There is serious money to be made at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
The Royal Agriculture Society gave out $750,000 in prize money and producers sell a lot of stock of all kinds at auctions and private sales.
Even in the niche areas there is money to be made.
One bird breeder sold a pair of geese at the Show for $3,300.
Michael Peel runs Peel Ridge stud at Camden and has bred a new variety of geese which he calls Camden White Toulouse.
“These are white; the original ones are a grey breed. I’ve had to outcross them with an Emden and then breed back the type of the Toulouse: the strength of head, the keel, the dewlap, the strength of the bone, but the outcross has really increased the fertility and the vigour.”
He has been working on it for the last five years, longer if you add seven years spent trying to breed a blue variety.
He was surprised at the price though.
“I wasn’t expecting that much. I normally sell the grey Toulouse for about for $300, and the really good ones I get maybe $1000 but this is a particularly good pair… They are unique, there are very few white ones of this quality in Australia.”
He sells the surplus ganders to the restaurant trade as well.
They weigh about 8-9kgs and sell for $25/kg.