ANIMAL TECH, National Livestock Show and National Hunting Show were record breaking

The ANIMAL TECH International Fair for Animal Production, the National Show of Livestock and the National Gamekeeping Show took place at the Brno Exhibition Centre from 22 to 26 April 2023. The exhibition centre hosted 236 exhibitors from 8 countries. Almost 50,000 people passed through the gates of the exhibition centre. Visitors could see almost one thousand farm animals that took part in national championships, competitions and breeders' shows. The events were located in Halls P, F, G1 and the surrounding outdoor areas, with Hall G2 also being used over the weekend. Most visitors came to the exhibition centre on Sundays, all weekdays were also very well attended. The fairs had an international overlap, with the world meeting of Charolais breeders taking place at the showground, the championships being judged by foreign judges and visitors coming from neighbouring countries.

New technologies for breeders

The exhibition areas reserved for the ANIMAL TECH fair were sold out completely. "Exhibitors brought mainly feed-related products, as well as agricultural, transport and handling technology. However, visitors saw everything related to livestock production," summarises Petr Maliňák, the fair's project director. A total of 8 exhibits were awarded at Saturday's opening. Their composition illustrates welfare and digitalization as the current trends in livestock production.

 

Extra programme of the National Show of Livestock featuring the Championship of the Czech Spotted Cattle for the first time

At this year's National Show of Livestock , Czech breeders presented one thousand farm animals, mainly beef and dairy cattle. As part of the extra programme, national championships of beef cattle breeds were held, while the championships of dairy cattle breeds featured Jersey, Brown Swiss, Holstein and Czech Spotted cattle. Additional breeds then took part in competition shows. The breeders' programme also featured pigs, boars, goats and horses. The Brno show was also slotted into the programme of the World Charolais Technical Congress, and there was a beekeeping exhibition, a veterinary congress, a taxonomy conference, an auction of breeding heifers and sales of regional foods. The equine programme was very extensive and attractive to the public, taking place on two demosntration sites in Hall F and in the outdoor areas.

National Gamekeeping Show featuring the celebration of 100 years of the Czech-Moravian Hunting Association

The National Gamekeeping Show this time was the largest since its inception. Exhibitors occupied Hall G1 and outdoor areas. The stands displayed weapons, optics, ammunition, clothing and other supplies for hunters. This year's event also included a celebration of 100 years since the establishment of the Czech-Moravian Hunting Association. In the context of the celebrations, unique Czech and Slovak trophies appeared at the exhibition centre, a hunting ball was organised, as well as the European Deer Calling Championship and a day with regional Czech Radio stations took place. Additional extra programme took place on the stage in Hall G1, with all the clubs of the Czech-Moravian Hunting Association presenting themselves in the programme and on the stands. Timbersport competitions were held in the outdoor area on Sunday and Monday.

Events at the expo grounds

A press conference to launch the rescue service for domestic animals enjoyed attention from media and visitors. The system will also be complemented by a mobile app Zvíře+ (Animal+), with a number of features and information for owners of domestic animals. The app includes first aid instructions, contacts and a display of the current location according to GPS coordinates. In Brno and South Moravia, it will now be extended in a test mode by a 24/7 supervision centre where breeders can consult the condition of their dog, cat and other pets. Representatives of the Chambers of Agriculture of the V4 countries met at the exhibition centre on Monday 24 April.

The expo was also visited by well-known personalities associated with breeding and hunting – actor and hunter Aleš Háma, actress and horse breeder Michaela Kuklová or actor and farmer Martin Kraus. Singer Olga Lounová, Miss Czech Republic Tereza Fajksová and presenter Lucie Borhyová were also present, as they came to enjoy the expo with their children.

 

The next season of ANIMAL TECH, National Show of Livestock and National Gamekeeping Show will be held in 2025.

The TECHAGRO, SILVA REGINA and BIOMASS agricultural and forestry fairs are scheduled to be held from 7 to 11 April 2024. The main topic of TECHAGRO will be digitalisation and precision agriculture.

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What people said about the expo:

Zdeněk Nekula, Minister of Agriculture of the Czech Republic

Although the ANIMAL TECH fair is intended primarily for professionals, I am sure that the general public will also find something to like here, and there are certainly many interesting innovations that they can get to know. At the moment, there is a lot of talk about precision agriculture, which is very much associated with crop production in the media. On the other hand, a lot has already been done in the areas of animal husbandry and livestock production, and there is huge potential for further development, whether it is in the area of animal chips, sensors or diagnostics. This is what this year's expo is also about.

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Josefa Kučera, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Czech-Moravian Breeders' Society

It may seem like just another animal show, but there is a lot of money behind those animals. The Czech Republic is really at the top in what it produces, and this is reflected in the volume of its exports. In the last two years, we have exported more than CZK 2 billion worth of breeding animals and genetic material.

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Michal Pejčoch, organiser of the horse exhibition at the National Show of Livestock

I am very satisfied with the exhibition; we were surprised by the turnout of visitors, especially during the weekend. On behalf of horse breeders, I have to appreciate the start of the expo on Saturday. Around 140 horses were presented at the show and a novelty of this year's season was the inclusion of a stunt show from the Trojan stable. The expo organisers treated us really perfectly; I had been a bit worried about the new project team, but these fears turned out to be completely unnecessary, as the new team is just great and everything works the way it should.

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Věra Filipová, judge and secretary of the Czech Mountain Trail

I'm very surprised and excited, as it's my first time in this role as an organizer and besides the fact that it's very demanding, it's just great. The attitude of the exhibition organisers is absolutely flawless, I am delighted by the positive atmosphere and their kind approach, as they try to accommodate and help us in everything.

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Michaela Zachová, organiser of the western horse programme and Mountain Trail

We have had high attendance even until late afternoon hours. Visitors were very active in the fb competitions, which was new this year. I really liked the networking with well-known personalities and good projects as it also raised the profile of the whole expo. Another novelty was the competition with dogs, the dog trail, and we also lent the audience a horse on a leash so that they could compete as well.

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Ketris, Energys, Equicov, Kateřina Obluková, Ketris representative

I was surprised by the number of visitors even on weekdays. I am very satisfied and if possible, I will come again next time. We have a great location right next to the Arena, so I appreciate the fact that the programme includes virtually everything. Whenever I needed to get something done, the expo organisers and Míša Zachová always walked the extra mile for me.

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David Lipovský, ČMSCH, Head of Laboratories and Breeding Department

I would like to thank the exhoibition centre for providing beautiful premises for our animals, because I think we cannot find similar spaces anywhere else in the Czech Republic. And at the same time I would like to thank the whole BVV project team for their great organization – everything is working perfectly. Certainly the breeders can be satisfied and I assume that the exhibition centre is also satisfied with our breeders' show, because the turnout of visitors was excellent. On behalf of myself, the whole ČMSF and the breeders who were given space, I say thanks so much.

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Jiří Brádka, owner of Wagyu family farm from Hrušov

The show is perfect, we are presenting the Wagyu breed here for the first time, as we are only in our third year of breeding. That is why it is important for us to participate in this expo, just for the sake of education. There was an unexpected visitor turnout for us, and everything was very well organized.

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Michaela Pilná, Ch. Hansen, Senior Business Manager for Central Europe, Balkans and Baltic countries

The weekdays were important for us, the attendance of our customers was great, although mainly from the zootechnical segment, because machinery and equipment are represented here on a small scale only. But we are satisfied. The weekend was more demanding, but again it is positive that many families with children were here, we are happy that children are getting closer to animals and agriculture at least in this way.

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Ľuboš Galbavý, Agrotec product manager

It is our first time at the Animal Tech exhibition, and we are very satisfied. There are a lot of people and a lot of interest in our products, so we are not bored here at all.

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Mojmír Vacek, Farmtec, Product Manager, cattle breeding technology

We are always present at the Brno trade fairs, as we are at all important trade shows in Europe. I like the Brno trade fair very much, there are a lot of interesting exhibits, many categories of farm animals, including horses, and breeders can boast the results of their work. We are really happy here and we appreciate the fact that we can be here.

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Ing. Ladislav Škařupa, CBS Genetics s.r.o., Director

I think that the participation of breeders and the professional public was very good and I was pleased that there was a greater participation of the general public. I think that the exhibitors are also satisfied.

We do it for others, we have historically been involved for many years in building the facilities that is here for animals. Our cooperation with the Brno Exhibition Centre has been going on for long years, and I hope it will continue.

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Ing. Jiří Kostkan, MIKROP ČEBÍN, guarantor for cattle nutrition

We are regular guests at trade shows of this type. We are very pleased that our customers are very favourable to us. I think it is a wonderful thing that the expo is not reserved only for trade visitors – there were programmes for children on Saturday and Sunday, I think they raised attention. There's agriculture awareness education going on, I think it is amazing, in my view it is a good event. We are hoping for the same great attendance next year.

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Ing. Miloš Jirovský, SZIF - State Agricultural Intervention Fund, Director of the Regional Departments Management Section

From our point of view, the agricultural exhibitions in Brno are of a high standard. They are of great benefit. We think that the participation is much better than anyone expected. Good contacts are established here for the future. We have the opportunity to meet colleagues in one place who are dealing with similar issues and problems.

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Jiří Stolín, VNT electronics, s.r.o., Product Manager

We regularly go to ANIMAL TECH and present new products here. We are really satisfied with the attendance; those who knew we would be here actually did arrive, but also a number of new people interested in our products came in, to whom we presented our range of products and our innovations.

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Milan Gálik, MERKANTA INTERNATIONAL spol. s r.o, Managing Director

The exhibition in Brno is of significant importance to us. We have nothing comparable in Slovakia, which is why we come to Brno. We have important customers in the Czech Republic, it is an interesting market for us, three times as big as the Slovak market. We do not consider the Czech Republic a foreign country. We always like to come back here.

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Roman Hýna, Sellior&Belot, Head of Domestic Ammunition Sales

We like a lot of things at the expo. The conditions that the exhibition centre has prepared for us here are excellent, they have accommodated us in everything we needed, so we are extremely satisfied. Next time we will definitely come back as well.

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Roman Konstanz, Thermofox, Sales Representative and Technical Advisor

Considering the fact that this is the first time we have been to the Brno Exhibition Centre, I would rate this year's exhibition as one of the best ever, a huge number of visitors, enormous interest in our products, excellent extra programme, and overall, the BVV support is great, including the stand location.

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Tomáš Vingrálek, LifeStyle Camper, Managing Director

We are very satisfied with the exhibition, there is an unexpectedly high attendance. It is important for us to participate here to get into people's consciousness, and hunters are also among our customers. Next year we will definitely come back again.

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Ota Frič, Lovecký svět (Hunters' World), owner of the company

This event is very good, the interest is huge. The weekend was very hectic, it was impossible to move here. It is a friendly atmosphere here, we like it very much.

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Andrea Güttlerová, ČMMJ, PR, marketing, events

We are excited about the great visitor turnout. We have received great echoes. We have set the bar real high, for example, in the European Championships in luring, also thanks to the approach by the exhibition centre, and the beautiful premises. In general, the scale of the exhibition grounds is unparalleled anywhere else. We were also satisfied with the catering provided on the premises. And, of course, we appreciate that BVV took the forthcoming step of opening the show a day earlier in order to mark our centenary.

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Alexandr Pospíšil, Silvajagd, co-owner

We had prepared for the event for more than half a year, the approach of the exhibition centre was excellent, we have good relations here. On behalf of our company, we are quite satisfied, there were a lot of visitors, interesting customers came as well. We will definitely participate again next time.

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Jan Škopík, Expal, owner

The long-prepared event of the celebration of the ČMMJ was a success in every aspect, the main programme of the celebration took place right here at the exhibition centre and was really fabulous. Whether it was the European championship in decoying, which was prepared by the exhibition centre and the organisers at a really high level, the gala evening with tributes to those who are no longer here, the professionally prepared Hunting Ball or the all-day programme. I would also like to highlight the fact that the premises of the Brno Exhibition Centre give the exhibitions a kind of refinement. I would wish for our beautiful Czech-Moravian Hunting Association to continue to flourish.

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Jana Kuncová, Mendel University – Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, promotion of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at Mendel University

At this expo we mainly present the study programmes we offer to potential students from secondary schools, and also present our trumpeters who accompany the entire programme in Hall G. The expo was certainly a success, with many visitors and prospective students. It brought for us what we expected from the fair.

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Lesy České republiky (Forests of the Czech Republic)

Here we presented the activities of our enterprise to the public, marginally we offered paid hunting in our reserves. We were pleasantly surprised by the attendance, and not only on the weekend. We are very satisfied with the approach of the exhibition centre, with the location of our stand and with the fact that the exhibition ran also throughout the weekend.

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Daniel Hoffmann, Foxy-Foxy, co-founder and co-owner of the brand

We are a relatively young company, this is the very first trade fair for us. We are happy with the visitor turnout. We've had great feedback, so we're happy and we're considering another opportunity at the Brno Exhibition Centre, although we definitely still have to evaluate all the circumstances, but we think we probably will come back again.

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Daniel Vyoral, Meopta - optika, s.r.o., Area Sales Manager

We are regular attendees and we can say that we have someone at the stand almost all the time during the expo. Visitors are interested in our products and are quite satisfied, so we are satisfied again as well.

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Společnost bratrů Patrika a Filipa Loebeových, Loebe-uniformy (Company of brothers Patrik and Filip Loebe, Loebe-uniforms), Patrik Loebe speaking

We are happy with the attendance, as we are mainly here to present ourselves. It was not primarily our goal here to sell, but rather to raise our profile. We are trying to establish ourselves in this way. We want to be seen, to enter the public awareness. We are definitely thinking about participating in the next season of the expo.