 years ago towing the trailers around their orchard,” he said.
Weeds are an enormous problem on farms and there is a complex display at the HMFD highlighting the many weeds endemic to the southern regions, and their control.
Neil Hibberson, senior weeds officer, Greater Hume Council spoke about the various weeds in the south and the various methods of their control.
When her son George was two and half, Simone Kain couldn’t find anything that would allow him to connect with farming, even though he was growing up on a farm near Penola, SA.
“He was obsessed by farming, but all that was available was from the USA or England and their vocabulary is different to ours,” Simone said.
“There wasn’t a character telling sequential stories about agriculture so we decided to creative one.”
In partnership with Ben Hood from Mt Gambier, SA, Simone runs a creative agency associated with agriculture and education and they thought to put their talents to raising the issue of introducing children to agriculture.
“We thought e would create our own inspirational characters, so we decided to write and illustrate an interactive App which would interest children,” Simone said.
Their original video was launched on Itunes in 2014, and the partnership now travel all over Australia entertaining country- and city-born children about the source of their food and fibre.
Ben is also a singer/songwriter and he said statistics showed the big disconnect between food production and consumption, so he decided to write some songs about the source of food.
“They are inspirational, but fun songs and stories and they really connect with the children,” he said.
“We also have educational packages for teachers because this is a social enterprise engaging with as many children as we possibly can.”
