WHEN the final deliberations from the judges were collated at International Dairy Week on Thursday, a gasp of excitement was heard from the gathering of Jersey enthusiasts in the crowd.
Organiser Brian Leslie had just announced that a Jersey cow had won Australian grand champion cow for the very first time at Tatura.
Jersey judge Warren Ferguson, New Zealand, said the verdict proved she was a brilliant dairy cow.
"I just could not go past her," he said.
"She is a beautiful cow."
The winning entry, Willow Dell Fancy 512, was bred by brothers Ian and Andrew Griffiths, Eloora Pastoral Company, Blighty, NSW.
The eight-year-old was chosen over 350 Jersey entries and more than 1279 entries across the entire six dairy breedsfor her "balance and dairyness".
"This is the first time we've shown a champion of any sorts," Ian said.
It was a particularly special feat for the keen dairy farmers, who only began breeding Jerseys two years ago.
"We bought 200 head from the Willow Dell herd (Deniliquin) in 2010, because we needed more milk," Andrew said, who also milks Holsteins.
"We knew they were very good cows."
And it seems the move into Jerseys has paid off after last week's efforts in the show ring.
The brothers milk 500 cows and brought just one cow to Tatura.
"This is the best she's ever looked," Ian said. "We are very happy with the result."
The milker produced 10,500 litres in her last lactation, testing 5 per cent for butter fat and 3.8pc for protein.
She's already had five calves, including three heifers that are already shaping up to follow in their mother's footsteps.
"We will do 12 months of flushing with her, before she will go back into calf," he said.
In other Jersey results, the intermediate crown was taken out by Corey and Karin Couch, Riverside Jerseys, Nirranda, with their entry Riverside Country Lollypop.
"We are thrilled to come back and win again," Mrs Couch said.
The South-West Victorian stud received the supreme Jersey ribbon last year.
The junior champion broad-ribbon was given to another NSW stud, Shirlinn, which made the trip down to IDW from Tamworth with nine milkers and two heifers.
The top heifer was Shirlinn Reagan Melys.
"It's a 14-hour truck ride, and the best show in the country, so we wanted to give it a good crack," said owner Todd Wilson, whose family has been breeding Jerseys for 30 years.
Mr Leslie said the line-up of Jerseys was "perhaps one of the best seen in the country".
This is the first year that Jersey entry numbers have rivalled Holsteins at IDW.
And it seemed all the interest in the breed generated demand in the Jersey sale on Tuesday night, which topped at $13,000 and achieved a record average of $5032.
Email a friend