Expo kick-starts show season
THE top dairy breeders from the four corners of the country will compete for the awards at the eighth annual Emerald Expo, heralded as the official launch of the annual agricultural show season, which will take place at the Virginia Show Centre, Co Cavan on Saturday.
Described as continuing “in the vein of the RDS Spring Fair of old, in that it serves as both a shop window of the breed and a preview of the quality stock to be seen in show rings throughout the country in the year ahead”, the event organising committee is chaired by Richard Whelan, working with a committee made up of local breeders, and supported by the Irish Holstein Friesian Association, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, FBD Insurance, Holstein Northern Ireland and Specialist Nutrition.
Breeders will compete in 19 classes catering for all dairy breeds and vie for the honours in six championships. The Supreme Championship this year is sponsored by FBD Insurance.
The rosettes and trophies will be awarded by Ben Yates, manager of the Y-Farm partnership in Somerset, England, who recently established his own Wowcow pedigree Holstein herd.
A successful exhibitor at the European Show in Colmar in 2016, he has judged at the Celtic Show Case, the YMA National Calf Show and the Winter Show in Drenthe, the Netherlands.
Among the classes being judged are handling classes for the keen next generation of breeders, members of the Young Members Association (YMA). The competitions offer these young people the first opportunity to begin amassing points towards the Showmanship League 2018, which will continue throughout the summer in the many local shows nationwide and culminate in the Showmanship League Finals at the National Dairy Show in Milstreet next October.
Charles Gallagher, CEO of the IHFA, said that agricultural shows play a very important role in rural Ireland as an educational tool and a fun day out for farming families.
“This social capital is a key ingredient and serves as a link between town and country,” he said. “It is an opportunity for farmers to meet up and discuss the issues of the day, taking time out from a busy schedule, while enjoying the spectacle of the show. That will surely be a welcome reprieve for farmers this spring.”
The show opens at 9.30am on Saturday.