Talent shines in NZ's leading dairy competition
Progeny of Ladino Park Talent one of the worlds leading type and udder sires have dominated this years 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 years 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. Talent is a top bull and he has the ability to sire really good daughters, Peter said.
He breeds tremendous rear udders, very good conformation, good milk flow and high protein production.
Reserve Champion was a Silky Gibson daughter, Melan Gibson Glow, entered by Robin and Sheryl Faulkner of Melan Holsteins, Ohau.
Three Year Old Champion was Deloraine Talent Mandy VG89, a Ladino Park Talent daughter bred by Alister and Bridget Sherriff of Deloraine Holsteins, Temuka, who also entered the Reserve Champion Four Year Old.
Mandy, who is from a VG88 Shoremar Mason dam, has produced 8,807 litres of milk at 3.2% fat (277 kg) and 3.4% protein (301 kg) after 255 days on her current lactation.
We have over 30 Talent daughters and were pretty pleased with them, Alister Sherriff said. Their production and conformation are excellent Talent is doing a good job for us.
Another Talent daughter, Membury Talent Rahana VG88, entered by the Jenkins family of Membury Holsteins, Te Aroha, was Reserve Champion Three Year Old. Rahana was Intermediate Champion at the North Island Championship held in Rotorua in February this year.
Four Year Old Champion, Rivendell Aspen Julia, was entered by Owen and Cathy Copinga of Rivendell Holsteins, Drummond. Julia is a daughter of EK-Oseeana Aspen, the Comestar Lee son of the famous U.S. show cow, Tri-Day Ashlyn, released by Semex as part of its popular Designer Series.
Five Year Old Champion was Riverbrae Leader Dancer, entered by Barry and Deidre Tippett of Te Awhata Holsteins, Opunake. She was placed third in her class in two years ago and was Intermediate Champion in the 2007 All-NZ Photographic Competition and North Island champion cow at the 2007 Hawera show.
The Tippetts purchased this Comestar Leader daughter from Keith and Dianne McIntosh of Riverbrae Holsteins, Springston, for $6000 at the Canterbury Collection Sale in 2005. A member Riverbraes D family, she has been classified EX.
Dancer has two ET calves on the ground by Canyon Breeze Allen and another two embryos implanted in recipient cows. Shes been to plenty of shows and has never been beaten in her age group, although this is only the second time weve entered the on-farm competition, Barry said.
She has a two-year-old daughter by Comestar Export that were milking in our herd. Shes a very good cow and a good producer.
Reserve Champion was Fairview Lee Rose, a Comestar Lee daughter bred and entered by the Trounce family of Fairview Holsteins, Timaru.
Mature Champion was Melan Le Duc Rowena EX, entered by Robin and Sheryl Faulkner of Melan Holsteins, Ohau. This six-year-old was Champion All Breeds and Holstein Cow at the North Island Championship held in Rotorua in February this year.
A full sister to Rowenas dam, a Brabant Star Patron daughter, was the North Island Mature Champion in the inaugural on-farm competition held in 2004. I really, really loved this cow, Mrs Grey said. Shes balanced and powerful, with a good set of feet and legs and a deep crease and height and width in the rear udder.
Reserve Champion was Cloverlane Lee August, a Comestar Lee daughter entered by David and Maree Ormsby of Karitane Holsteins, Otautau.
The results of this years competition were announced during the NZHFA Annual Conference held in Tauranga this week. The winner of each class received a perpetual trophy named after a Semex sire that has had a significant influence on the Holstein breed in NZ: Maughlin Storm, Comestar Leader, Townson Lindy, Hanoverhill Raider and Conant-Acres-JY Broker.
Semex General Manager, Jim Conroy, said his company was delighted to sponsor the on-farm competition. This event competition has grown significantly in stature over the past 10 years it has been running in Australia and five years in New Zealand, he said.
It has gained great kudos on both sides of the Tasman to the point where it is now a highly coveted award. This competition just keeps getting bigger and better each year and we intend to continuing supporting it well into the future.
Semex is dedicated to breeding cows with a balance of high production, superior type, easy management traits and longevity to maximise lifetime profitability and this competition recognises the efforts of local breeders in breeding quality livestock.
Mrs Grey a senior judge in three breeds who has judged in every state in Australia and will judge in Ireland later this year said the week-long judging expedition, in which she travelled 4,000 kilometres, was an amazing journey.
This competition allows everyone to compete on an equal footing and it gives great exposure to the depth and quality within the Holstein breed, she said.
We saw some fantastic cows and each class was very close right throughout. When we added up the points at the end of the competition there wasnt much between the first cow and the last.
But its not the easiest competition to judge. Usually if youre judging at a show you can line the cows up alongside each other but when youve got one cow at one end of the country and another cow at the other end, youve got to have a pretty good memory!
I was particularly pleased to see three cows in the mature class that were still going strong after 10 or more lactations. Any cow that is still lactating at 12 or 13 years of age definitely deserves a pat!
The success of Ladino Park Talent capped off a great performance from Semex progeny, who accounted for more than three quarters of all place-getters, including four champions and four reserves.
Other Semex sires represented in the competition included Comestar Stormatic, Summershade Igniter, Startmore Rudolph, Ricecrest Monday and Roycedale Approval.
Semex NZ Ltd is the exclusive distributor of livestock genetics marketed by the Semex Alliance, the worlds largest artificial breeding organisation.
2008 SEMEX-NZHFA ON-FARM COMPETITION
Judge: Mrs. Jenny Grey, The Pines Holsteins, Kiama, NSW, Australia
TWO YEAR OLD 1st: Sherraine Talent Manon, P. & R. Sherriff, Sherraine Holsteins, Ohoka. 2nd: Melan Gibson Glow, R. & S. Faulkner, Melan Holsteins, Ohau. 3rd: Kauri Glen Gibson Duchess, Barton family, Kauri Glen Holsteins, Waharoa. 4th: Sherraine Stormatic Gold, P. & R. Sherriff, Sherraine Holsteins, Ohoka. 5th: Mokena Astro Crystal, F. & T. Scott, Mokena Holsteins, Otorohanga. 6th: Pukematai Igniter Faye SOF, E. & K. White, Pukematai Holsteins, Blenheim.
THREE YEAR OLD 1st: Deloraine Talent Mandy, A. & B. Sherriff, Deloraine Holsteins, Temuka. 2nd: Membury Talent Rahana, Membury Farm Trust, Membury Holsteins, Te Aroha. 3rd: Tronnoco Gibson Belinda, A. Leslie, Creslea Holsteins, Kaiapoi. 4th: Mokoia Talent Rachel, F. & M. Blatchford, Mokoia Holsteins, Woodville. 5th: Kailey Talent Cherry Red, R. & K. Kelly, Kailey Holsteins, Outram. 6th: Muritai Talent Wattle, W. & L. Taylor, Muritai Holsteins, Waitara.
FOUR YEAR OLD 1st: Rivendell Aspen Julia, O. & C. Copinga, Rivendell Holsteins, Drummond. 2nd: Deloraine Cadman Druella, A. & B. Sherriff, Deloraine Holsteins, Temuka. 3rd: Okawa Legend Shelly S3F, T. & J. Barclay, Okawa Holsteins, Otorohanga. 4th: Kauri Glen Rudolph Petz, Barton family, Kauri Glen Holsteins, Waharoa. 5th: Aranui Allez Honebee, D. & C. Terry, Aranui Holsteins, Palmerston North. 6th: Mokoia Emerson Ribena, F. & M. Blatchford, Mokoia Holsteins, Woodville.
FIVE YEAR OLD 1st: Riverbrae Leader Dancer, B. & D. Tippett, Te Awhata Holsteins, Opunake. 2nd: Fairview Lee Rose, Trounce family, Fairview Holsteins, Timaru. 3rd: Kauriland B.Sky Jennifer, P. & D. Barton, Kauriland Holsteins, Waharoa. 4th: Membury Derry Elle, Membury Farm Trust, Membury Holsteins, Te Aroha. 5th: Karatane Juror Anna, D. & M. Ormsby, Karatane Holsteins, Otautau. 6th: Fairview Monday Gay, I. & D. Gates, Velvaleen Holsteins, Masterton.
MATURE COW 1st: Melan Le Duc Rowena, R. & S. Faulkner, Melan Holsteins, Ohau. 2nd: Cloverlane Lee August, D. & M. Ormsby, Karatane Holsteins, Otautau. 3rd: Shoremar Can S Rosa, Trounce family, Fairview Holsteins, Timaru. 4th: Tronnoco Valdi Plovena, T. & K. OConnor, Tronnoco Holsteins, Timaru. 5th: Tahora Approval Lady Di, T. & J. Barclay, Okawa Holsteins, Otorohanga. 6th: Ultimate Leader Souell, B. & S. Hammond, Ultimate Holsteins, Reporoa.
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