New look for Melbourne Show

A NEW-LOOK dairy section is coming to the Royal Melbourne Show for 2019.

The all-new format features the introduction of breed-specific in-milk classes for Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, Brown Swiss, Illawarra and Ayrshire, along with a healthy $10 000 prize pool.

The Dairy Youth Handlers Classic will continue to run.

Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria chief executive officer Paul Guerra is excited about in-milk dairy cattle classes returning to the Royal Melbourne Show.

“The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria is delighted to announce the all-new Royal Melbourne Show Dairy Cattle Competition after consultation with past and current exhibitors,” Mr Guerra said.

“The Royal Melbourne Show is Victoria’s largest and most iconic annual community event, attracting around 470 000 patrons over 11 days, which provides dairy cattle exhibitors with a unique and valuable platform to connect, engage and educate consumers about the Victorian dairy industry.”

Communications manager Grant Coverdale said dairy was one of the most popular spectacles of the show.

“People want to see the cows, they want to know where their milk comes from and they want to support dairy farmers,” Mr Coverdale said.

Entries are now open and exhibitors are encouraged to visit www.rasv.com.au/dairy-cattle to view the schedule and timetable.

The 2019 Royal Melbourne Show will be held from Saturday, September 21 to Tuesday, October 1 at Melbourne Showgrounds.

Entries will close on Friday, July 26, 2019.