THE FIRST ever Australian team has been chosen to compete at the European Young Breeders School in Belgium in August.
The five team members are: Brady Hore from Leitchville, Victoria; Julia Paulger from Kenilworth, Queensland; Ricky Nelson from Irrewillipe, Victoria; Sam Hall from Australind, Western Australia; and Zoe Hayes from Girgarre, Victoria.
Holstein Australia, Jersey Australia and The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria made the announcement in May.
The team members were selected after a rigorous application and interview process, from five dairying regions across three states and represent a number of dairy breeds.
The team reserve is Alexzander Crawford from Daltons Bridge, Victoria, and the team will be led by Justin Johnston of Glomar Holsteins.
Team leader Justin Johnston, said this was something he’d wanted to get off the ground for a while, and with the backing of Jersey Australia, The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and Holstein Australia, as well as other industry partners, it had been made possible.
“This is the 20th year the European Young Breeders School has taken place and it has become the international reference point for training and show preparation, with many countries entering teams year-on-year. It will be a great learning experience for our team members, and a real opportunity to showcase the talent of Australian dairy youth on the world stage.”
The team is being supported by a number of Australian enterprises and industry bodies including Dick Smith, ST Genetics, Dairy Australia, Genetics Australia, Smyth Seeds and Gippsland Dairy Youth.
Jersey Australia general manager, Glen Barrett, said Brady, Julia, Ricky, Sam and Zoe were five outstanding young individuals selected from a group of 25 high-calibre applicants, which was an amazing response.
“The selection and interview process were far from an easy task and it is a credit to the highly talented and capable young breeders across Australia that they made this process so challenging.
“The European Young Breeders School is a great opportunity for this group, and we look forward to following their progress through the competition.”
Holstein Australia chief executive officer Graeme Gillan said full marks went to Justin for getting this project up and running.
“The selection panel has put together what I think is a strong cross-breed team from a number of different dairy regions throughout Australia.
“The experience will enable them to really hone their skills, already at a high level, and benchmark themselves against some of the best young dairy men and women from Europe, the UK and Canada.”