Daniel Pumpa at Orange Anglican Grammar School with teacher Sarah Eyb and agricultural students. Image supplied.

SCHOOL students around New South Wales have been carefully feeding and collecting data on teams of prime lambs in a hands-on project designed to foster and mentor the next generation of farmers.

A total of 26 schools from across the state, ranging from Sydney, Coffs Harbour to the New England and Griffith, will be competing in the inaugural Community Bank Gilgandra and Central NSW Bendigo Bank Dohne Prime Lamb Schools Competition at Orange, NSW, on 29 July.

The Currey family, Bogeweong Butcher Co, Walgett, NSW, has supplied 135 lambs for the competition, allowing students to step into the role of livestock managers, taking responsibility for their team of Dohne prime lambs and building practical skills.

Initiated and supported by the Australian Dohne Breeders Association, the competition is designed to develop the next generation of farmers, decision makers and industry leaders.

Around 260 young sheep handlers will take part in the event, where each school received five Dohne wether lambs on 25 February, 2026, and had the responsibility of finishing on grain over five months. All lambs were shorn, drenched for worms and lice, vaccinated and tagged with a Shearwell visual tag.

At one of the competing schools, Orange Anglican Grammar School, consistent daily weight gains resulted in lambs jumping from an average of 30.5kg to 40kg liveweight in just over a month under the care of their student handlers.

Program coordinator Daniel Pumpa said students have been learning about careful feed transitions onto lamb finisher rations, monitoring weight gain and performance, and planning ahead to track feed conversion and results.

Mr Pumpa said that within weeks, students were forming strong routines around feeding and care, gaining confidence in handling livestock and an understanding of nutrition, health and performance.

“The schools initiative gives students the opportunity to raise and manage a team of five Dohne prime lambs over five months, developing real-world skills in animal husbandry, nutrition, health management and sustainable farming practices,” he said.

“Throughout the program students will learn modern breeding and performance concepts, understand maternal traits, meat production and wool quality, and explore sustainable, easy-care flock management.

“They will have the opportunity to connect with industry mentors and agricultural professionals, plus apply classroom learning in a practical, commercial setting.”

Students will select two wether lambs the week of July 6-10 to be transported to Gundagai Lamb for processing and carcase data collection.

The balance of the lambs will be transported to Orange for objective data collection before being transported to a selected farm for several weeks of further finishing and then final processing at Gundagai Lamb.

Commercial sheep producer Mark Currey was pleased to support the schools competition with 135 August/September drop lambs.

“The competition is not just a good thing for the students but also helps showcase the breed as well,” Mr Currey said.

“This competition is more than just livestock – it is about teamwork, leadership, confidence and community connection, and showcasing the strength of agricultural education across NSW,” Mr Pumpa added.