The EKKA holds annually, what is regarded as one of the top two led steer competitions in Australia with in excess of 300 led steers competing for the major prizes.
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The junior section has school students exhibiting steers from across Queensland and NSW competing for the St Johns College Shield.
The winner of the junior section then competes against the open led steer winners for the Mr Allan Ball Perpetual Shield which is awarded to the Grand Champion Led Steer.
The Perpetual Shield was donated by the St Johns College Dubbo livestock exhibition team in honour of the late Mr Allan Ball who was widely regarded as the benchmark for breeding and exhibiting led steers in Australia.
St Johns College Dubbo agriculture co-ordinator Ben Toll, said Mr Ball was not only an excellent breeder of led steers but also an excellent mentor for the younger generation.
"He had a great sense of humour, passed on a wealth of knowledge to our students about the cattle industry and was an excellent ambassador for the led steer hoof and hook exhibitions," Mr Toll said.
Mr Neil Uebergang of Kitchen Creations kindly donated the materials and fabricated both the Mr Allan Ball and St Johns College Shields.
Students from St Johns College Dubbo exhibited the winner of the middle weight schools section at the EKKA this year.
The blue ribbon steer was then purchased by DMC Meat and Seafood Centre, Wheelers Lane, Dubbo.
"A significant factor in the success of our show team is the ongoing support from parents and local business people," Mr Toll said.
"DMC Meat and Seafood have continued to support the livestock exhibition team, purchasing our winning steers for a premium price and the feed back on the quality of meat from these grain-fed steers is excellent," he said.
John Tratt and Mark Knaggs from DMC Meat and Seafood purchase a significant number of top shelf exhibition steers from shows including Canberra and Brisbane Royal each year.
This premium meat is available to the Dubbo community.