General News
30 July, 2025
Sheep industry innovator talks up this year’s show
SHEEPVENTION 2025 is Darren Schurmann’s first as president, and three weeks before the expo was keen to talk up some additions to the lineup – as well as being philosophical about the changing face of agricultural shows in a world of developing technology.
The Strathkellar grazier located east of Hamilton has a good view of the industry, having taken out The Weekly Times Sheep Farmer of the Year in early 2021 as recognition for Kingaroy Partnership’s innovative management of pregnant ewes which saw him raise lambing percentages from an industry average in 2012 of under 120 per cent to 145 per cent.
His methodology has continued to be validated – despite 2024 being “one of the toughest years we’ve had”, he said they marked their record amount of lambs ever, “which was awesome”.
With a view to producing lamb meat with a high level of intramuscular fat (IMF) – also known as marbling – he said he has been attracting overseas markets.
“We've actually got product that was sorted this morning, (that) is going to China and Japan,” Mr Schurmann said.
“It's very exciting. It's really just taken another level – it's great.”
He accepted the role of president after David Botterill stepped aside after last year’s show, and said the long-standing congress was always the result of a collaborative effort.
“There’s a really good team behind us all,” he said.
“I was vice president for two years (and) I’m looking forward to it. We’ve got some new girls in the system heading us up, it’s good.
“We've got some new ideas and some new innovations coming to Sheepvention.“
Recognising “it’s been a very hard 18 months” on the district’s farmers with below-average rainfall, Mr Schurmann said the Hamilton P&A Society had factored this into their planning.
“I think it's a good opportunity for people to get off the farms actually, and come in and look at something different, catch up with their mates,” he said.
“We’ve got our Sheepvention After Dark Concert with Shannon Noll on the Sunday night (and) I think the numbers are going to be good.
“We’ve got women in agriculture speakers and kids passports, (there’s) something there for everyone.
In conjunction with the new attractions, he said attendees can still expect to see much of the things they were used to.
“We've got a lot of ag tech – there's a lot of new, innovative ideas coming into agriculture - drones, all that sort of stuff,” Mr Schurmann said.
“There's fashion, there's machinery, there's petting zoos for the kids, there's just a huge, broad range of activities.”
Commenting on this being the second year without ram sales, he said the change was just a case of adapting with the times.
“It's just a changing dynamic with the way that Merino rams are sold,” Mr Schurmann said.
“Now, there's so many more on-property sales and auctions, plus online sales (and) that sort of thing and it was just slowly going that way over time.
“It's just part of the evolution of the Merino ram selling programmes.”
On a personal level, Mr Schurmann said the show’s team wanted the show to balance industry exhibitions and entertainment with recognition of the inner battles some farmers and their families face.
“There is going to be a lot of opportunity there for farmers to get information on mental health,” he said.
“That's basically our fundraiser for our concert, in conjunction with (the message): ‘let's talk, people.’”
Mr Schurmann said he hoped the region’s producers would see it as an opportunity to recharge and inspire.
“It's just about getting farmers out and getting them off the farm and enjoying themselves and having good time with the family and seeing what’s all the new sort of innovations and what we've got to offer,” he said.