Essential guide to this year’s Seymour Expo

Plan your visit to central Victoria’s alternative farming expo with this guide to the lectures, entertainment, demonstrations and stallholders on show at Seymour February 14-16.

The national Whipcracking Championships will take place at Seymour on Saturday, February 15. Find out everything you need to know about what else is on at this year’s Seymour Alternative Farming Expo.

EVERYONE from seasoned producers to treechangers and suburban gardeners will find something exciting at this year’s Seymour Alternative Farming Expo.

Kicking off next Friday, February 14, the three-day show will focus on innovative approaches to farming small spaces this year, with more than 400 exhibitors, plus farming lectures, shows, livestock breeds and cooking demonstrations on offer.

Event manager Jamie Gilbert said organisers had gone all out to make sure there was a well-balanced mix of cutting-edge equipment, trailblazing farm-management principles, practical advice, hands-on activities, gourmet food stalls and cracking entertainment – literally – with the national Whipcracking Championships on Saturday.

MORE SEYMOUR EXPO:

EXPO AMBASSADOR TONI BARTON ON CRACKING EXPORT MARKETS

EXHIBITORS: MIGHTY WRAPPERS AND MID-RANGE TRACTORS ON SHOW

EVENTS: YOUNG FARMERS CHALLENGE OFFERS SERIOUS FUN FOR ALL AGES

“We are looking to draw more people this year who may not have come for a while to re-experience our event, and also people to come experience our event for the first time,” Mr Gilbert said, estimating more than 22,000 visitors would attend over the three days.

“Over the years the event has grown to incorporate sustainability, including off-the-grid, renewable resources and low-impact living.

Dylan Vidos, 7, from Kilmore, with a rare poultry breed at last year’s expo. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

There is also an opportunity to get up close and personal with unique livestock breeds, learn tips on raising unusual paddock pals and get up-to-date animal health and farm diversity ideas in the Small Farms Learning Hub.”

The emerging hemp industry will be in the spotlight again, with hemp building demonstrations on a bigger scale than last year.

“Our feedback from patrons about last year suggested that was something that was new and exciting to them,” Mr Gilbert said.

Retired harness racing Standardbred horses will also be giving demonstrations with their trainers, who prepare them for new homes.

Nearly 50 machinery and equipment exhibitors will be part of the 400-strong stallholder line-up.

Mr Gilbert said they expected about 60 per cent of visitors to come from farming backgrounds.

To cater to the 40 per cent of non-farming visitors, the show “will carry a variety of new and innovative ideas about urban farming on properties as small as a quarter-acre block and how to grow vegies and do a range of micro-farming within your own house,” Mr Gilbert said.

He said the expo had a strong reputation for showcasing products and running lectures to help people plan a treechange or diversify a small or medium-acreage farming operation.

“We are all about small and alternative farming,” he said. “That is the basis of our event and always has been.”

Mitchell Shire Mayor David Lowe said he was excited to see the expo roll into Seymour for another year, and anticipated it would bring more than $6 million into the local economy.

“This fosters the continued growth and development of our agricultural sector as well as our broader community and region – a highly welcome boost during the widespread drought that so many people are experiencing,” Mr Lowe said.

“Congratulations to the hardworking volunteers, staff and community members who have made this expo a success for nearly three decades.”

ALL4FMX quad bike stunt riders will show off their stuff at the Seymour Expo.

Mr Gilbert said the expo was also a great family day out, with the Young Farmers Challenge event open to children as young as 12, and plenty of fast-paced shows and entertainment scheduled for the main oval.

“We’ve added the All 4 FMX quad bike demos to the entertainment line-up, while the Flipping Disc Dogz are back fresh from the Australia’s Got Talent stage,” he said.

“There’s the ever-popular Kids’ Corner and the Country Kitchen and Butcher Shop where chef Adrian Hensley and butcher Vic Bonacci will cook up a storm.”

Flipping Disc Dogz will entertain visitors to the expo. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

SEYMOUR ALTERNATIVE FARMING EXPO: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

When: Friday, February 14 to Sunday, February 16

Times: 9am-4pm

Email: [e-mail], visit: seymourexpo.com.au, phone: [phone]

Venue: Kings Park, Tallarook St, Seymour

Tickets:
Adult: $17 online, $20 gate
Concession: $14.50 online, $17 gate
Family: (2 adults & 3 kids) $40 online, $47 gate
Child aged 5-15: $7.50 online, $9 gate
Child under 5: Free

Getting there: Seymour is 109km north of Melbourne on the Hume Freeway. V-line operates a regular service to Seymour Railway Station, which is 800m from Kings Park.

Vic Bonacci from Victory Meats will put on butchery demos. Picture: Chloe Smith.

WHAT’S ON

■ SMALL FARMS LEARNING HUB

With a focus on innovation, 45-minute lectures will explore the latest technology, alternative practices and trends in farming.

From 10am-3pm daily, topics include backyard poultry, water planning, growing hemp, biosecurity, beekeeping, urban farming, off-grid solar power and training working dogs.

■ FARM LECTURES

Presented by the Seymour Agricultural and Pastoral Society, these practical information sessions run from 9.30am-2.30pm daily. Topics include cattle production, sheep, weed management, business skills, pasture management, diversification, Boer goats, alpacas and cultural awareness.

■ COUNTRY KITCHEN

Running all day. See cooking and butchery demonstrations, as well as market-style gourmet produce and ready-to-eat food on sale.

■ ENTERTAINMENT

Flipping Disc Dogz, All 4 FMX stunt show, working dog presentations, classic car show and The Weekly Times Young Farmers Challenge run all three days. The 2020 Whipcracking Championships is Saturday, February 15.

DON’T MISS

Event organiser Jamie Gilbert said visitors to the Seymour Expo should catch these attractions:

■ Niche livestock breeds. Producers bring heritage breeds of cattle, sheep and poultry as well as the more unusual camels, alpacas and goats. Every day.

■ Machinery and equipment exhibitors. Browse hundreds of tractors and implements, and discover the latest in agtech and innovation. Every day.

■ The food court and Country Kitchen. Market stalls will sell gourmet produce, ready to eat or take home, while chef Adrian Hensley and butcher Vic Bonacci will cook up a storm on stage. Every day.

■ 2020 Whipcracking Championships. Watch tiny tots to over-45s show off their whip skills, vying for $3000 in prizes. Novices can try their hand as well. Saturday, February 15.

■ Flipping Disc Dogz. This amazing Border Collies show is fresh off the Australia’s Got Talent stage and is sure to make the entire audience smile. Every day.