Sheep & Wool (& Goats!) Expo 2024
Visitors will be happy to know that the interactive Sheep & Wool Expo will be returning to the Royal Agricultural Exhibition this year!
The Expo is a wonderful experience for all age groups, and has won awards from the Royal Agricultural Society’s judging committee for many years.
The Sheep & Wool Expo covers all aspects of sheep and wool, and goats and mohair, from conception to consumption, and the animals are displayed side by side with the products derived from them.
Visitors will be able to view a range of special sheep and goat breeds on display, including beautiful Angora goats exhibited by the students from Grootfontein Angora Stud near Middelburg.
The KZN Indigenous Veld Goat Club will also be showing a range of indigenous veld goats, including Mbuzis and Cape Lob Ears.
On Saturday 25 May and Sunday 26 May, the National Wool Growers Association (NWGA) will be presenting their mesmerising sheep shearing demonstrations every hour on the hour.
Highly skilled shearers will remove the woollen fleece from a sheep using either blade shears or machine shears, while a commentator explains how your warm wool clothing gets from the sheep in the field all the way to you.
The NWGA will also be holding their Wool School on Monday 27 May, where agricultural students can learn about the basic aspects of wool handling after sheep shearing.
Those interested in farming sheep and goats will be able to chat with specialist representatives from the Goat Agribusiness Project about starting or developing their own enterprise.
And if you’re interested in pursuing further education in agriculture, Mangosuthu University of Technology and Cedara College of Agriculture will also be present at the Royal Agricultural Exhibition — but in Hall 10 this year, rather than the Sheep & Wool Expo. Their exhibits help to spread the word about educational opportunities in sheep and goat farming, and in agriculture in general.
There will be a range of beautiful products on sale from Wool Haven, Stitch by Stitch, Yarn Stash and VZ Leather — sheepskin slippers, knitting yarns, leather belts and pouches, scarves, hand-knitted jerseys, pullovers, hats, mohair blankets, shawls, socks, and much more.
There will also be daily workshops on knitting, crochet, macrame and leatherwork.
And after everything there is to see, visitors to the Sheep & Wool Expo can rest and refresh with a meal or hot drink from The Mulberry Tree.
See you at the Sheep & Wool Expo at the Royal Agricultural Exhibition!
The Royal Agricultural Exhibition will take place at the Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg from Thursday 23 May to Tuesday 28 May 2024, and is proudly sponsored by RPO, Standard Bank and Nashua.
