There is no doubt that the area around Hódmezővásárhely was created by God for agriculture. The name of the city implies that all the value that its land produces must be sold. The Hungarian Great Plain Animal Breeding and Agricultural Days, held for the 31st time from May 2-4, are not only the agricultural exhibition of the Maros-Körös region but also the showcase of the whole country during the time of the St. George’s Day cattle drive. And if it’s a showcase, then the University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest has its place there.
On May 2, two buses each departed from the dormitory and the campus on István Street with our students – one bus was filled with international students – who, wearing the university’s shirts, formed a visible crowd at the events taking place at the Hód-Mezőgazda Zrt. area.
The importance of veterinarians in animal breeding and the food industry was also highlighted by the fact that two colleagues were honoured at the opening ceremony. Dr. László Kocsis’s first and only workplace is Hód-Mezőgazda Zrt. As a retiree, he continues to perform his duties as chief veterinarian. The owners, managers, and employees of the company thanked him for his 45 years of work with a bronze sculpture.
This year, Dr. Imre Nemes, the president of the National Food Chain Safety Office, received the highest award of the Hungarian Livestock Breeders’ Association, the Hungarian Livestock Breeding Award, from Tibor Zászlós, the president of the association, and Dr. Zsombor Wagenhoffer, the managing director of the association, as well as from the head of our university’s Institute of Animal Breeding, Nutrition and Laboratory Animal Science.
Both awardees were congratulated by Dr. Péter Sótonyi, the rector of our university.
At the opening ceremony, Gábor Antal, the CEO of the organizing company Hód-Mezőgazda Zrt., emphasized that it can now rightly be declared as the national livestock exhibition. Accordingly, the livestock judgments took place as the main events of the Animal Breeding and Agricultural Days.
The limousin bull named Affér exhibited by our university achieved first place in its category. The university offered two special prizes, 20 servings of breeding material each, from our two best bulls. These were the Affér limousin bull and the Vagabund holstein-friesian bull.
Listening to the leaders of the judgments, our students acquired theoretical and practical knowledge that they can excellently utilize in their studies and later in their veterinary work.
Photos: Gusztáv Balázs
