Winter fair in july

FOR THE past six years, The National Herd Victorian Winter Fair has attracted a high calibre class of autumn cows through the show ring.

Held at the Bendigo Exhibition Centre from July 2 to 4, the event has always had a strong focus on encouraging youth in the industry and this year will certainly be no different.

Organiser Clare Modra said sponsorship for this year remained strong and support continued from farmers across the country, despite the tough economic climate.

“We are expecting good numbers and we have no doubt that the quality of the animals on show will be just as good this year as they have been previously,” Ms Modra said.

The core of the fair has always been to support the industry’s up-and-coming young farmers.

“The Victorian Winter Fair is a youth-orientated event held during the school holidays to allow for extra family involvement, and it is heartening to see so many young people involved in the junior judging and handling events,” Ms Modra said.

The popular youth section will be sponsored this year by Lely and will get under way on Tuesday, July 2.

A new initiative this year will see the youth entrants participating in both the junior judging and handling classes awarded points — the youth with the highest points will then go on to win a clipping crush donated by Belrue Farms.

The dry heifer classes will commence on Wednesday, July 3, followed by the in-milk classes on Thursday, with the intermediate section kicking off at 10 am and the senior section at 1.30 pm.

This year’s judges both hail from Victoria with Matt Templeton from Tarwin taking on the top job assisted by associate judge Jo Holloway from Lockington.

The Red Holstein show was introduced in 2014 and remains a popular addition to the event with numbers sitting steadily around 40 head.

For the latest information, visit Victorian Winter Fair on Facebook.