As in previous years, it is held in conjunction with the Boorowa Show Society.

The idea of the competition is to judge the entrants’ flocks on farm, then the top five place-getters bring their best ten ewes to the show on Saturday, March 4, where the winner will be announced.

The first two placegetters from the competition become eligible for the regional Southern Tablelands Flock Ewe Championships which is to be held on Friday, March 17 starting at Boorowa, then onto Gunning, Taralga and finishing in Crookwell, with presentations that evening.

This year there are 12 teams entered, including first-time entrants, Ben and Toyha Johnson.

It is fantastic to see a young, enthusiastic couple compete and learn.

The judges this year are Mr Graham Wells, past owner and principle of the well-known One Oak Merino Stud, which dispersed approximately two years ago.

Graham is now semi-retired but continues to provide his wealth of knowledge to stud and commercial wool growers.

Graham is certainly a “statesman” of the merino industry.

The other judge is Mr Tony Inder of “Allendale” Wellington, Tony is very passionate about making money from a commercially focused Merino operation.

The Inder family run a large scale commercial merino flock across a number of properties.

Tony also has a small Merino Stud.

The Flock Ewe Committee is very excited to have such a high standard of judges, with a proven track record and superior knowledge of the wool growing industry for this year’s competition.

Chief Steward, Rick Power, said “I have been trying for years to get Graham Wells and finally we have. It’s just great. The industry at the moment is on a high with a lot confidence and focus back onto merinos again: the timing is perfect.

This is a great day for anyone thinking about coming along.

All you have to do is hop on the courtesy bus and travel around the countryside or drive yourself, visiting all the entrants’ properties and viewing their outstanding Merino flocks.

It is all about finding the best sheep on the day, but it is also a great day of social interaction, an opportunity to meet new faces and learn from the judge’s comments.

Industry reps and sponsors will also be in attendance so it is a great opportunity to interact with them in a social setting.

The day is set to be a big one, lunch out in the field, along with the air conditioned courtesy bus having an onboard toilet.

The bus will depart from the Corkhills Ag Services at 7.00am sharp on Friday, February 17.

There will be a BBQ lunch at approximately 12.30pm, before the buses head off again for the afternoon judging.

Buses will return at approximately 5.30pm.

All spectators are welcome to take advantage of the courtesy bus and are welcome to hop on and off where possible.

There will be presentations and dinner at the Courthouse Hotel from 7.00pm, where the top five placegetters will be announced.

A schedule and time table will be published in next week’s Boorowa News.

The committee would like to thank our major sponsors ANZ Banking, Corkhill’s Ag Services Boorowa, Bromar Engineering and the Courthouse Hotel Boorowa.