Show veterans offer insight- Above: Paul Bayard with a white Dorper ram.43160

By Madeline Prince
NAR NAR Goon farmers, Paul and Jenny Bayard, are Pakenham Show regulars, having entered their sheep for almost 50 years and winning many times.
Before each show, Mr Bayard takes eight of his best sheep, harnesses them to quieten them down, feeds them a light ration of pellets and hay and maybe even washes them – if he can be bothered.
The Bayards, who are keen sheep and goat farmers, say the shows are a way to challenge and prove that they are still breeding better stock all the time.
Mr Bayard was 16 when his father, an accountant, bought a large working farm in Heatherton and gave the teenage boy, who loved animals, a taste for farming.
He then bought his own farm in Pakenham and operated a large commercial goat dairy for many years but now at 75 years of age and after six children, the Bayards are happy with their downsized hobby farm of five acres.
The Bayards are very much involved in the local farming industry as both Jenny and Paul have been presidents of the Pakenham Agricultural and Horticultural Society and continue to show their sheep at the Berwick and Pakenham shows most years.
“I’ve judged dairy goats for about 56 years and have probably never missed a year attending the Pakenham show,” Mr Bayard said.
Although Mr Bayard admits that the regional shows have become less relevant in recent years, he said he still enjoys showing his sheep.
“The appeal is still the competition, pitting yourself against the opposition,” he said.
In 2001, his business partner Paul Hamilton introduced Mr Bayard to the Dorper breed of sheep.
He describes them as an unusual shedding breed from South Africa which came about after a Dorset Horn was crossed with a Persian Black and that’s why they have become increasingly popular since they were first introduced to Australian 14 years ago.
Their high demand also keeps them selling at a “reasonable” price of $300 each.
So intrigued by the Dorper breed, Mr Bayard and his wife travelled to Uppington, South Africa, to see the World Dorper Show.
The trip was both educational and interesting for the Bayards, who said they learnt a lot about the breed and got some insider information from the locals not to breed them any larger.
Breeding them to be larger would lead to an extra workload, something that has been a common trend in Australian farming circles.
Mr Bayard said the highlight of his career has been winning the Melbourne Show and breeding champions.
The tip for this year’s Pakenham Show?
Judges will be looking for well fleshed, true-to-type sheep, which are “structurally sound”.
When asked how much longer he’ll be entering shows, he laughed and said, “In about 30 years I might not show and that’s a certainty”.