This year's supreme champion from the Semex-Jersey Australia Great Southern Challenge created a precedent that was not lost on the state gathering at the Witchmount Winery at Melton recently.
Rohan and Graeme Sprunt's aged cow entry Kaarmona Parade Babe 2 is the first cow to win the supreme title twice. The first time was in 2007 and this year she again topped the entries in the search for the best Jersey cow in the state. The competition is judged on-farm, without preparation and this year 1200 entries, from 11 clubs in four age classes stepped up to the plate. The over-judge was Greg Fleming, of Invergelly Jerseys, from Finley, in the southern Riverina.
Kaarmona Parade Babe 2 SUP93, which resides in a 300 cow herd at Kaarimba, northern Victoria is well-known to the Jersey fraternity. She is the 2010 International Dairy Week's (IDW) Best Udder of the Jersey Show and she has finished in the top three in her age in-milk class at IDW for the last four successive years. She was recently awarded her STP and she has re-calved every year.
Rohan confirmed she is the herd favourite, but they have decided to sell her in their Kaarmona Silver Edition sale on May 10, 2011. She has never been flushed, because their focus has to be to re-calve her each year for IDW.
Greg gave her the edge for her width of rear udder and the way she handled her rear legs. The BW Parade daughter x Rock Maple Brook Mannix x Lester has a top completed production of 8655 litres, 3.8% 328kg protein, 4.5% 388kg fat in 305 days with a PI of 110.
"We always enter this competition and we submit the kind of cows that we think the commercial market would like to breed," Rohan said. "Babe is above average for stature, but she is extreme in terms of her length and width throughout, especially her width of rear udder. She also has ideal teat placement."
The two-year-old class was won by a name more recognisable in the Holstein breed. Travis and Karlee Gilmore, of Ingolmore Holsteins and Jerseys, were unable to be there to accept the trophy for their Comerica sired entry, Ingolmore Comerica Beauty, but they posted an entry on Facebook.
"We're very proud of our two-year-old Comerica Beauty today," Karlee wrote. "It was a pity we couldn't be there, but we're still very pleased."
Semex's 0200JE00131 Bridon Remake Comerica is a sire on the rise and he was recently named premier sire at the Royal Winter Fair, in Canada after 11 of his daughters placed in the top 10 of their classes. Travis and Karlee confirmed that Beauty is now slated for IDW 2011.
The three-year-old champion Merseybank Elton Claire, owned by Geoff and Anne Heazlewood, at Latrobe, in Tasmania, is a back-to-back champion - she won the two-year-old title last year.
Sired by Cairnbrae Jace Elton, her two-year-old completed production was 6609 litres 238kg protein, 290kg fat in 305 days with a PI of 127. Geoff and Anne have two younger full sisters to Claire and six A-grade Elton embryos still in the tank. Claire's EX90-point Berretta dam delivered the couple a 0200JE00430 Lencrest On Time heifer calf this year and she is bred back with a possible bull contract on the table. She was to be classified the week after the competition winners were announced.
Geoff said the competition was invaluable for their operation because it cost them $5000 per cow to show at IDW.
"These kind of cows often don't get exposure any other way," Geoff said. "Tasmanian cows did well across the board with three placing in the top four in their class from three breeders. They would not have been seen by the bulk of the membership without this competition."
The four-year-old champion was Loxleigh Astound Iris 8, from the Akers family, at Tallygaroopna, in northern Victoria. Geoff Akers said it was always a nice surprise to win against such class competition.
Iris had just been scored 92 points and she comes from the heart of the Iris family, which has been an exceptional maternal line over the last decade. Iris is producing 33 litres per day with a PI of 110, she is entered for IDW 2011 and she had an exciting 0200JE00423 Lencrest Blackstone yearling at Loxleigh.
Loxleigh has won supreme champion in the competition twice with different cows and Geoff said he loved the concept.
The most successful club was the Northern Districts. Brendan Nicholson, of the Jugiong herd, described the competition as a wonderful chance for breeders.
"It is a great opportunity for people who don't show to compete and to see how their cows stack up," he said. "It also shows the strength of the club and the strength of breeders in your club if you can win this award as a collective effort."
RESULTS:
State Over-Judging: Great Southern Challenge
TWO YEAR OLD - 1st: Ingolmore Comerica Beauty, T and K Gilmore, Ingolmore Jerseys, Yarrawalla - 2nd: Lerida Park Astounds Rosebud, BR, JL, RP and LJ Smethurst, Lerida Park Jerseys, Princetown - 3rd: Broadlin Noella 2623, L. & L. Broad, Broadlin Jerseys, Lockington - 4th: Riverview Ridge Elton Parfait, N and M Chilcott, Riverview Ridge Jerseys, Montana
THREE YEAR OLD - 1st: Merseybank Eltons Claire, G and A Heazlewood, Merseybank Jerseys, Latrobe - 2nd: Jugiong Petunia 5574, Nicholson Family, Jugiong Jerseys, Girgarre - 3rd: Cairnbrae Signature Daisy, A and J Carson, Cairnbrae Jerseys, Irrewillipe East - 4th: Homelands Sleeping Beauty, P Hentscke and W Schutz, Homelands Jerseys, Invergordon.
FOUR YEAR OLD - 1st: Loxleigh Astound Iris 8, R and H and G. Akers, Loxleigh Jerseys, Tallygaroopna - 2nd: Wallacedale Actions Primrose, CM and LM Wallace, Wallacedale Jerseys, Poowong North - 3rd: Jugiong Molly 5482, Nicholson Family, Jugiong Jerseys, Girgarre - 4th: Isycoed Fairy, CR and ME Brereton, Isycoed Jerseys, Gunbower.
MATURE COW - 1st: Kaarmona Parade Babe 2, GC and RG Sprunt, Kaarmona Jerseys, Kaarimba - 2nd: Mikandan Centurions 917, A and B Edwards, Mikandan Jerseys, Thowgla Valley - 3rd: Minstonette Blackys Vickie 60, J and K Sykes, Minstonette Jerseys, Ringarooma - 4th: Shenstone Dawn 494, Gand L Emmett, Shenstone Jerseys, Stanhope.
SUPREME CHAMPION - Kaarmona Parade Babe 2, GC and RG Sprunt, Kaarmona Jerseys, Kaarimba.
