Described by organisers as “the world’s number one sustainable livestock show”, the Sommet de l’Élevage is set to get underway in Clermont-Ferrand, France, today (Tuesday, October 3).
The event runs from today until Friday (October 6) and is expected to welcome 105,000 visitors as well as 1,550 exhibitors, and will see over 2,000 head of livestock on display.
This year marks the 32nd year of the show and will see national championships hosted for the Limousin and Brown Swiss breeds.
As well as this, an inter-regional competition for the Montbeliard breed will take place at the event.
According to the organisers, the 2023 event is expected to see “the largest number of dairy cattle in the history of the Sommet”.
A number of farmers, agri-businesses and breed societies from Ireland visit the show every year and this year will see members of both the Irish Limousin Cattle Society and the Irish Salers Cattle Society attend the event.
Agriland will also be in attendance at the event bringing readers updates and coverage from the farm visits and interesting displays at the event.
Every year the Sommet de l’Élevage hosts a particular country as a guest of honor and, following on from Mongolia in 2022, Georgia takes the role this year.
Described by the organisers as “a small country of just 3.5 million inhabitants”, Georgia is located between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea.
Its geographical location sees the country straddle both Europe and Asia. Georgia has been described by the show organisers as “a very interesting gateway to the markets of central Asia and the Middle East, particularly for the export of sheep and goats”.
However, Georgia was also described by the event organisers as a country that faces “a shortfall in milk and meat”.
Sommet will host over 100 conferences covering all the key agricultural issues, with a central theme of sustainability in livestock production over the course of the event.