Decades later, he has not only become part of the team that puts the event together year after year, but he has become Rural Ambassador for Kyabram, the Goulburn Valley, and now Victoria.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Mr Lloyd said as he walked toward last year’s winner at the Rural Ambassador State Finals.
As he accepted the award from Caitlin Grieve’s hands, a new Victorian ambassador had officially been crowned — and he was from Kyabram.
Speaking with the Free Press, Mr Lloyd recounted his win at the 2025 Melbourne Royal Show.
“I really couldn’t believe it. Especially with how good the finalists had been this year,” he said.
He’s been a part of the Kyabram Show since he was 18, and more recently rose to fame after his appearance on the 12th season of Farmer Wants A Wife where he met his current partner Tess Brookman.
After achieving his 2022 goal of finding love, he set his sights on a new ambition: becoming a rural ambassador.
“I wasn’t a straight-A student at school — that’s for sure. But I think with age, I’ve accepted that I can do something if I’m passionate about it,” he said.
“And that’s the Kyabram Show to me.”
He first put himself forward in the regional competition and was crowned Rural Ambassador for the Goulburn Valley Riverina area.
From there, the area rural ambassadors competed in the state finals held at the Melbourne Royal Show on Sunday, September 28.
To be successful in the competition, you have to do a few things well — present yourself well, represent your community well, and know your agricultural politics well.
But it all comes to a point in front of the judges when all five area ambassadors step up to the microphone to speak on a topic.
And this year’s topic took Mr Lloyd right back to the fresh air of the showgrounds — share a memory from your local show.
“It’s funny, I was talking to some members of the showgrounds a few days ago ... they remember me as a 10-day-old baby coming to the showgrounds,” he said.
“So, I found it difficult to pick just one memory, so I said all the little things that have made me who I am.
“I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for the people around me at the showgrounds.
“Those people have been a part of my life forever and, other than friends and family, there is no-one like them in my life.”
So, as he turns his attention to the national competition which will be held in Queensland in August 2026, Mr Lloyd said he wants to keep working on his public speaking skills.
As not only a rural ambassador, but also an ambassador for rural charity Farm Angels, he wants to encourage people to become more involved in local agriculture societies, and inspire people to stay connected.
“By joining a society, not only are you giving something back to your community, but there are a lot of opportunities to better yourself ... you can get a lot out of it.”
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