Jersey Australia, The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and Holstein Australia are pleased to announce the first ever Australian team to compete at the European Young Breeders School, to be held in Battice, Belgium in August this year.
The team members, selected after a rigorous application and interview process, come from five dairying regions across three states and represent a number of dairy breeds.
The team members are:
- Brady Hore from Leitchville, Victoria
- Julia Paulger from Kenilworth, Queensland
- Ricky Nelson from Irrewillipe, Victoria
- Sam Hall from Australind, Western Australia
- Zoe Hayes from Girgarre, Victoria
The team reserve is Alexzander Crawford from Daltons Bridge, Victoria, and the team will be led by Justin Johnston of Glomar Holsteins.
Team leader, Justin Johnston, says: “This is something I’ve wanted to get off the ground for a while, and with the backing of Jersey Australia, The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria and Holstein Australia, as well as other industry partners, it has been made possible.
“This is the twentieth year the European Young Breeders School has taken place and it has become the international reference point for training and show preparation, with many countries entering teams year-on-year. It will be a great learning experience for our team members, and a real opportunity to showcase the talent of Australian dairy youth on the world stage.”
The team is being supported by a number of Australian enterprises and industry bodies including Dick Smith, ST Genetics, Dairy Australia, Genetics Australia, Smyth Seeds and Gippsland Dairy Youth.
Glen Barrett, Jersey Australia General Manager, says: “Brady, Julia, Ricky, Sam and Zoe are five outstanding young individuals selected from a group of twenty-five high calibre applicants, which was an amazing response.
The selection and interview process were far from an easy task and it is a credit to the highly talented and capable young breeders across Australia that they made this process so challenging. The European Young Breeders School is great opportunity for this group, and we look forward to following their progress through the competition.”
Paul Guerra, Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria CEO, say: “The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria are proud to support the inaugural Australian youth delegation to the European Young Breeders School.
This is a fantastic initiative that offers to provide a lasting impression on some of the dairy communities emerging leaders. We are proud to support the development of youth and partner with Holstein Australia and Jersey Australia to deliver this opportunity. We wish all of the individuals well on their journey to Europe and look forward to hearing about their experience when they return.”