Declan Patten and Bradley Cullen took over the reins of running IDW from Brian Leslie earlier this year and said, while the dairy show would remain the cornerstone of the event, they were keen to support and promote other aspects of the dairy industry.
Event co-ordinator Stacey Leppert said the program order had been changed to help with cow comfort and provide more networking opportunities.
“We’re also really excited to be presenting a new format for the crowning of the Australian Grand Champion exhibit — for the first time at IDW the crowd will be able to visually see the judges’ ranking of each of the breeds on the big screen,” she said.
“This is a great way to build anticipation and excitement amongst the exhibitors, sponsors and event attendees.”
This year IDW will host an opening ceremony on the morning of Monday, January 17 to welcome everyone to the event.
This new initiative — along with others such as the hand-picked seminars, farm tours, Youth Challenges and Power of Women in Dairying event — were sure to be highlights of the week, Ms Leppert said.
“A big part of IDW is the opportunity to catch up and network so we’re encouraging everyone to come along to the final celebration at 7.30pm on Thursday, January 20,” she said.
“Also new this year for IDW is a podcast called Around the Barn. For those wanting to stay up-to-date on not only Australian dairying but also key industry representatives from around the world, this is a podcast for you.”
Around the Barn is available on Apple Podcasts, Iheart Radio and Spotify.
Ms Leppert said they were pleased that many of the event’s long-time sponsors were back on board, including naming rights sponsors Semex, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Lely and City of Greater Shepparton.
“We’re thrilled too to have new sponsors come on board this year, including: Apiam Animal Health, Central Steel Build, Elders, EW Nutrition, McCallum Made, Neogen, Phillipsons Accounting, Pioneer Seeds and Terragen Biotech.”
IDW 2022 will be held at Tatura Park, at 9 Hastie St, Tatura, from January 16 to January 20.
For each general admission ticket purchased, the ticket holder goes into a raffle to win a CF Moto X4 motorbike.
For the full program and entry form, visit: https://internationaldairyweek.com.au/
Entries close at midnight on December 15.
For more information, phone Stacey Leppert on 0484 250 512.