A free family fun evening, open to all, will help kick of this year’s International Dairy Week.
IDW event co-ordinator Stacey Leppert said the event on Saturday, January 14 would be a great opportunity for everyone, whether they were part of IDW 2023 or not, to come along and enjoy plenty of great activities.
“It’s the first time we’ve run a community event and we encourage everyone to come along,” Stacey said.
“There will be live music, food trucks, face painting, acrobatics training, a mechanical bull and a whole lot more.”
Earlier in the day there will be an opportunity for the public to try their hand and pick up tips on showing and clipping.
“Over the past 33 years IDW has called Tatura home and we would love the opportunity to showcase the Australian dairy industry to those who may not be as familiar with what we do,” Stacey said.
“IDW hosts some of the best cows in the country and it really is a sight to see.”
On Sunday, January 15, the events start in earnest — including the always popular Holstein Australia Youth Challenge featuring 11 teams from multiple states across Australia and a team from New Zealand.
“Another highlight on Sunday evening will be the industry Q&A featuring a panel of three international speakers — Callum McKinven, Brian Carscadden and Tom Cull — followed by the exhibitor welcome barbecue,” Stacey said.
“This will be an incredible opportunity for Australian dairy farmers to explore genetics, technology and developments first-hand from well-known industry leaders.”
For the first time a standalone red and white show will be held on Monday, January 16, and this year all the seminars will be live-streamed, so people who may be interested in the topics — which range from calf-rearing and silage to robotic dairies, sheds and genetics — can tune in from wherever they are at the time.
Judges at this year’s show include:
- Ayrshire: Lachlan Fry, Australia.
- Brown Swiss and Red and White Holstein: Callum McKinven, Canada.
- Guernsey: Brian Behnke, United States.
- Holstein: Warren Ferguson, New Zealand.
- Illawarra: Brad Gavenlock, Australia.
- Jersey: Kelli Cull, United States.
- Youth Show: Ben Govett, Australia.
Buyers and sellers will be keen to see if more records can be broken — last year an Australian record price of $27,000 for a Brown Swiss was paid — at the much-anticipated sale on Wednesday, January 18 and the trade show will be back bigger and better than before from Tuesday to Thursday.
As Dairy News Australia went to print, Stacey said they had more than 900 entries — well up on the previous year — which was exciting news and pointed to the resilience of the sector in the face of recent hurdles including COVID-19 restrictions, biosecurity concerns and floods.
“People are pretty optimistic and pushing forward,” she said.
“We’re seeing people coming back from South Australia [after COVID restrictions], Bega, Queensland — we’re all very excited and looking forward to a great few days.”
IDW 2023 runs from Saturday, January 14 to Thursday, January 19 at Tatura Park, 7 Hastie St, Tatura, Victoria.
For more information, including tickets, visit www.idwaus.com or follow the Around the Barn on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or any of your favourite podcast networks.