THERE was a somewhat unusual sighting in the dairy interbreed judging at the Royal Adelaide Show this year, with a Brown Swiss heifer taking a turn in the juvenile competition.
Nineteen-month-old Bridgeview Lola, exhibited by Damien Doecke and Candice Kolesnikowicz, Murray Bridge, was the sole Brown Swiss exhibit, winning its two-year-old class and being sashed champion Brown Swiss female.
Mr Doecke, who works with his parents' Springvale stud, has his own Bridgeview Illawarra stud and, while buying heifers in Qld, decided to buy some Brown Swiss heifers from the Mountain View stud, Biggenden, Qld.
"I'd always been a bit interested in them - there are not many here," he said.
He said Lola was a quiet heifer and looked good enough to exhibit, while his partner Ms Kolesnikowicz was keen to see it compete.
Judge Rob Dolman, Casino, NSW, commended Lola on its strength, saying it would hold its own in a larger field of Brown Swiss cattle.
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The heifer then came out in the interbreed where it came fourth overall - beating the Illawarra entry, to Mr Doecke's pleasure.
He said the heifer had competed well against other breed champions, showing it was worth attending.
Lola will compete at International Dairy Week next, where it will have some more Brown Swiss competition, and may return to the Adelaide show next year as an in-milk cow.
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Elizabeth Anderson
Editor of Stock Journal.
Editor of Stock Journal.
