Show nurtures next generation

As a child and young adult, Sophia Giumelli attended the Perth Royal Show every year for 20 years.

Her parents have exhibited Angus cattle there for 30 years.

She and her husband Michael have been dairy farmers for 10 years.

With 222.6ha to play in, five-year-old Jackson Giumelli and his younger sisters and brother have got it made.

Living with their mum and dad on their dairy farm in Benger, 150km south of Perth, Jackson, Penelope, 3, Juliet, 3, and six-month-old Declan have plenty of fresh milk from their 400 cows.

Each day, Mr Giumelli gets up at 3.30am to start milking, an activity the family undertake twice a day.

Each September to February, the Giumellis wait on 300 cows to give birth, meaning Mr Giumelli can often be up all night helping to deliver the calves.

“We’ve had six cows calve so far (this month),” Mrs Giumelli said.

As well as milking and calving, the Giumelli family are busy conserving their feed for summer.

“We’re busy but farming is a great lifestyle,” Mrs Giumelli said.

“We love being on the farm and it’s great for the kids.”

The Giumellis entered their boutique ice-cream, made using milk from their cows, in the dairy awards at the IGA Perth Royal Show for two years.

They were Dairy Farmer of the Year finalists in the 2015 Kondinin Group-ABC Rural Australia Farmer of the Year Awards.