Van Vuuren wins youth cattle judging competition

OUTJO’S Moria Private School pupils Chané Janse van Vuuren, Sienta-Mari van Rooyen and Benjamin Mostert were the top three performers at the Bank Windhoek Feedmaster National Cattle Judging Competition hosted in Windhoek yesterday.

Van Vuuren, who took the third spot in 2022, is this year’s winner, Van Rooyen retained her second spot, while Mostert, who came third, participated for the first time.

The three said they were delighted to have participated in the competition, which was hard work but also fun.

Hosted at the Windhoek Agricultural and Industrial Show, the Bank Windhoek Feedmaster National Cattle Judging Competition is a collaboration between Bank Windhoek and Feedmaster. In its fifth year, the initiative provides pupils between grades 9 and 11 with the necessary skills and knowledge to feed and judge stud animals on the farm and in show rings, focusing on the Simbrah and Simmentaler cattle breeds. This year, the competition included Braunvieh cattle breeds.

The programme’s leader, Christo van Zyl, said 80 pupils representing schools across the country registered to participate in this year’s competition. Eventually, 12 pupils – six boys and six girls – made it to the final of the national youth judging competition during the Windhoek show.

All candidates attended a prejudging course before the judging competition. The judging course focused mainly on the cattle’s basic anatomy and composition. It also included the rules of show associations, the role of the show stewards, feed management of show animals and the preparation and taming of animals for show purposes.

Van Zyl said he is impressed with how the pupils keep up with the trade, and as a result, the standard of the competition increases every year.

“The passion and commitment from the pupils make us want to do this repeatedly. We are proud of this competition and thank Bank Windhoek for their unwavering support in this worthy investment,” said Van Zyl.

Van Vuuren, who spoke on behalf of the participants, said she was overwhelmed by the win and glad the hard work and effort paid off. She and the other winners who are passionate about agriculture thanked Bank Windhoek for the opportunity and urged the bank to continue supporting the agricultural youth competition.