By KATRINA BRANDON
WORKING to get young people into dairy, the GippsDairy Young Dairy Network (YDN) held a family fun day at Mirboo North’s Walter J Tuck Reserve last month.
“The aim of the committee is about including our younger generation and getting every member of the family involved, and networking and being social, meeting each other, making connections and building community,” YDN committee member Alex Boileau told the Express.
“That’s what this day is really aimed at, providing and bringing people together from across Gippsland to meet people that they may not have met before, and for the younger kids too, to have that opportunity as well, which they don’t often get.”
More than 100 people registered for the event, with the majority turning up despite the wet weather that soaked the grounds, which, for some attendees, added to the excitement.
Committee member Luke Johnson said that, despite the group’s name, the events are not exclusive to dairy farmers.
“Even if you just come in two weeks into the industry, come along,” he said.
“That is one of our main goals, to create a place where everyone in the industry is equal. There’s no divide between dairy farmers and service providers. We just want everyone to be able to get involved.”
Ms Boileau and Mr Johnson said that one of the biggest challenges for farmers these days is finding a community that suits them, and that it can be quite isolating, as some don’t feel they can leave the farm.
“Making it really known to be inclusive is that it can be a really challenging thing for young people who are new to the industry, new to the area, and really trying to get on their feet,” Ms Boileau said.
“I’ve noticed in my line of work that at a lot of the other GippsDairy events, a lot of the younger people are busy working on the farm and don’t get the opportunity to come out. So we’ve really tried to make a lot more events at night, or like social events on the weekends, just to work around younger people’s schedules and busy days on the farm, and obviously, children as well.
“We’ve got equal representatives from across Gippsland, but also an excellent equal split of service providers and farmers. But the one thing that we are all really focused on is creating that sense of community. And just even though we do provide a mixture of technical events and social events, that the focus is always around, getting people off farms, getting people opportunity to, whether it’s at the pub and have a beer together, or have a meal or here today with the kids, just creating those social situations and working opportunities.”
Next year, Ms Boileau and Mr Johnson hope to increase engagement at industry events among people in agriculture, as well as find events that suit all generations.
During the event, warm drinks were available for attendees, with a side of popular snacks and event food, popcorn and fairy floss. Young children enjoyed face painting, a bouncy castle and bubbles.
While the event was geared toward younger generations, the day became “a chance to be a kid again” for parents who wanted to enjoy popcorn and snacks, with cheese optional from Tarago Cheese. While parents chilled undercover and in the recreation reserve social room, local musician Tegan Blackstock entertained the crew with music she had played at Tamworth.
Lunch was provided for attendees, helping the younger ones regain energy and giving others a chance to warm up with the roast provided by Gippsland business owner Craig Young.
Youth present were also seen running through the event in a race from one side of the oval to the other, through giant bubbles, and to greet Santa, who arrived with many gifts for the young ones and later joined the bouncy castle fun.
