IDW entrants shine in on-farm challenges

The runner-up, Wallacedale Polled Gold Melanie P EX90, will also be shown at IDW.

Dairy newcomers, Jack, Peter and Fran Langley, from Stormview Jerseys, are sending their two-year-old heifer in milk that recently won the Central Gippsland Jersey Breeders on-farm challenge Junior two-year-old class.

Stormview Jerseys at Labertouche is a first-time exhibitor at IDW.

Jack is herd manager, responsible for breeding decisions, and has taken Stormview Jetfighter Favour to Roger Heath, who is keen to show her at IDW.

Stormview Jetfighter Favour was first among 15 heifers in the junior two-year-old class recently.

Stormview Jetfighter Favour is out of a Majestic Jersey heifer, one of a line of heifers bought by the Langley family when they started milking.

Jetfighter is a Cainbrae bull that they bought semen from.

“That Majestic heifer is a seven-year-old cow now and we’ve bred a couple of daughters out of her,” Jack said.

“We’ve bred a four-year-old cow out of her, she’s a good cow and a good producer.

“Favour has started milking and she is a good producer too.

“Favour is twice as wide as any heifer we’ve ever had, she just stands out with her size, and the way she milks, and her width in the rear end.

“I’ve never seen a heifer as wide as her in the rear end.

“Roger Heath heard about her and asked if he could take her to dairy week for us.”

Jack said the Majestic cow would now be prioritised for producing daughters.

Stormview Central Son Petunia came first in the four-year-old class, with her commercial herd sister Stormview 278 Jetfighter in second place, among 20 entries.

Central Son is a herd bull bred from a Daisy cow joined to Kings Ville Central several years ago.

“We grew him out and ran him in the herd as a herd bull to mop up,” Jack said.

“He threw a good line of heifers that year that have become good framed, big and strong cows, with tidy udders.”

Stormview stud was also second in the Pen of Five class.

Attaview Valin Melanie, bred by Reece and Toni Attenborough, came third behind the two Stormview cows in the CGJB on-farm challenge.

Then she backed up with a first in the four-to-five-year old class for the Leading Edge Genetics on-farm challenge, against 91 entrants.

Judge Daniel Bacon, from Brookbora Jerseys, judged 396 cattle on 57 farms over four days.

“The overall depth of cattle on show was incredible,” he said.

“I’ve heard about this on-farm challenge from friends who’ve judged this competition, and I was impressed with the incredible depth.

“Attaview Valin Melanie was well presented, she was wide in her udder, and such quality right throughout her frame.

“She’s not the biggest cow, but she’s structurally correct.

“As soon as she walked in, I knew it was going to take an incredible cow to beat her.

“Breaking it down, she had the best udder in the competition and the quality ahead of every cow in what was an incredible competition all the way through.”

Attaview Valin Melanie was awarded champion cow for 2024.

Reece Attenborough said she was five generations of Attaview, was on her third lactation, and was recently classified EX93.

“As a two-year-old, she was very mature and everything was there for me to think she could be pretty handy one day,” Reece said.

“Last year she placed in this challenge as a three-year-old, and placed as a three-year-old and four-year-old in our Central Gippsland Jersey Breeders show in the past two years.

“Last year she was starting to turn into what I hoped.

“She has a very correct frame. She had a nice heifer udder and there’s been a nice progression as she’s developed and matured.”

Reece is spending December training her to lead before he makes the final decision, but hopes to send her to be shown at IDW.

The second-placed cow in the Leading Edge Genetics on-farm competition, Wallacedale Polled Gold Melanie P EX90, will also be shown at IDW.

Owned by Luke and Mel Wallace, from Wallacedale Jerseys, she also placed third in the three-year-old class of the CGJBC on-farm challenge.

She is bred from the Australian homozygous bull, Polled Gold, and her mother was sired by a Wallacedale-bred bull, CSC Melvara.

“CSC Melvara was one of the bulls awarded Jersey Australia elite sire award last year,” Luke said.

“Polled Gold Melanie scored EX90 this spring on her second calf, which makes her the eighth generation straight on that maternal line to be classified excellent cows.

“The Melanies are an important cow family in our herd, and they make up a big part of our herd.

“And most of the bulls we’ve bred that have got into AI programs are from that family.”

Luke said Melanie’s advantage was her strength and width. She also milks well.

“She’s very wide through the chest and the rump, and has a nice, high and very wide rear udder,” he said.

Melanie will go to IDW in the string of show cattle led by Mitchell and Lyndsey Flemming.

The Central Gippsland Jersey Breeders Club’s 35th on-farm challenge was judged by Les Bennett.