Cow wows judges

OVERWHELMED, shocked and excited is how Outtrim dairy farmers Lyn and Les Hornby felt when one of their cows was awarded overall champion in the eighth Leading Edge Genetics on farm competition recently.
The three year old cow, sired by Dorcy, was one of 384 entries from 58 Gippsland farmers, and also won the three year old category.
Mr Hornby said she was a fine cow, with a good udder, confirmation and back end.
“She is a placid cow as well. She stood really well for the judge,” he said.
It was the first win in the challenge for the Hornbys and their herd manager Jess Stace.
Judge Matt Templeton spent several days visiting farms across Gippsland and said the Hornbys’ cow was one he just couldn’t fault on the day.
“For a young cow to carry an udder like that…and overall quality was impressive,” he said.
The Hornbys have been in the dairy industry for 20 years and moved on to their Outtrim farm around six years ago.
They milk around 270 Friesians off 350 acres and supply Murray Goulburn.
Mr Hornby said over the past few years, they had been working on improving the herd overall, with a particular emphasis on teat length, as well as feet and legs.
“We are always trying to breed a better cow, full stop,” he said.
“We have improved our herd a lot, particularly since we started using AI. We don’t use any herd bulls and we mop up with Herefords.”
When selecting genetics, Mrs Hornby said they look for low cell counts and are particularly keen on animals with good temperaments.
“It is no good if you can’t get the cups on them,” she said.
Assisting with their herd improvement over the years has been Brad Aitken from Leading Edge Genetics.
“He has helped us pick the bulls that fit our cows the best,” Mr Hornby said.
After a wet October, the Hornbys cut silage late this year, but Mr Hornby said the yield was still good.
“Jess had to spray the entire farm for army worms. Where we had cut silage, it wasn’t greening up and all the bare spots were covered in caterpillars,” he said.
“They were eating the grass as fast as it could grow. I had never seen them that bad.”

Great win: Outtrim dairy farmers Lyn and Les Hornby were thrilled when their three year old cow was announced as the overall winner of the eighth Leading Edge Genetics on farm competition recently.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Jan 9 2018. Filed under Rural News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry