Winning a prize at the International Agricultural Show, the students from Mirande high school wouldn’t have bet a penny two weeks ago, when the two cows they were supposed to present tested positive for MHE. And yet…
It’s an adventure that ends in the most beautiful way! Especially when you know how it began… Or rather how it almost fell apart before even starting.
About fifteen days ago, before the opening of the 60th edition of the International Agricultural Show (SIA), which closed this Sunday, March 3, 7 students from the Mirande agricultural vocational high school learned the bad news… The two cows they were supposed to present at the International Agricultural Education Trophy (TIEA) are carriers of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (MHE)…
That was until Daniel Danflous, a farmer in Ornézan, made a gesture of solidarity by offering them Mimosa, an 8-year-old Mirandaise cow present for the second year in a row at Porte de Versailles. A cow used to “going up” to the capital, but much less comfortable in competitions.
Antonin Garros experienced this last Thursday. “The cow was a bit complicated, she’s a barn cow, so she’s not used to being let loose. So once in the box, she ran and gave headbutts,” remembers the student. With a masterful hand, while keeping calm, the student nevertheless managed to catch Mimosa without putting himself in danger.
Add to that a sketch (about Mimosa, the Mirandaise breed, Gers, and the agricultural school) that won over the jury, a successful evaluation of the students’ behavior with the public, and there you have the Mirande agricultural school climbing to the 2nd step of the podium in their section (beef cattle) on this Sunday, March 3.
“Honestly, I am proud because it’s a lot of work. It’s a good experience and we only take away positive things from it,” Antonin says. His 6 other victorious classmates certainly wouldn’t say otherwise!
