Clermont Beef Expo set to be a corker

The eighth annual expo will again be jointly hosted by Hoch & Wilkinson (H&W) and Clermont Agencies CRT, who on the back of record participation at the expo and trade stalls in 2019, have an exciting schedule of events planned for this year.

H&W co-director Jake Passfield said close to 1000 head of cattle will be penned for the Beef Expo Sale, which will begin at 10am.

"These store and prime cattle will mainly be drawn from the local Clermont area, with some lines coming from from Mackay and surrounding areas," he said.

These cattle will be judged across 14 classes, with a further five Champion Award winners to be chosen from the the winners of the individual classes. The winners will be announced from 2.30pm.

"As there will be $26,000 in total prize money offered, we're expecting that another first-rate selection of cattle will be penned.

"To further entice producers to present their best cattle, H&W will again be donating $500 to a charity of the winner of each class's choosing."

Mr Passfield said the slogan for this year's expo is "Waste not, Want not".

"To elaborate on this theme, our 2020 expo guest speaker Krista Watkins, will discuss the challenges and successes she, and her husband Rob, have experienced while building their business, Natural Evolution.

"Rob and Krista were frustrated with the amount of excess bananas produced each week on their North Queensland farm. The pair successfully commercialised green banana flour to the world - the first and still the only commercial operation producing this product.

"Krista's passion for healthy living and sustainability have led her to be awarded the National AgriFutures Rural Woman of The Year in 2018. We look forward to hearing what she has to say at the expo."

Mr Passfield said the gates to the saleyards will open at 8am, from which time visitors will be able to explore the trade displays and demonstrations organised by Clermont Agencies CRT.

"The trade display will be open until 4pm, and while exhibit sites have been scaled back this year to comply with Covid-19 regulations, there will still be ample products and services for expo attendees to buy or try."