Content brought to you by Boehringer Ingelheim.
Representing your country is the ultimate honour in any sector, and for four young New Zealand Hereford breeders, that dream will become a reality next month when they take on the best in the world at the 2020 Boehringer Ingelheim World Hereford Conference in Queenstown from March 9-13.
A highlight at this year's event will be the inaugural Young Breeders Competition where teams of young men and women from all over the world will compete against each other in a variety of breeding-related disciplines and modules, including, but not limited to, the preparation, showing and handling of Herefords.
To date, the Young Breeders Competition has nine teams registered from as far afield as the UK and the US. This year's competition includes an all women's team from Sweden.
The Young Breeders Competition starts March 7 with modules taking place in and around Queenstown, and culminates at the Wanaka A&P show on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 March with the Allflex Young Breeder classes.
As the competition is the first of its kind it's set to become one of the most memorable events for the conference.
About the World Hereford Conference
The four-yearly event was last held in New Zealand over 30 years ago and the previous conference was held in Uruguay in 2016.
The week-long conference brings together breeders from all over the world and gives Kiwis the chance to showcase NZ Herefords to the international community.
The organising team was thrilled to show local Hereford's to the international breeding community, said NZ Hereford's General Manager Posy Moody.
"We've made sure our international visitors will have plenty of opportunity to get out and about by offering farm visits to renowned high country studs so they can observe stock in their natural environment" she said.
"In addition, we're offering our attendees the chance to hear from a wide array of our inspirational and knowledgeable speakers on varying topics including regenerative grazing management, and beef cattle, carbon and the environment.
"It's going to be a very exciting time for breeders, as they enjoy re-connecting with their clients and friends who share the same passion for good breeding".
Key sponsor Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health was excited to be involved in what was expected to be a world class event said Marketing Manager – Livestock, Paul Fitzpatrick.
"We know Posy and the organising committee have worked extremely hard to bring this event to New Zealand and Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health is proud to have the opportunity to be involved and help showcase what New Zealand has to offer to the international Hereford breeding community.
"We know it will be a once in a lifetime experience for many of these Hereford breeders to come this far and we're sure they'll leave here with a wealth of knowledge having seen the stock and being able to discuss breeding issues amongst their community".
What's happening at the 2020 Boehringer Ingelheim World Hereford Conference
This year's conference begins with a Rabobank welcome reception on Monday March 9 at the Millennium Hotel.
Tuesday's speakers and Country Update reports (where delegates share their statistics and knowledge from their own countries) will be followed by a gala dinner at Walter Peak Station, after a ride in the historic TSS Earnslaw across the lake.
Wednesday's schedule includes a field day to Locharburn and Earnscleugh Hereford Studs, courtesy of the Brown and Campbell families. Conference guests can look forward to hearing from a range of speakers and influencers on those field trips, including Pablo Gregorini and the Lincoln research team exploring Hereford behaviour on high country, as well as the opportunities surrounding genomic testing from Neogen and Allflex.
After returning to the conference room on the Thursday to hear such speakers as Dr Jason Rowntree from the USA on beef cattle, carbon and the environment, the conference will travel to the Wanaka A&P show on Friday to support the Young Breeders Competition, watch the cattle judging, and enjoy the many attractions the Wanaka show has to offer.
In addition, conference attendees and their families can sign up and experience various tours that the committee has organised, so the joys of New Zealand can be experienced further.
Tours include a pre-conference North Island tour from March 4-8 from Auckland to Wellington and includes visits to the Craigmore, Bushy Downs, Charwell, Kairuru, Koanui, Otapawa and Te Taumata Hereford studs as well as a visit to commercial Hereford property, Birch Hill Station.
The post-conference South Island tour takes place on March 14-18 and starts with a 4WD trip through Mt Nicholas Station, which runs commercial Herefords, to Te Anau.
Studs visited on the way to Christchurch include Monymusk, Waiau, Waikaka, Westholm, Limehills, Stoneburn, Merrylea and Orari. There will also be a visit to Erewhon Station.
Further details regarding the Conference and tours can be found at: www.nzwhc.co.nz
Register for the conference here.