Food for thought as city meets bush near Quirindi

A GROUP of Liverpool Plains landholders held a dinner party extravaganza on Saturday night which saw about 450 farmers and their city cousins celebrate regional agriculture. 

At a Spring Ridge property’s old machinery shed, perched on top of a hill on the banks of the Goran Lake, attendees were wined, dined and entertained in the afternoon and well into the night.

Organisers touted the event as a celebration of the 2012 Year of the Farmer and an opportunity to bridge the “city-country divide”.

They invited people from the town and country in the hope that at least 400 would turn up to the inaugural event.

Kate Davidson was one of the dozen local farmers who helped organise it.

She said a huge effort went into the successful party and they weren’t sure just yet if it would become annual, considering it was to celebrate a special year.

She said there was a cheerful and positive atmosphere, made up – by and large – of a crowd of local people.

“It was nice starting it at 2pm because it meant a lot of people went with their families,” Ms Davidson said.

An aerial demonstration by local crop dusters, a fireworks display, live band performance, fashion show, magician, photo displays and guest speaker Sam Bailey, a Moree landholder, kept the guests entertained. 

Heritage agricultural equipment was scattered around the property for people who might not otherwise get the chance to see the industry’s machinery of yesteryear. 

Dave Brownhill, another organiser, said the 2012 Year of the Farmer seemed like the perfect time to celebrate regional agriculture – where food and fibre comes from.

Before the event, Mr Brownhill said city people might be a bit surprised from what they learned on a farm visit.

“Our idea was to have as many people as we could from the local towns and regional areas and from as far away as Sydney and Newcastle,” he said.

Local agricultural businesses were able to sponsor the event at a gold, silver or bronze level.