From Sydney Royal to Rome in a milestone year

I was very fortunate to cover the Pinzgauer World Congress when the group of 70 made it to Kiama.

It was fascinating speaking with farmers - those who had an association with the breed and those who did not - from overseas.

I gained many insights into their lives when I was seated between a Canadian and an Austrian at dinner following the day's visit to a local Pinzgauer breeder's property on the outskirts of town.

International Pinzgauer Cattle Breeders Association president Hans Scharfetter from Austria told me about their breeding operation in the Alps.

Hans said they brought the cows and calves down from the mountains when the weather turned cold, and he showed me a video of the mob wearing their bells, passing through the local town.

Meanwhile, Geoff Giesbrecht had a slightly different occupation.

He breeds fish to restock many of Canada's famous fishing lakes.

Geoff told me a transport truck can hold up to 18,000 fish.

He has even carried fish in a backpack into otherwise inaccessible lakes in British Columbia.

As usual, Sydney Royal was busy but a lot of fun.

This year, I caught up with some work colleagues I had only 'met' online. Many conversations start with, "You are so much taller than I thought", or when people meet me, they tend to look down and say, "You are so much smaller than I thought".

I reported on the Australian Livestock and Property Agents Association (ALPA) dinner and charity auction, ALPA Young Auctioneer competition, district exhibits, school steers competition, poultry auction, Santa Gertrudis, and dairy cattle classes.

I was blown away by the poultry auction, which saw a pair of Modern Game top the sale, making $1350. Once again, seeing the enormous smiles or emotions spill over when the hard-earned broad ribbons were handed out was my favourite part.

It is such a busy time for our team, but it is also gratifying when our teamwork brings together the annual show report for our print edition. It is always full of great reads and comprehensive coverage of the show competitions.

The 2024 Sydney Royal will see a new president at the helm.

John Bennett has taken over the reins, and in August, I was fortunate to interview him about the new role and what it means to him. What made the interview special is that I count John among my friends and I was delighted to see him elected.

While I love my work and travelling around the state, I also relish the time I have off to explore other parts of the world.

In August, I took my 12-year-old daughter on a four-week overseas trip. It was a holiday I had intended to take some years prior, but of course, the pandemic struck, and we all know how that went down.

We visited England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy.

Northern Ireland was spectacular, and I encourage anyone who hasn't been to add it to your bucket list.

Farmers and contractors were in full swing harvesting summer crops. We had a few tight situations on a hedge-lined backroad or two, trying to pass a large harvester that took up nearly the whole road (and more).

I would love to say I returned refreshed and ready to dive back into work, but in addition to bringing home memories that will last a lifetime, I also brought home a virus that lasted three weeks - but it was all worth it.

I celebrated 10 years working for Australian Community Media, the parent company of The Land, in October.

I started working for my local newspaper, the South Coast Register, then under Fairfax Media ownership, in 2013 as a weekend photographer while still completing my Bachelor of Communications and Media at Wollongong University.

This role gave me valuable experience attending events, introducing myself to strangers and helping give exposure to mostly volunteer-run events. I transferred to a full-time role in 2016, working in the newsroom and again, I learned a whole new skill set.

By this time, there was a firm focus on digital news production, and I loved the fast-paced nature of the job.

It was in 2018 that I decided to follow my passion for agriculture.

I had always dreamt of becoming an ag journo or horse racing journo, and an opportunity presented itself within the ag division of the company.

My favourite part of the job has always been meeting new people and hearing their stories.

A lot of the time, the most fascinating people are those who tell you, "Oh, I'm not very interesting," when you start asking them questions about their lives. One thing I have learned is that everyone has a story to tell.

I cannot believe 10 years has gone by. As they say, "Time flies when you're having fun".

Bring on another decade!