Poppy bloodline still blooms

She was overall champion from a field of 54 cows.

Entries came from eight breeders, ranging from the Mount Gambier district and the River Murray swamps.

Ian said champions had tended to be shared between different studs during the competition's 10-year history.

"It is always good to get a champion, but it's also good to share it around with other studs," he said.

"The on-farm challenge is probably one of the hardest to judge. You can't compare animals alongside each other, so you have to have a good memory."

The challenge was a good way to assess the cows in their own environment.

"The idea of the on-farm challenge is to do no preparation to the animal," he said. "It can encourage other farmers who don't necessarily compete at shows."

Poppy, intermediate champion at the Royal Adelaide Show in 2011, is the daughter of Llandovery Poppy, which produced the Illawarra National Mature Milk record of 15,327 litres in 305 days. During that lactation she produced 556 kilograms of buttermilk and 457kg protein.

The 14-year-old cow was recently classified 2E and has produced more than 104,000 litres in her lifetime.

"Llandovery Poppy is one of the real special red cows in the country at the present time," Mr Mueller said.

During her latest lactation Glenbrook Poppy has so far produced 9804 litres with 366kg of buttermilk and 264kg protein.

An in-milk daughter of Glenbrook Poppy will be offered at the Llandovery invitational sale in Vic at the end of April.

The Muellers milk about 325 cows year-round on 130 hectares along the River Murray on flood and pivot irrigation, and produce hay and silage on a further 400ha. They rear replacement females on a Meningie property.