Craig and Tamara Corby and family with some of their prize ribbons. Pictures: Supplied.
Cobargo’s farmers regularly win national competitions and Cobargo Show is where you can see their prize-winning dairy and beef cattle.
Some families have been farming for generations and showing their cattle since the first Cobargo Show in 1889. The next generation is as keen as mustard to follow in their parents’ footsteps.
It is that time of the year they get off their farms and come together at the Cobargo Show to catch up.
Rocky Allen’s family has been part of the Cobargo Show for decades. His dairy cows regularly win prizes at the show as well as at the Sydney Show.
“We have won Champion Holstein Cow twice in the last 20 years which is a pretty good feat,” he said.
Another of his cows was Champion Jersey Cow and Supreme Champion at the 200th Sydney Show in 2022.
Last month another was the Red and White Holstein Grand Champion at International Dairy Week, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest annual dairy event and one of the top five cattle shows globally.
“For our little area we punch above our weight,” Mr Allen said. “It is always good to go away and compete with the big boys and also show what you are doing at the local level.”
His daughter will be the sixth generation of the Allen family in dairy.
Aaron and Emma Salway with son Riley and a prize-winning cow.
Aaron and Emma Salway have been running the family farm for 17 years and their two sons are the seventh generation on the farm.
“I think we have been showing since the first Cobargo Show and there would only be a handful of shows they missed,” Mr Salway said.
Their animals have won several prizes including several Champion Cow and multiple Supreme Champions.
“Our biggest win was at International Dairy Week with Grand Champion of the National Jersey Show,” he said.
Craig and Tamara Corby own a Limousin and Angus stud and have run the beef section at the Cobargo Show for about 20 years.
Tamara said many farmers became part of organisations like the Cobargo Show. “When you buy your first heifer, you go join the show committee.”
Craig started the stud when he was 15, almost 25 years ago.
He said they prided themselves on having a very good youth program in the beef section. That meant giving the kids plenty of time to try their hand at parading and judging.
Agriculture teacher Kylie Maher joined Narooma High School in 2008 and established its stud in 2010. She has been to every Cobargo Show since then. This year she will take 20 head of cattle and 20 to 30 students from Years 7 to 12.
“I love watching the kids achieve something they wouldn’t normally achieve,” Ms Maher said. “A lot of the kids aren’t off farms and even the ones on farms don’t have the ability to show.”
Students from Narooma High School with some of the prize ribbons the school’s cattle have won.
Every year at the show Ms Maher meets a lot of people she knows so it is an opportunity to catch up with friends.
Craig said agricultural shows enabled him to showcase their animals to people looking for high-quality bulls to improve their herd.
“When you work hard at something, you want to showcase your very best cattle,” Tamara said. “We are proud to exhibit our cattle at our own local show.”
Mr Allen said agricultural shows were important as the gap between city and country widened.
“In the past your city cousins would come to the farm, but they don’t come anymore,” he said. “They don’t get up close and personal to livestock anymore. They just drive past them in the paddocks.”
He said farmers could be a bit insular, as they rarely left the farm. Agricultural shows brought them together and they could see what each other was doing.
Mr Salway said bringing people together so they could talk to different people and enjoy the community spirit was so important.
“There could be farmers who don’t get things off their chest but might do that with a mate at the show.”
The 127th Cobargo Show offers a huge range of traditional entertainment, along with working dog demonstrations, shearing competition, dog high jump, fancy dress horse and rider, car stunt show and a motorbike obstacle course. Then there is the wife carrying competition, lawn mower racing and car soccer, plus live music.
It will be held at the Cobargo Showground from Friday 13 to Sunday 15 February.
