26/08/2025
In week 4, our stage 5, Certificate I Agriculture students attended the 2025 NSW School Merino Wether Challenge at the Dubbo Showground. The challenge involved almost 70 schools, each with two teams of 3 wethers. The wethers, all sourced from the one mob, were distributed to schools in late February, with students tasked with breaking in and caring for the sheep over that time. Our stage 5 class took the lead on this project along with help from year 7 Ag classes and our senior Primary Industries class.
At the show, the sheep were scanned for GR fat and EMD, judged on restocker value, shorn, fleeces valued, then finally judged on carcase merit wool off. At the conclusion of the show, the sheep were all consigned to fletchers international in Dubbo for processing.
While we didn’t win any awards this year with the sheep, students gained a lot from the experience of raising and showing the wethers. The trade and career workshops were also an important aspect of the show, providing industry input and relevance to the wether project.
We would like to congratulate year 9 student Piper on placing 3rd in the highly competitive Merino young Judges competition in her very first attempt at judging Merinos. We hope you all enjoy the photos that captured some of the key moments of our time in Dubbo.
