Both old stagers and new blood had success in the 58th Mount Torrens and District Dairy Heifer Competition, held yesterday.
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Held across five properties with six entrants, the competition has been used by entrants as a way of comparing and improving their herd for close to six decades.
While the number of dairy farms in the region has decreased dramatically in that time, organiser Rodney Herrmann is hopeful the next generation will carry on the community tradition.
One of that next generation is young Birdwood dairy farmer Toby Zilm, Sunny Morn Dairies, who placed first and second in the individual heifer competition, second in the group of three heifers, and third in both the mature cow and in-milk heifer.
It was an encouraging result for Mr Zilm who, with father Craig, milks up to 180 Holsteins twice a day in their Herringbone rapid exit dairy.
Judge Rebecca Haebich rated the Zilm's April 2021-drop heifer, sired by CFP, highly for its capacity, general appearance and udder development.
Taking out the mature cow gong and group of three heifers was Mount Torrens dairyfarmer Michael Kowald.
Mr Kowald runs a 100 cow herd, selling milk to Tweed Vale.
His six-year-old Holstein cow made a strong impression on judge Courtney Afford, who said its frame, power and strength pushed it over the top of other entrants.
"She had correctness in her teat placement and would have a ripper udder if it was full of milk," she said.
Mr Kowald said the cow had been a top performer in terms of milk production and had been nurtured accordingly.
His group of three heifers, 2022-drops and sired by Ferraro, Woodman and Wifi, impressed heifer judge Ms Haebich largely due to their consistency.
"They were heifers that I found hard to split when I walked in the yard," she said.
"I generally look for one I like the most or like the least, but I couldn't immediately separate these."
The in-milk heifer competition was won by Rodney Herrmann.
Sired by Kingdoc, the winning heifer calved in July last year and has since produced 6934 litres of milk in 245 days of lactation (28.3L/day), containing 3.7 per cent fat and 3.2pc protein.
"She was the most complete heifer out of all of the entries," Ms Afford said.
"She was the most balanced and correct, and had the least amount of faults. She had the neatest udder out of the in-milk heifers and she walked quite nicely."
Mr Herrmann share farms with Ben Wilhelm at Mount Torrens, milking 130 cows twice a day in a 11-a-side Herringbone dairy.
Shane and Kylee Mieglich, Paringa View Dairy, Mount Torrens, placed in all four competitions, coming second in the in-milk heifer and mature cow, and third in the group of three heifers and individual heifer.
