PIVOTAL to the ongoing success of the Australian dairy industry is encouraging the next generation to get involved at major events such as the annual 2023 International Dairy Week (IDW), which ran from January 14 to January 19 at Tatura Park, Victoria.
The Holstein Australia Victoria Youth Challenge Trials saw 11 teams of up to 10 young dairy members from across the country and one from New Zealand, incorporating a diverse range of ages and genders, be put to the test.
The Sunday program focused solely on the youth who showcased their skills in the show ring, competing in three heats: fitting, parading and judging.
Now in its 20th year, the youth challenge has seen hundreds of young people with an interest in the dairy industry get involved.
It was all hands on deck in the fitting heats to clip out and groom their heifer to be ready for showing in 30 minutes.
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The day's heat was undoubtedly a challenge.
However, the indoor venue provided plenty of shade and fans to keep the temperature down as much as possible, especially during the parading heats when cattle were being sulky.
Selected team members came to the fore for the judging heats, which tested their knowledge of what makes a good dairy cow.
The challenge was for three team members to combine their know–how and nominate one person to give their reasons for placing the four cows from A to D in their preferred order.
To be ranked in the top spot, the "dairiness" of the chosen cow was commented on by most entrants, as well as frame and strength.
The winning teams of the Youth Challenge were Eagle Direct Green first, North West second and Eagle Direct Blue third.
The over judges were Nathan Hart (fitting), Andrew Gray (judging) and Caitlin Wishart (parading).
All three judges, aged 21 to 25, commented on their experience of competing in similar competitions and how they benefited from the experience.
The 2023 VAS Ltd Junior Dairy Cattle Parading and Judging State Final were held in the afternoon.
Entrants were invited to enter on the day because many had not been able to qualify because their local shows had been cancelled because of the wet weather.
Entrants must be aged 15 to 25 and reside in Victoria to participate in the competitions.
This year's judge for the VAS competitions was Cameron Yarnold from Wingham, NSW.
The results for the Dairy Cattle Parading were Anna Dickson as the winner, Leah Dickson in second place, and Maddison Kenzie in third.
In the Dairy Cattle Judging, Angus Fraser won, with Georgia Sieben placed second and Luke Gardner third.
Anna Dickson from Garvoc and Angus Fraser from Dingee will represent Victoria at the October National Finals to be held this year in Tasmania.
Monday, January 16, kicked off with the ABS Australia/Ridley All Breeds National Youth Show, which was judged by Victorian Ben Govett from Dingee, who described the kids who competed as being "fantastic" and "really professional".
Melbourne–based Daniel Watson exhibited Brubob Radio Star in the All Breeds Youth Show taking out the title of the grand champion heifer.
He told IDW compere Casey Treloar, "It was a bit surreal, my first time in the ring."
Daniel's interest began 12 months ago when he started working on a dairy farm.
The win has "definitely motivated" this city boy to be more involved in the industry.
The reserve champion went to Jett Easterbrook from Tatura, who exhibited Wyndell Doc Jade.
The 2023 Sheri Martin Youth Showmanship senior category winner was Abbie Hanks from Cobden, with Cathy O'Shannassy being runner–up.
Abbie also took first place in the intermediate showmanship division, with second place going to Katelyn Atkins.
