Agricultural superstars have show success

By Damita Whiteley

A love for life on the land is handed down from generation to generation at Circular Head, so it is no surprise that St Peter Chanel Catholic Primary School has some agricultural superstars in its midst.

The School is renowned for its SPC Farm Program, which has been running for many years, but this year it added Cattle Handling to the repertoire, which has recently received high acclaim.

Three Grade Six students from the Program competed at the Circular Head Show in Stanley in December, winning multiple awards in the Junior Cattle Leading and Showing categories for their showing of the school’s ten-month-old calves.

“This is the first year we have tried Cattle Handling at school, so we chose older students from Grade 6 who were able to follow the direction of their trainer, and they all come from farming backgrounds too, so have familiarity with cattle,” St Peter Chanel Principal Kerrie Flynn said.

“We covered all areas of animal husbandry; rearing them properly from milk to bucket to hay, caring for them, the makeup of a cow’s anatomy, grooming techniques like shampooing and combing and hair-spraying, to show off the best parts of the calf, and the techniques of leading and showing a calf.

“The children have worked with the calves constantly, even in the school holidays, to build trust with them, which is very important when working with animals.”

The extensive Cattle Handling Program and the dedication of the students has paid off with their recent Circular Head Show success.

In the Young Paraders’ Class students placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.

“They were judged on their actual parading skills, leading their calf around the arena for the judge, and they were tested on their knowledge of their calf,” Kerrie said.

“Many of the farmers watching said they were so impressed by how well our calves were looked after and how calm they were.” 

Students also placed 1st and 2nd in the Calf Class.

“The calves were judged on their appearance, which is where grooming skills come into play, so showing off all their best features,” Kerrie said.

One lucky student also received a 3rd place on behalf of the school in the Calf Rearing Class.

“This category was only for calves that have been reared from the bucket, not from their mother, and we have raised our calves from four weeks old,” Kerrie said. 

“It’s quite the process. The whole School community has helped to bucket-raise them and it’s a very popular activity.

“The judge commented on how calm they were and on the relationship between the handler and cow.”

The SPC Farm Program offers students their first experiences in agricultural education through the school system, and is a wonderful complement to many of their everyday lives on the farm at home.

“We have fruit and vegetable gardens, an apple orchard, we keep chickens and sell their eggs, raise sheep from babies and breed them, raise cows from babies up until they go to the butcher,” Kerrie said.

“We all get to try the meat and produce from the farm at the St Peter Chanel Feast Day; where we have a lunch of meat, vegetables, and stewed apples.”

With agriculture being the primary industry in Circular Head, and one that is increasingly scientific, cutting-edge and technological, the school is proud to expose students to exciting careers within it from a young age.

“A lot of young people now are going to uni before coming back to work in agriculture. So it is important to open our students’ minds up to this world of breeders, producers and other people with incredible knowledge of the industry that they can model themselves on,” Kerrie said. 

The students’ recent foray into Cattle Handling at the show was another opportunity to highlight this potential career-path.

“As well as competing, they got to watch what the professionals are doing and how they do it, and meet the farmers,” Kerrie said.

The show’s success has generated significant interest in Cattle Handling from students of all ages, so Kerrie hopes to expand the Program next year.

Following the School’s participation in the show, some generous local farmers were so impressed with their skills that they received an offer of purebred calves to care for next year. Kerrie is hoping to present these calves at the 2024 show.