Steve Joyce with his Guernsey, Kalaso Drone Koala, which is expected to be among the team at the Shepparton Show this year. The two-year-old from the Drone sire is a favourite of Steve’s because of her temperament and conformation.
The Joyce family show team will be on deck at this year’s Shepparton Show.
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Steve Joyce, who wears the show team stud shirt (with the stud name on one side and the moniker ‘Pops’ on the other) told Country News if it wasn’t for the family interest, he would have probably given up showing.
Mr Joyce has been a regular at International Dairy Week every year since the national show has been running at Tatura.
It’s more than a hobby, as the Kalaso stud has shown the champion Guernsey for four years running at dairy week.
But having suffered indifferent health in recent years, it’s only the interest of daughters Katilyn and Sophie and son, Lachie, which keeps Mr Joyce going on the show circuit.
He gives them credit for putting in the hard work required in getting the cattle up to scratch for showing. All three, and Kaitlyn’s friend Kian, have their own cattle to show.
Mr Joyce has given up a machinery shed to the show team, who have installed fences and filled the shelter with hay to prepare for the next show.
The Joyces will muster about 16 head from four breeds for Shepparton.
“It’s good to support the local shows,” Mr Joyce said.
“Dairy week is good, but you need the experience and competition at an intermediate level for practice. We need to keep involved there.”
The Joyce family milks about 190 head on a 130ha property at Yambuna.
The 'show shed' at the Joyce farm at Yambuna. It was formerly a machinery shed but the family took it over to help prepare young stock for the shows.
The Shepparton Show will be held on Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14.
Judging for the Guernsey show will start at 10.30am on the Friday with judge Michael Hentschke. The all-breeds youth cattle show will start at 6pm on Friday, and other breeds will be judged on Saturday morning.
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