Company News

This year 2500 dairy cows from 500 Australian farmers were entered in this uniquely Australian event that is a logistical marathon, involving thousands of kilometers and a sea of volunteers. The Semex-Holstein Australia On-Farm Competition brings the judges to the cows instead of the cows travelling to a show, being fitted and paraded in front of the public and a single judge. To cope with the distances involved in a country that spans some 7.6 million kilometres, 34 regional (including state overjudges) are chosen to officiate. “It is the second-most recognized award dairy cows can win in Australia outside a first place at International Dairy Week (Australia’s biggest dairy show),” Semex Australia’s general manager, Jim Conroy, confirmed. “But for many, it is the No.1 event.” “It is always a blend of first-time new entrants, the regulars who have occasional winners/high placers and the elite of our breeders. It’s a great day, and perhaps there is no other like it where everyone is rubbing shoulders and sharing ideas in such a relaxed way,” says Conroy of the awards presentation luncheon held recently on December 4, 2009. The 90 finalists from nine sub-branches were judged by Daniel Holmes, of Arabella Holsteins at Brookstead, in Queensland. Holstein Australia’s federal president Adrian Dee was sweeping in his praise of the contest which included 1335 animals from the Victorian region alone, representing a lion’s share of overall state numbers. Entries peaked at 253 at the sub branch level (with more than 60 entries in some classes) – put forward by 189 breeders. “We thank Semex for co-sponsoring this event, because everyone really looks forward to it,” Adrian said. “To be honest, it’s so big now it’s almost a logistical nightmare and a big commitment for the judges that give up their time. It has been a huge effort to get to today.” “I’ve done a few On-Farm Competitions now and the thing I’ve found works for me is that I keep a clear image of my ideal cow (for ... Read More...

Back at the start of this month Semex Field Representative David Ninness took a group of dairy farmers to inspect daughter groups of some of Semex's current sire line up. Here is what he found.

Kendtway HOWIE
This sire was my surprise package. They are upstanding cows with ideal feet and legs and the milking daughters showed great capacity, height and width of rear udder with loads of texture. The daughters certainly had better rumps than his proof reads. They are big milk cows and we saw quite a lot of heifers that were sired by this bull in the breeder barns.

HOWIE IDW Special



Crocket Acres EIGHT
The milking daughters by EIGHT were beautifully shaped cows. They were cleaner in the bone then I expected. They had nice square rumps and good udder attachments. The owners said they were very aggressive competitors for feed in the herd and they displayed consistently outstanding temperament in the dairy.



La Presentation DENZEL
I liked both of the DENZELS that we saw because of their capacity, their strength their depth of rib and their beautifully attached udders that were high and wide at the rear with nice texture to them. While, I would protect him on foot angle, this bull was being talked up significantly in the Eastern Breeders and Gencor area.



Regencrest DOLMAN
We saw 20 DOLMANS and once again they were very consistent. They excelled in strength, body depth, feet and legs and a will to milk. They have nice rear udders with good fore attachments. They were a little above average in size with a nice width of rump and chest, which gives them the capacity to give large volumes of milk. Farmer feedback included that they had exceptional temperament and that they planned to continue to use this sire in their breeding ... Read More...

Avonlea Holsteins’ John Gardiner was excited to uncover some sleeping giants in the New South Wales final of the Semex-Holstein Australia On-Farm Competition.

The well-known Gippsland two-time Master Breeder was entrusted to find the champions in the state, which included 774 entries from 121 breeders.

Two of the big stories to come out of the final was the news that the three-year-old winner, Rosmel Dundee Startler, entered by Neil and Roslyn Smith, at Austral Eden, now has a new home with high profile breeders Fraser Holsteins. Neil, a former butcher, only returned to dairying six years ago and his herd includes 60 head.

John said he knew as soon as he got a good look at the young cow that he was dealing with a potential champion.

“We arrived at 6pm at night after milking and Neil was bringing her up towards us and I thought: ‘This is a heck of a good young cow’,” John said. “Before I could get a complete look at her I was wondering is she just another cow, or is she more than just another cow? When he got her to us, I knew she was going to be right up there and I hadn’t seen any other finalists at that point. She was outstanding, with an exceptional rear udder. It was a refreshing experience because I’d never met this farmer.”

Neil was still trying to find the words to describe his reaction minutes after accepting his award.

“I’m tickled … speechless,” he said. Although involved in showing and living near fellow breeders who do show, he said the decision to sell her sat easily with him. She was recently herd tested at her new home and was milking 48 litres.

“I wanted to see her promoted in some way,” Neil said. “I knew she’d be looked after and she carries my prefix, so it’s a feather in my hat that she’s won an on-farm and she’ll go on and hopefully do something for Mark and Leeanne (Fraser).” ... Read More...

David and Mina Covert of Prattsburg, New York began dairy farming in the spring of 1977 with just 30 cows. Over the years they’ve grown their operation to 1,036 milking cows and 2500 acres of crops.
Today, Damin Farms LLC includes David and Mina, as well as their three children, spouses and grandchildren. Daughter Keri and her husband Marc Clemons are in charge of the cows and heifers, making all management, genetic and nutritional decisions.
Marc began working on the farm when he was just 13, and with 24 years of experience he’s become a driving force on the dairy. The 1000+ cows are now milked 3x/day and are boasting an impressive herd average of 24,470 3.5% 865 3.0 723 lbs and a 30% conception rate.
A partner in Semex’s young sire program, Premier™, since April 2004 Marc is proud of the results in his herd.
“I think Semex does an excellent job selecting the bulls that they sample,” Marc says. “I am impressed with the number of bulls I have used that Semex has returned to their active line-up.”
Bulls used at Damin through the Semex’s young sire programs include 0200HO01818 Blue- Haven-Ltd Brick, 0200HO05217 Vieuxsaule Malicieux and 0200HO03315 Braedale Pagewire. Marc’s Malicieux daughters have been widely publicized with Damin-Acres Malicieux 1214 VG-86-(EX-MS)-3YR-USA and Keri-Co Malicieux 1212 GP-84-3YR-USA being featured in Malicieux advertising around the world.
Important to Marc is his herd’s longevity and the durability built in by using Semex Premier™ Young Sires.
“We’re happy with the sound, functional daughters we’ve bred with Semex,” comments Marc. “Most of these daughters have outstanding longevity, lasting for several lactations. This is important because we know that Semex is helping us grow the herd internally. We don’t have to go looking for replacements”
“For cows to last for us they have to have good udders, and exceptional feet & legs to take them back and forth to the parlor.”
“We have more Semex sired daughters than any other in ... Read More...

Oakey Holstein breeders Travis and Melissa Deans capped off a word-perfect year, winning three of the five classes in Queensland’s state final of the Semex-Holstein Australia On-Farm Competition recently. The couple also finished with a reserve champion in the four-year-old class, which gave them 40% of the 10 champion and reserve titles on offer and 60% of the available champions. Added to their 2009 show campaign, which included winning supreme champion cow titles with three different cows at the Brisbane Royal, the Toowoomba Royal and the Dairy Spectacular and they are starting to look like a runaway train in the sunshine state. “We were pretty thrilled,” Travis said. “I don’t think it’s been done in Queensland before at state level and to have five cows place in the state final was fantastic.” The achievement was made more notable because Travis and Melissa milk a modest-sized herd of 75 cows, which has a rolling herd average of 10,800 litres, in a challenging milk-making environment on 700 acres. They were part of a Queensland competition that included 302 entries from 38 breeders. Judge Jenny Grey, from Kiama, in New South Wales, confirmed that one of the most exciting animals she saw was Leader Holsteins’ two-year-old champion, Leader Damion Cretonne-ET. “She carried an oustanding udder,” Jenny said. “Her attachments, her seam, her teat placement and height and width of rear udder were stand-outs. She also had a lot of width throughout and a tremendous angle to her rib.” Travis also rates the young cow, saying she is as good a heifer as he has ever put the cups on. She carries a VG88-classified mammary system; she has two full sisters in the herd and she peaked at 38 litres, pushing her projected production out to 10,000 as a junior two-year-old. She has given Travis and Melissa a Lauren heifer, two Braedale Goldwyn embryos and she is short-bred to Goldwyn. She traces her heritage back to her great granddam, Rockwood Park Warden ... Read More...

The South Eastern Australia section of the Semex-Holstein Australia On-Farm Competition had something for everyone when the champions were unveiled at the picturesque Witchmount winery at Melton on December 4.

One of the country’s most successful Jersey studs, Bushlea Jerseys, signalled its intent in the Holstein arena, winning its first championship in only its second year competing, while a 77-year-old Leitchville breeder collected his first title, and the competition’s first Red and White Holstein qualified for the finals.

The 90 finalists from nine sub-branches were distilled by judge Daniel Holmes, of Arabella Holsteins at Brookstead, in Queensland.

Holstein Australia’s federal president Adrian Dee was sweeping in his praise of the contest which included 1335 animals – a lion share of overall state numbers. Entries peaked at 253 at the sub branch level (with more than 60 entries in some classes) – put forward by 189 breeders.

“We thank Semex for co-sponsoring this event, because everyone really looks forward to it,” Adrian said. “To be honest, it’s so big now it’s almost a logistical nightmare and a big commitment for the judges that give up their time. It has been a huge effort to get to today.”

Judge Daniel Holmes kept his head by focussing on the job at hand.

“I’ve done a few On-Farm Competitions now and the thing I’ve found works for me is that I keep a clear image of my ideal cow (for age) in my mind’s eye as I work through the animals,” he said.

“It was an honour to be involved and I was humbled to be asked. I just hoped that I did the job with as much professionalism as Semex display in their business and with as much enthusiasm and dedication as the farmers have for their cows.”

His two-year-old champion was a Semex-sired Braedale Goldwyn daughter owned by one of ... Read More...

Thank you for your interest in the Victorian state champions of the Semex-Holstein Australia On-Farm competition which was announced at Witchmount Winery at Rockbank today. The champions are listed below. Photos of the cows and additional commentary will be loaded shortly.

Other stories to come out of the day include the competition’s first Red and White Holstein to finish in the top five; a state champion from one of the country’s most celebrated Jersey herds; Jim Conroy’s state of the nation address on Semex’s new direction and the value-adding that registered Holsteins continue to command; and an imported embryo turns into a finalist for a young couple from the Western Districts.

Please check back...

2009 Semex-Holstein Australia Victorian On-Farm Competition champions -

Two years in-milk - 1st: Bushlea Gold Crinkle-ET, Bushlea farms (Koonwarra, South Gippsland region) – 2nd: Brindabella Buckeye Fran, S and J Sieben (Torrumbarry, North-West region) – 3rd: Edenburg Toystory Lovely-ET, W and J Thompson (Mount Gambier, South East Australia region) – 4th: Gowerville Hope Marlene, N Goodfellow (Kyabram, Northern region) - 5th: Starcrest Ladino Marty, H and D Dodd (Westbury, West Gippsland region).

Three years in-milk – 1st: Zella-Ville Minda 3735, K and L Allez (Leitchville, North-West region) - 2nd: Krishlaye Goldwyn Madilyn-ET, A and J Harrison (Leongatha, South Gippsland region) – 3rd: Elmar Goldwyn Jessica 7, S and D Hore (Leitchville, North-West region) – 4th: Creswick Kendall Peace, G and M Male (Caldermeade, West Gippsland region) - 5th: Woodlawn Gold J Coconut, L and V Flanagan (Finley, South-West Riverina region).

Four years in-milk – 1st: Orchard Vale Informer Tiffany-ET, R and J Gordon (Cohuna, North-West region) – 2nd: Haverdale Jocko Dekol, S and J Mills (Rochester, North-West region) – 3rd: Corra Lea Ladino Faith, ... Read More...

Back at the start of this month Semex Field Representative David Ninness took a group of dairy farmers to inspect daughter groups of some of Semex's current sire line up. Here is what he found.

Kendtway HOWIE

This sire was my surprise package. They are upstanding cows with ideal feet and legs and the milking daughters showed great capacity, height and width of rear udder with loads of texture. The daughters certainly had better rumps than his proof reads. They are big milk cows and we saw quite a lot of heifers that were sired by this bull in the breeder barns.



Crocket Acres EIGHT
The milking daughters by EIGHT were beautifully shaped cows. They were cleaner in the bone then I expected. They had nice square rumps and good udder attachments. The owners said they were very aggressive competitors for feed in the herd and they displayed consistently outstanding temperament in the dairy.



La Presentation DENZEL
I liked both of the DENZELS that we saw because of their capacity, their strength their depth of rib and their beautifully attached udders that were high and wide at the rear with nice texture to them. While, I would protect him on foot angle, this bull was being talked up significantly in the Eastern Breeders and Gencor area.



Regencrest DOLMAN
We saw 20 DOLMANS and once again they were very consistent. They excelled in strength, body depth, feet and legs and a will to milk. They have nice rear udders with good fore attachments. They were a little above average in size with a nice width of rump and chest, which gives them the capacity to give large volumes of milk. Farmer feedback included that they had exceptional temperament and that they planned to continue to use this sire in their breeding ... Read More...

The power of genomics* lies behind Semex’s decision to change its Australian-based Young Sire Program from January 1, 2010.

Historically one of the greatest costs for the industry has been progeny testing young sires (approximately $50,000 per bull) and with a percentage naturally failing to graduate as proven sires, the industry has been absorbing significant costs for many years.

Semex’s general manager Jim Conroy says in the current tough financial climate any chance to soften that cost is welcome. Semex is one of the first to move.

Semex’s decision is not expected to impact on the number of Australian sons proven – rather, it is hoped that it will increase Australia’s chances of having an Australian-born sire make a global impact.

Semex will continue to market a selection of 10 to 15 elite genomic-tested young sires from the 400 that are offered by breeders for its international program every year. The point of difference is that while they will be available for use by Australian producers, they will be officially progeny tested in Canada or the US only.

“There is a greater acceptability of North American proofs world-wide and the trend for other countries is that they convert all available sires into a US or Canadian base,” Jim Conroy said. “In this scenario sires that achieve only an Australian proof find it difficult to gain acceptance on the international playing field.”

Jim believes that Australia has the bloodlines to impress other countries and that Canada and the US are the countries to get Australia across the line.

“There have been no bulls, to me, come out of any country other than Canada or the US, that have made a significant impact to the world cattle population in the last 12 years,” he said.

“That being said, I have no doubt that there are cattle in the ... Read More...

Submitted by Harley Nicholson, Semex Jersey Program Manager The Canadian National Jersey Show held in conjunction with the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, Ontario on November 13 & 14 featured 244 head exhibited by breeders from several Canadian provinces and a handful of US states. Semex top proven sire for conformation 0200JE00427 Select Scott Minister (+11Conf 8/09) showed why he has continued to be a popular sire among show enthusiasts since his sampling period in 2005. A total of eight of his daughters placed among the top 10 of their classes in Toronto, including PM Minister Lea, 2nd Junior Heifer Calf, Cadrijo Minister Raquel, 2nd Summer Yearling, Charlyn Minister Blossom, 2nd Intermediate Yearling, and Peninsula Minister Carisma, 2nd Sr. 2 Year Old. Perennial favourite 0200JE00303 SHF Centurion Sultan had many offspring exhibited in both the junior and milking classes. A total of seven of his daughters ranked among the top 10 of their classes, including the 2nd Jr. 2 Year Old, Swissbell Sultan Freska. Now with many second crop daughters calving across Canada and the USA, 0200JE00131 Bridon Remake Comerica proved why he continues to be in heavy demand as a sire of high type and test. A total of six Comerica daughters placed in the top of their classes, including Lookout Comerica Nestea, 3rd Summer Yearling. The following present and former Semex sires also had daughters which placed among the top 10 in their classes: Bridon Excitation, Pine Haven Senior, RJF Big Show, Unique VS Habit, Bridon Jamaica, Molly Brook Fusion and Glenholme Counciller.
... Read More...