Preparations In High Gear For Minard Livestock And Beef Festival

Preparations are in high gear for the 20th staging of the Minard Livestock Show and Beef Festival, at the Minard Estate in Brown’s Town, St Ann, on November 14.

The annual event is a major showcase of beef and dairy cattle, and will see breeders, as well as farmers, parading their finest livestock.

This year’s show, under the theme, ‘Empowering our Youth in Livestock Production and National Development’, involves partnership with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries; the Cattle Breeders Society of Jamaica; the Jamaica 4H Clubs, and Agro-Investment Corporation.

Activities for the day will include a display of cattle, school art and craft competition and cattle judging as well as a goat and calf scramble.

There will also be displays and demonstrations from exhibitors, including Nutramix, Jamaica 4H Clubs, HEART/Trust NTA and the Jamaica Dairy Development Board.

Chairman of the planning committee, Edwin Gayle, told JIS News that the event is geared towards stimulating interest among livestock farmers and promoting youth involvement in agriculture.

He said it will also highlight the use of technology in advancing the development of agriculture in Jamaica.

“As we continue to [make] improvements to the agricultural sector, especially the livestock area, we want to highlight those improvements. We are expecting to educate and inform participants as to what is happening and areas in which they can grow in agriculture,” Mr. Gayle said.

“Since we are having so many youth, the hope is that we can influence them to make agriculture a career, so that we can provide future leaders for the industry,” he added.

Mr. Gayle anticipates a bumper turnout for the event, with more than 200 schools expected to participate.

“We are well in gear. We are pulling out all the stops to make sure that it is a great show. This year, the Ministry of Education [Youth and Information] has come on board totally, sending information to all schools.

“So we are expecting the school support, through the 4H clubs and that it will be a massive turnout. In addition, the patronage from adults has been growing over the years,” he told JIS News.

The Minard Livestock Show and Beef Festival will be staged from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The entry cost is $500 for adults and $200 for children.