NATUR EXPO BRNO
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Brno Exhibition Centre got crowded with livestock and advanced livestock production equipment. Gamekeeping and landscape care were also featured

For the first time, this year’s National Show of Livestock was held concurrently with the International Fair for Animal Production, ANIMAL TECH, the Fair for Sustainable Living in the Landscape, NATUR EXPO BRNO, and the National Gamekeeping Show. The focus on livestock production and landscape care enhanced the interest of professional public, which was reflected in the high footfall over the first two days when the exhibition centre welcomed close to 15 thousand people. In total, 272 firms and 900 heads of livestock were presented in an exhibition area of ca. 27,000 m2. Over four days, this unique show attracted over 30 thousand paying visitors.

Higher level of proficiency and international engagement

The National Show of Livestock in Brno was the largest livestock production show in the Czech Republic. Extraordinary concentration of exhibited breeds and animals makes it the breeders’ event of the year. The event preparation and organisation was carried out with intensive involvement of the Czech-Moravian Breeders Association, Czech Beef Breeders Association, Holstein Breeders Association of the CR, Czech Fleckvieh Breeders Association of the CR, Czech Jersey Breeders Association, Normande Breeders Association of the CR, Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders, Association of Pig Breeders in Bohemia and Moravia and Association of Horse Breeders of the Czech Republic. Outcomes of the breeding work were presented by close to 300 breeders with 900 pieces of animals – dairy and meat cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses. This year, the show was strictly professional and the pet show previously accompanying this exhibition was separated to form a stand-alone event at the end of June.

The International Fair for Animal Production ANIMAL TECH introduced mainly feeds, breeding technologies and veterinary and reproductive equipment. The Golden ANIMAL TECH 2017 medal was competed for by a total of twenty exhibits and the evaluation committee granted awards to four of them: the monitoring system OVALERT All in One exhibited by CRV Czech Republic, the calving alert system MooCall exhibited by Merkanta International, the automatic manure cleaner Lely Discovery 120 Collector exhibited by AGRO-partner and the sucking pig nutrition concept Supp-Le-Mate exhibited by Sano – Modern animal nutrition.

The livestock and livestock production technology show had a high international standard. Breed champions were valued by judges coming from the Netherlands, France, USA, Belgium, Hungary and Germany. The show was visited by eight foreign delegations and incoming missions the participants of which spoke highly of the quality of Czech breeding and breeding material. The exhibition centre was also the venue of a joint meeting of the representatives of agrarian chambers of V4 countries, Slovenia and Croatia.

The exhibition centre became a functional farm for four days

The character of this livestock show differs from other exhibitions held in Brno. Livestock require permanent care - bedding, feeding, milking and other work. Thanks to the multifunctional premises of the Brno exhibition centre it was possible to provide suitable facilities for all these activities and accommodation for the attending staff right on site. Everything was managed thanks to the cooperation with secondary agricultural schools in Lanškroun, Poděbrady, Trhové Sviny and Bystřice nad Pernštejnem. Halls K, H and M accommodated approximately 200 students of these vocational schools and tenders who took turns in taking care of the animals day and night. What was another logistic challenge was the transport of 900 animals to the exhibition centre. Virtually all domestic carriers licensed to transport animals were approached. A total of 36 trucks provided the transport back and forth.

For the first time, the exhibition included a Beekeeping show, which introduced not only honey and honey product manufactures but also suppliers of necessary technologies. As part of this show, specialised lectures were given and consulting services for beekeepers were available.

The group of trade fairs focusing on livestock production also included the 8^th Central European Veterinary Congress, whose topic ”Common diseases in people and animals – facts and myths“ attracted great interest. The two-day meeting took place in hall P and was attended by over 150 people, largely veterinarians.

This unconventional show attracted to the Brno exhibition centre not only agricultural specialists but also the general public who were, among other things, interested in commented shows of cattle, pigs, goats and sheep, a riding arena presenting bred horses and western programmes. Visitors voted again for the most beautiful cow of the show. The title of Miss Sympathy went to cow Cinderella, Brown Swiss breed, from the school farm of Lanškroun Secondary Agricultural and Veterinary School.

Gamekeeping as part of the landscape care

For the second time, the National Gamekeeping Show was held, offering a presentation and sale of firearms, optics, clothing and other hunting equipment. The visitors were interested in unique trophies, thematic exhibitions, competitions, culinary and wood-cutting show. A rich programme of lectures, discussions and projections took place on two stages this time. The exposition of the popular-science programme dedicated to Forest Pedagogy was attended by ca. 1,300 people who became familiar with the forest life in a playful way. Gamekeeping was also introduced as a crucial part of animal and landscape care, which well corresponded to the topic of the new fair NATUR EXPO BRNO located in the same hall.

Sustainable living in the landscape and water retention in the soil

The new Fair for Sustainable Living in the Landscape NATUR EXPO BRNO met its public-awareness-raising goal and presented to the public the importance of adaptation measures aimed at retaining water in the landscape in relation to the climate change. The fair also offered two professional meetings. The subject of the conference „Master plan of the landscape water management of the CR“ was the drying up of the Czech Republic and solutions to the consequences of climate change, the second conference „Problems of Czech infrastructure – public contracts and obstructions“ focused on large-scale investment projects.

A total of 126 journalists from 3 countries were accredited in the press centre. The foreign journalists arrived from Austria and Slovakia.

Next edition of the fairs dedicated to livestock breeding, gamekeeping and landscape care will take place in spring 2019.

The PROPET, INTERCANIS and INTERFELIS shows will take place at the Brno exhibition centre between 24^th – 25^th June 2017.

Between 8^th – 12^th April 2018, the Brno exhibition centre will host the TECHAGRO, SILVA REGINA and BIOMASS fairs.

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Testimonials

Marian Jurečka, Minister of Agriculture:
In terms of livestock productivity parameters, especially milk production and meat production, the Czech Republic is amongst ten best countries in the world. I am very proud of what our farmers and our ancestors have done. Looking at these noble animals, I must say that we are the real leader: over the last three years I have travelled a lot and I have seen agricultural practices in about forty countries. The originally national exhibition is becoming a major international event where foreign visitors can see more than 900 top heads of livestock. I had the opportunity to speak with eight foreign delegations and all these foreign guests were impressed by the high standard of the National Exhibition in the Czech Republic. They were surprised to see the top-quality genetic material we offer and the form in which the livestock are presented. I am delighted to see that the exhibition serves its purpose not only for us in the Czech Republic but that it is also an excellent presentation for the international audience and for export promotion.

Jiří Kuliš, Managing Director of Veletrhy Brno:
I am pleased to see that the exhibition has been realized in a new concept where livestock are presented together with livestock production technologies and the related topic of sustainable living in the landscape. I want to thank all those who were involved in the presentation of 900 heads of livestock as well as the Ministry of Agriculture for the support of this exhibition. And I would also like to express my admiration to all breeders who confirm the high standard of breeding in the Czech Republic at the National Exhibition.

Martin Pýcha, Chairman of the Agricultural Union of the CR:
I am very glad that this exhibition has found its place in the calendar of the breeders as well as the general public and I very much welcome its extension by the exhibition NATUR EXPO and sustainable living in the landscape. The link may not be visible at first glance but the Czech Republic is a typical example of a country experiencing a massive decline in livestock production in the past, which is also negatively reflected in the condition of the countryside needed by the livestock and the farmers.

Josef Kučera, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Czech-Moravian Breeders Association:
Historically, this is the first time we have sponsored the National Show of Livestock. The Czech Republic is the leader amongst the exporters of genetic material and our animals find their way to a number of foreign markets. This is evidenced by the large number of foreign visitors here in Brno where we can show them the long-term results of our breeders' work.

David Lipovský, Czech-Moravian Breeders Association, livestock show organizer
This is the first time that the livestock exhibition takes place separately together with the supporting programmes. I am pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors coming to this first separate edition of this event. Perhaps we have launched a good tradition. When I see the interest of visitors this year, I think that the present exhibitors will come again and those who have just come to have a look this year will seriously consider their participation next time.

Jiří Motyčka, executive director, Holstein Breeders Association of the CR:
We like the show and the breeders like it, too, and that is why they get actively involved. The exhibition centre premises are beautiful and very good services are provided including accommodation and catering for the animal carers. I must say that the organizers of the exhibition work very well. We are also pleased that the Czech-Moravian Breeders Association is the new sponsor of the event and therefore we do not have to directly handle the organizational matters. I think that this year's participation of Holstein cattle breeders is comparable to past years.

Richard Konrád, breeder, Sheep and Goat Breeders Association, show co-organizer
For this national exhibition, the Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders prepared a beautiful show of breeds registered in Czech breeds. We are satisfied with the participation. Our stand is quite busy. People ask a lot of questions and so we discuss, advise and provide information and we can see how the presence in the exhibition of this type is necessary and beneficial for sheep and goat farming.

Kamil Malát, director, Czech Meat Cattle Breeders Association
The exhibition has just ended - and in a great way. For us it is a breeder’s feast. We had 360 animals here, 21 meat breeds, about 80 breeders, 30 juniors. These figures show that this is really an important exhibition that we appreciate and which the breeders take very seriously. The quality of livestock is getting better and better each year, which was confirmed by several dozens of foreign guests coming both as visitors and judges evaluating the competition championships. Many foreign guests were impressed by the Czech quality, they wanted to buy cattle and showed interest in cooperation. Such an interest did not come by itself but it is related to the 25 years of robust work of the breeders which also bears fruits in this show.

Pavel Král, director, Czech Fleckvieh Breeders Association
I think that the newly commenced cooperation between BVV and the Bohemian-Moravian Breeders Association is a step in the right direction. As a sponsor of the livestock exhibition, ČMSCH is perceived positively by the breeders, just like the concept tested at the last TECHAGRO trade fair, where we pragmatically take turns with the Holstein cattle. A small part of our breed was here to be seen throughout the exhibition; we presented cattle from Lanškroun from the Secondary Veterinary School, which exhibited, besides other breeds, representatives of the Czech Fleckvieh and red cow breed. Today's competition was attended by 27 animals, which is more than last time and the audience was also a positive feature. We are playing with the idea that in 2019 we would announce our breed champion here, at the exhibition centre in Brno.

Jan Záhorka, Advisor to the President, Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic
I think the National Show of Livestock is really becoming a prestigious event for all breeders, be it cattle, cattle, pig, goat and sheep breeders, and the number of animals - over 800 heads- is truly grandiose. It is a feast for the breeders. Other events are more like accompanying events; nevertheless, the importance of the environment and the beginning of the first exhibition dedicated to this topic is also a praiseworthy act.

Jiří Pondělíček, foreign relationships and SZP EU director, Federation of the Food and Drink Industries of the Czech Republic
The Federation of the Food and Drink Industries has traditionally exhibited together with the Agrarian Chamber. We particularly like this year’s edition not only because there are a lot of livestock here but also because we are close to beekeepers and other manufacturers and sellers of food products here. We have registered a great interest, especially at the weekend, in the members of the Federation of the Food and Drink Industries and the presented products, such as Boneco, Agro, Šumavský pramen, Emko and others. Of course, there are also dairies such as Madeta and Polabská mlékárna having their stands here. Our assortment is wide and we are satisfied with the exhibition, we are considering our participation in the next years.

Jaroslav Pospíšil, Silvajagd association, organizer of the supporting programme at the National Gamekeeping Show
In my view, the second edition of the National Gamekeeping Show has surpassed my expectations. Of course, the term national also expresses the fact that there should be a national show of trophies here, this is how it is perceived by gamekeepers but this is not possible in this situation. What is feasible are beautiful supporting programmes as well as high quality exhibitors in the field of gamekeeping. The involvement of beekeeping is very reasonable and unique and combined with the environment it is even better. For the next edition I would like to propose cooperation with Moravian district hunting clubs that would face, together with us, a tough challenge of bringing trophies gained over a certain period of time here as the term “national exhibition” is perceived by the professional public. In terms of footfall and the quality of everything that is offered here, the second edition of the show was well above expectations.

Nico Bons, Holstein cattle competition international jury:
I am very satisfied with the quality of the championship and therefore my big thanks go to the organizers of the show and also to all the breeders who brought the animals here. It was an amazing show, very well organized and with very good cows, especially those that ranked amongst the first five or six had very good udders. Actually, I was a little surprised today by the high quality I have seen here and I am coming away with a very positive impression. Over the past few months, I have been to cattle shows in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Spain, France and Germany. I am definitely convinced that the show in the Czech Republic was better than those in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. I really enjoy the show, it is big and many people come to see it. I can see that you are taking the right way in breeding.

Ivan Řezáč, pig breeding specialist, Sano – Moderní výživa zvířat:
We come to exhibit in Brno every year because we want to be seen. I believe that linking the livestock show with technologies and products for livestock production is the correct and interesting thing to do. This year, I was nicely surprised by the overall quality of the show which rises year after year. And I also must mention the exhibited livestock which are of a high standard and we could really see eye-pleasing animals here.

Miroslav Duda, executive, TREWIT:
We exhibit in Brno every year. Although TECHAGRO taking place in Brno in even years is larger, the National Show of Livestock is more important to us because it is attended by breeders who are our customers. This year I am very satisfied, over the first two days I had no chance to leave our stand as it was busy all the time for the first two days of the show. I like the fact that we are in one hall together with the livestock and that there are so many of them.

Dušan Kořínek, authorised agent, SCHAUMANN ČR:
We have accepted the change with ANIMAL TECH becoming a livestock production fair and therefore we are transferring to a two-year exhibition rhythm and we will not be attending TECHAGRO next year. We consider the connection with breeders in a single hall as absolutely natural, our customers have found us here.

Irena Rokosová, communication dept., State Agricultural Intervention Fund:
Many visitors come here, and the trade fair gives us an opportunity to provide information and direct consulting. We want to raise awareness of the SAIF so that the public understands what we do and offer. We also held talks with grant applicants here. Today, everything can be done electronically but some older generation farmers prefer live communication and welcome the opportunity to get advice. The point I see is that we get closer to people who come in large numbers.

Marek Fikejs, product manager, STROM PRAHA a. s.:
We understand that there is a need to free up space for TECHAGRO to exhibit agricultural machinery because this requires large premises. We think that the National Show of Livestock is evolving in the right direction and we see this year in a very positive way. It is also about promoting agriculture, it is just necessary to maintain its professional character and connection with agriculture while eliminating useless stands that turn it more into a fun fair rather than a specialized exhibition. The professional character was the case this year and our stand is also visited by our important customers. We will definitely be here again in two year’s time.

Kateřina Nucová, director in GENSEMEX a. s.:
Our company is primarily engaged in Holstein cattle breeding and I think that from the point of view of the breeders the show was very nice. I also liked that Brown Swiss championship was held on Thursday and Jersey championship on Saturday and therefore the dairy cattle championships followed one another and were not concentrated into a single day. I liked the relatively large show site. To us, the purpose of this exhibition is not about contracts, it is more about presenting the company to the outside world, which we managed. On Thursdays and Fridays the footfall was high and our customers came, which makes us happy.

Jaroslav Zapletal, business and technical services, Möller s. r. o.:
We exhibit in Brno every year and this edition turned out well for us. What was interesting for us were mainly the first two days when professionals came to the exhibition centre. We were well seen as a company and we met our customers but there were not many new ones coming, it is obvious that more people come to TECHAGRO.

Martin Křivka, head of promotion, FARMTEC a. s.:
We liked this year's show, it was better than two years ago also in terms of the visitor composition. This was greatly assisted by the fact that the dog and cat show did not take place at the same time. The strongest days for us were Thursday and Friday, but even weekend days were not bad. The purpose with which we came to the show was definitely fulfilled.

Václav Brynda, director in VVS Verměřovice:
We have not been exhibiting in the Czech Republic for the last eight or ten years but we participate in trade fairs abroad. Shows in Brno have always been professionally prepared and we are also satisfied with the footfall and our participation met our expectations. On Thursday and Friday, all our dealers were here and they could talk with their customers in one place as otherwise they have to travel from one farm to another. I suppose that we will be back here in two years because we are satisfied and the environment here is pleasant with nice people.

Petr Peška, sales manager, STS Olbramovice:
We regularly exhibit at TECHAGRO but we have been to this show for the first time. We see the benefit in a high concentration of breeders, who are our customers. We are quite satisfied here, the footfall surpassed our expectations. There were a lot of people coming and it was mainly professionals and our potential customers. The weather also came off, which probably increased the number of visitors. On Saturday and Sunday it was mainly families with children but we also met some interesting customers over the weekend.

Kristýna Šlampová, marketing, Alltechnology C.Z. s. r. o.:
We exhibit in Brno every year. I think it would be a good idea to shorten the duration of this show to last until Saturday because weekend days are much weaker from the point of view of professional customers. But the first two days were good for us and most of the customers we expected to see arrived.

Marek Šuba, organizer of the Forest Pedagogy Programme, Secondary School of Forestry in Hranice
The reality surpassed our expectations, our exhibition dedicated to Forest Pedagogy was attended by around 1300 children. It was not just fun, but this event is highly meaningful to for children from cities that are not so close to the nature. We know the young generation likes forests but sometimes the children are not aware of it. Only once they touch it and come to the forest, perhaps thanks to the forest pedagogy ”teaser”, they find out what a wonderful place it is and they wish to be coming back.

Milan Koutný, game preserve keeper, Hukvaldy game preserve
I have worked in the game preserve for thirty-seven years but we have never had such a comprehensive exhibition at the National Gamekeeping Show. In an area of 100 square meters we are presenting the Hukvaldy enclosure, one of the oldest and still operating enclosures in the Czech Republic, which commemorates 450 years of its existence this year.

Marek Linger, main organizer of the Beekeeping Show
We are used to travelling to Techagro in Brno, which is a great event for us. We have been to the National Show of Livestock for the first time this year and I think that our participation has been successful. Although we are presenting in a smaller scale compared to Techagro, with eleven hundred meters this is one of the largest beekeeping exhibitions this year in the country attended by a total of thirty vendors from all of the Czech Republic.

Ivo Štorek, owner, NIMROD, Chomutov
Our company is going to celebrate twenty years of its operation on the Czech market this year. We present ourselves during the year at several specialized exhibitions, including Brno. The opening day was a pleasant surprise thanks to the number of visitors and the other days also met our expectations.

Jiří Kostkan, cattle nutrition guarantor, Mikrop Čebín
I think that this is a successful show for our company. We perceive it as a key event, also because our company was established in Brno and we regularly exhibit here. We can not complain about the lack of customers, ten minutes after the fair opening our stand was full until the closing time.

Ladislav Martinec, executive, CRV Czech Republic
This exhibition is meaningful to us as to a breeding company because it is focused on breeders who came in large numbers. For us, it is a social event where we meet our customers who we can talk to in a single place. We have received the Golden Medal for the Ovalert system detecting natural estrus and monitoring animal health, which makes us happy and it will surely help promote our product.

Stanislava Vejsadová, office manager, Blattin Filiale CZ
I am glad that we have participated in the National Show in Brno. We operate mainly in western Bohemia and Vysočina and therefore we want to establish ourselves better also here in Moravia. Clients from Brno and its surroundings have heard about us but they do not know us so much in detail. We are satisfied with the show and we will see how our participation will be reflected also from the business point of view.

Josef Maňásek, business manager, GEA Farm Technologies CZ
We announced in advance that we were going to present here, as a global innovation, our automated circular milking parlour. That is why so many people stopped at out stand for this very reason. The second point of interest was the monobox milking robot Monobox. As far as the fair is concerned, I think that it could do with a larger number of farmers coming as visitors, which I was expecting mainly at the weekend. On the one hand it is good that animal production has been separated from the machines in some way but on the other hand there are many farmers who are interested in machines, tractors as well as in our field.

Tomáš Bohatec, executive, Bohatec s.r.o., Boskovice
We do appreciate our participation here. We have wan the Golden Medal for MooCall, a calving cow sensor. It is a globally popular product monitoring contractions, sending messages to two mobile numbers and e-mail addresses, and it is also capable of determining the delivery with hour accuracy. We believe that the Golden Medal will help us to become more visible and thanks to the interest we believe in our business success. We were satisfied with the visitor rate at the show.

Pavel Jaroš, marketing manager, De Heus
De Heus is commemorating its ten years of presence on the Czech market and we introduce here a new range of products for sows and new cattle feeds. I think the linking of feed companies with the presentation of livestock has been very good here at this hall, I personally liked it very much. From the point of view of our company we have seen registered a good number of farmers raising cattle and pigs, but customers breeding poultry were missing we also had higher expectations when it comes to hobby feeds for backyard animals. Thursday and Friday were strong days at our stand in terms of footfall.

Jana Formánková, marketing and PR, AGROPARTNER
On behalf of our company we value the fair in Brno very positively, from the stand construction to the overall organization that runs really smoothly here. There was a fairly large number of farmers coming to our stand but we were also pleased with the interest of veterinary students in our technologies. We presented milking robots that are our flagship this year led by the automated Lely Astronaut milking system, our Lely Juno feed distributor also met with a great interest along with the brand new product, manure cleaner Lely Discovery 120 Collector for which we received the Golden Medal. We are very happy and proud of it. Our stand was also visited by Minister Jurečka, who tasted delicious milk from Moravian producers, the tasting of which this year supported our main theme- milking robots.

Lenka Potoková, marketing and PR, National Museum of Agriculture, Praha
We are trying to change the image and the relationship of people to agriculture because, in general, this sector is not perceived so prestigiously as it would deserve even though we could not exist without agriculture. We are happy that we managed to invite a lot of people to our museum and we were surprised to see how many of them new our branches, be it Kačina and Ohrada castles or the museum in Čáslav. Here in the region we invited the visitors to Valtice and to the newly opened branch in Znojmo. A number of families with children stopped here, which is exactly our target group, as well as farmers who are interested in agricultural machinery as well as history. We held meetings with our partners here and therefore the show was beneficial and positive for us.

Petr Šimek, Šimek proficentrum, Klatovy
We offer machines for the production and processing of firewood, both splitting and shortening wood. We had our stand at the open space F, the footfall was good and what was also quite satisfactory was the proficiency of our audience. We will evaluate the success of the fair after some time, in the summer.

Alexandr Bojko, executive, BINOX
We focus on hunting optics, binoculars, riflescopes, recently on night vision, as well as on thermal imaging systems that are in high demand by hunters and which have been the subject of great interest here. We are importers and therefore our stand was not visited only by the end customers but also many retailers, especially from Moravia. Hall F was visited by a lot of potential customers, but the field of hunting occupied a smaller area and the exhibition would definitely deserve to be extended. Generally, I am a supporter of trade fairs and exhibitions as they are beneficial for both the companies and customers. These events concentrate on a large number of people who can see the comprehensive range in one spot.

Petra Volejníková, secretary, Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform
Our exhibition stand is shared by three organizations - the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology of Mendel University, the Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform and related industries, the School Forestry Business, ”Masaryk Forest” in Křtiny. We are a traditional participant in charge of the professional supporting programme for the whole fair. We offer services in terms of subsidies that can be used through the currently open calls. We are very satisfied with the participation, the most interesting visitor for us is a potential student or a client and so we see our presence here as a good opportunity to promote our sector amongst the general public.

Alexander Ač, Czech Globe, Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Science of the CR
The fair has given us valuable experience for our work brought us valuable experience. Interest in our research was quite significant. Besides the general public, some people approached us with specialised questions and offers to cooperate on professional popular events such as lectures and seminars. Since our stand focused on global change, warming and, specifically, on droughts, most of the questions concerned this topic - how severe the drought is, what trends there are, what to expect in the future, what can be done, what steps there are to mitigate impacts of droughts and the like.