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Progeny of Ladino Park Talent – one of the world’s leading type and udder sires – have dominated this year’s Semex-NZHFA On-Farm Competition, claiming two championships, one reserve championship and a swag of placegetters across the five classes. The Australian-born Holstein sire is one of the heavily-used sires in the world, with more than 800,000 doses of semen sold in 40 different countries to date. Sponsored by artificial breeding organisation, Semex NZ Limited and the New Zealand Holstein-Friesian Association, the on-farm competition differs from conventional events in that cows are assessed on their home property by a visiting judge. Entries are assessed for their inherent structural correctness using a specially-designed linear score sheet, with the weighting emphasising those traits that influence health, production and longevity. This year’s competition attracted 566 entries from 95 breeders throughout the Northland, Waikato, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Wairapapa, Nelson, Marlborough, Golden Bay, Canterbury, Westland, Otago and Southland regions. The first and second placegetters from the seven regional competitions were then “over-judged” by Mrs Jenny Grey of The Pines Holsteins, Kiama, NSW, Australia, to determine the five National Champions. Two Year Old Champion was Sherraine Talent Manon VG87, a Ladino Park Talent daughter bred by Peter and Rhonda Sherriff of Sherraine Holsteins, Ohoka. Manon is a fifth-generation descendant of Deloraine BA Madge EX, who was acclaimed as the highest-producing cow in New Zealand when she produced more than 500 kg of fat in a single lactation in the 1980s. Manon, who was placed second in the 30-month-old class and won the All-Breeds three-year-old class at the NZ Royal last year, is from Sherraine Fatal Monica, one of three EX daughters of Deloraine Aerostar Manon VG86. Peter and Rhonda Sherriff are already milking 14 Talent daughters and hope to milking 20 by the end of the year. ... Read More...

Ladino Park Talent has become the first Australian Holstein sire to have semen exported to Japan in more than a decade.

The 3500-dose shipment is the result of more than five years of negotiations between government and industry associations in both Australia and Japan.

Semex Pty Ltd General Manager, Jim Conroy, said the shipment was yet another milestone in what has been a truly stellar career for the 10-year-old sire.

“Talent graduated as the No. 1 Type and Udder sire in Australia in February 2003 and then in Canada six months later,” he said.

“In doing so, he became the first Australian Holstein sire to be marketed throughout the world via the Semex Alliance.

“To date, more than 800,000 doses of his semen have been sold in 40 different countries over the past five years.

“Last year, he became Semex’s highest-selling sire in the world and this demand is continuing to soar on the strength of the performance of his tens of thousands of second-crop daughters.

“Talent demonstrates an excellent balance of production, type and management ease – the complete package needed for profitable dairy production, no matter where you are in the world.

“He remains at or near the top of the rankings in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Holland, England, Spain and Italy.

“To get access to Japan, which is arguably the most discerning market in the world, is yet another endorsement of the quality of this sire.”

Semex Administration Manager, Karen Phillips, who supervised the export, said the process wasn’t overly difficult – just time-consuming.

“Japan’s requirements are no more stringent than other countries – but because it has not been done for many years, it took five years to re-establish a health ... Read More...

Well-known dairy industry figure, David Mayo, is continuing to build his impressive list of judging appointments, having recently judged the International Ayrshire Show as part of the World Ayrshire Conference held in Finland recently.

It was the first time an Australian has ever been invited to officiate at the combined show, sale and conference, which is held in a different country every four years.

Mr Mayo said the prestigious event, which attracted 161 head from 70 breeders throughout Finland, was one of the highlights of his long judging career. A translator conveyed his judging comments to the mostly Finnish-speaking audience.

“Not many people would know that Finland has the largest Ayrshire population in the world,” Mr Mayo said. “There are 170,000 Ayrshire cows in Finland and they make up two-thirds of its dairy cow population.

“It was a tremendous show with a wonderful atmosphere. It was held in a huge indoor arena and was attended by a very large and enthusiastic crowd of both local and international visitors.

“The classes in the show were quite large, ranging from 15 through to 30 head, and were very competitive in terms of quality. The Champions and Reserve Champions in both junior and senior sections were great animals which would be competitive at any major show in other countries.”

The Senior and Grand Champion cow, HH Tia Marie Sue, was by Woodland View Pardner from a Royalcroft Brendan cow imported into Finland from Canada as an embryo. The Junior Champion, Joukolan Vaavikki, was by another Canadian sire, Margot Calimero, and from a Finnish dam.

“A lot of overseas genetics have been imported into Finland over the past six to eight years, with both embryos and semen being used in breeding programs,” Mr Mayo said.

Although the average herd size in Finland is only 25 ... Read More...