Introducing Lyndon & Millie Matthews as this year's Presidents for the show.

Lyndon’s family have farmed in the district for over 150 years, with 120 years on the current land at Limeworks Road, Waikari. The family has a long history of sheep farming and growing some grain. Lyndon and his wife Millie are the fourth generation to farm the land, initially running Corriedale sheep, then transitioning to higher performance composite breeding/finishing where hogget mating proved very successful and lucrative.

Lyndon always had a passion for deer and, despite being told that lactating hinds could not be successfully run in a summer dry environment, has enjoyed 30 years of running 500 breeding hinds, finishing all progeny as well as producing velvet and selling sire stags. In latter years the sheep have been phased out altogether, replaced by a breeding herd of some 80 Angus cows with calves sold in March.  Lyndon and Millie are now looking forward to the next chapter as the 5th generation, Thomas and Luella, take over the lease of WestEnd.

Lyndon has had previous involvement with the show, being marshal of the Grain & Seed section in 1996–2000, ran the winter feed competition for several years at that time, and enjoyed entering his flock in the hogget competition.

He even has a Reserve Champion ribbon from the farmer’s class sheep section of the show!

Looking ahead to this year’s show, Lyndon & Millie are keen to produce a show as popular as their predecessors Kate and Quintin Boyd, and have received a strong mandate from members to make the show a celebration of our district and our community, with a particular focus on more entertainment for all.