Bidgee Strawberries and Cream owners Michael and Kylie Cashen and their super cute and as yet unnamed jersey calf. Picture: Marguerite McKinnon.
She’s as playful as a new puppy, and Bidgee Strawberries and Cream is looking for some help in giving its adorable week-old jersey calf a name before the official start of the strawberry season on 1 November.
“We got her from a friend who has a dairy farm in Finley and it was a twin, and when that happens often the female will be sterile,” Bidgee Strawberries and Cream owner Michael said.
“While we don’t know if this little one will, or won’t fall in calf in the future, the farm was kind enough to let us rehome her, and now she’s our girl,” Michael said.
“But we need to name her.”
What’s in a name? Bidgee Strawberries and Cream is seeking help to give this cutie a name. Picture: Marguerite McKinnon.
The competition to name her will be run for the next couple of weeks, with the winner announced at Bidgee Strawberry and Cream’s inaugural celebration to mark the start of the Strawberry season on 1 November.
“It’s called Sweet Pickins and starts at 3:30 pm until 8pm and all the details are available on our website,” Kylie said.
“We’ve never actually celebrated the start of the season but it’s just fallen into place as we have lots and lots of strawberries at the very beginning of the season so we thought it was a great idea,” she said.
“Wagga City Council has generously given us $7500 towards this, which will take the financial risk out for us, so we are really looking forward to kicking off the season in style.”
It’s been a huge year for Bidgee Strawberries and Cream after scooping the pool at this year’s Wagga Golden Crow Business Awards. Owner Kylie Cashen was named Outstanding Business Leader for the 20 Employees and Under category, the farm won the Excellence in Small Business award, as well as the Outstanding Visitor Experience category. Young employee Taylor Smith was also given the Outstanding Employee Award for her passion and commitment to the workplace and her community.
Scooping the pool at the prestigious 2025 Wagga Crow Awards, Bidgee Strawberries and Cream took out three awards including the top Golden Crow award. Picture: Wagga Business Chamber.
The Golden Crow Awards has been a huge energy boost for the Cashens and their crew, who have toiled away for eight seasons of strawberries.
“You get the opportunity to reflect on your own business and that was the best thing for us and it showed us that we need to be more diverse and offer more than just strawberries, so we have concentrated on this,” Kylie said.
In a short time since the Wagga Golden Crow Awards, the couple has also made the farm a more family-friendly outdoor play destination by installing a sandpit, large trampoline, and tricycles for little visitors.
“My thoughts are when you come to the farm, you pay your entry fee to come in and instead of it just being strawberries, we’ve got a large trampoline, we’ve got the sandpit, we have baby animals, people can bottle feed, and then we also have these little trikes for kids and they fly down the grass hill and have the best fun,” Kylie said.
“We’ve got Kid’s Corner with all these different toys, and we just want to make it even more family friendly,” she said.
“Our biggest cohort would be young families, particularly mums and kids,” Michael said.
Primary school student Angelia Smith, 11, feeds the adorable calf at Bidgee Strawberries and Cream. Picture: Marguerite McKinnon.
Bidgee Strawberries and Cream is also getting a glow-up following a growing interest in using the venue for weddings and functions, including Wagga’s Gears and Beers earlier this month where riders enjoyed a break and some creamy strawberry ice cream.
“We hosted the 10 kilometre ride point, and I think we had more than 550 riders come through, and we went through more than 665 ice creams,” Kylie said.
“It was crazy and we absolutely loved it.”
The strawberries are ripening and will be ready for the start of the 1 November Sweet Pickins With Mick Harrington Event
