The Victorian dairy show was cancelled last year due to COVID-19 and organiser Clare Modra said they were expecting 2021 to be a big one.
“Everyone is desperate to show their cows and, providing there are no restrictions or COVID outbreaks, everything is looking good to go ahead,” Clare said.
National Herd Development has once again jumped on board as the major sponsor, along with Bega Cheese who will be supporting the Youth Show, and Elders the Red Show.
COVID-19 has certainly hit the showing community hard, and the Winter Fair will be the first major opportunity for the majority of local exhibitors to show their cattle, after International Dairy Week was cancelled earlier this year.
“There has certainly been a lot of interest and we are expecting 2021 to be our biggest Winter Fair yet,” Clare said.
“I really missed the show last year and I am definitely looking forward to catching up with everyone.”
The event will follow the usual format, including the incorporation of a youth section and the awarding of Junior Champion Youth Show, Junior Champion Red Show and Supreme Junior Exhibit.
Supreme Intermediate Udder, Red Intermediate Champion and Supreme Intermediate Exhibit along with Supreme Senior Udder, Red Senior Champion and Supreme Senior Exhibit will be held on July 1.
The return of the fair is great news for Tallygaroopna's Brad and Jess Gavenlock from Cherrylock Cattle Co.
The Gavenlocks have just finished listing their entries and are currently preparing a team of 20, which includes eight red and white animals, half a dozen in-milk cows and a bunch of heifers. They will be taking a mixture of Victorian and NSW cattle owned by other exhibitors along with some of their own.
“We have a real soft spot for the red and whites and the Winter Fair is the perfect place to show them,” Brad said.
“We missed IDW this year and while it was nice to have a break, we are happy to be back into it again with the Winter Fair.”
The northern Victorian breeders might have missed out on IDW, but they were busy in March and April attending the Sydney Royal and the Gippsland Jersey Fair.
“I love getting cows ready to show especially in the cooler weather,” Brad said.
“The Winter Fair is the prefect show and the perfect venue — held in one shed and under one roof.
“It is very social show, and everyone gets together which makes it really enjoyable and unlike other shows (like the Royals), the Winter Fair is easy to get around and the organising committee know cows and are very easy to work with.”
Brad said there was plenty of talk around the fair and everyone who normally shows was pretty keen to get there this year.
The event is COVID-safe and the size of the venue means 1200 people can attend.
In order to give the fair the best possible chance of going ahead, the committee decided to appoint two Victorian judges on the off-chance border lockdowns came into effect.
“We are lucky to have Brian Leslie as our lead judge and Patrick Anderson as our associate judge this year,” Clare said.
Brian's career as a judge and auctioneer has taken him across the globe and he has officiated at many prestigious dairy shows around the world including in Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States, while Patrick is a young, up-and-coming judge with a great future.
Patrick manages his parents’ King Vista Jersey Stud, milking 200 cows through a fully robotic dairy, while also operating his own Kings Veldt Jersey stud and a small Holstein stud.
He has judged at numerous venues across Victoria and also presided over the On Farm Challenge in southern NSW.
Entry forms can be downloaded from the website victorianwinterfair.webs.com and more information can be found on Facebook Victorian Winter Fair.
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