De Heus KZN Jersey On-farm Challenge 2016

01 August 2016
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3 minutes

Author: Shannon Pickering   The fifth annual De Heus KZN Jersey On-farm Challenge ran from 29 August 2016 – 02 September 2016, showcasing some of KwaZulu-Natal’s very best Jersey animals.    

All animals were judged in their working clothes on the farm and despite what has arguably been one of the worst seasons for dairy farmers in many years with severe drought conditions playing a major role, breeders across KZN came to the party and produced some stunning animals for the judges.

Judging was done by Albert Goosen (Jersey SA) and Charlie MacGillivray (Dairy farmer & past Master Dairyman), who visited 15 jersey herds over 4 days. The animals were judged in age categories, and then a Junior, Senior and Grand Champion were selected.

The pick of the young cows was a stunning 2 – 3-year-old Lindt seen at Foundation Jerseys (Alan and Francis Webster, Weenen). This young cow showed wonderful dairy strength and had an incredible udder. She was also crowned the Junior Champion Cow, Reserve Grand Champion and Reserve Best Udder, fantastic achievements for such a young animal. Congratulations to Alan and Frances Webster.

The pick of the older cows was a 6 – 8-year-old Harvest owned and bred at Nkifa Jerseys (Lyn and Denny Blomeyer, Underberg). This cow showed tremendous dairy strength with a high and wide udder. This cow was in fact the pick of the week, not only winning her class, but also being named Senior Champion, Grand Champion and Best Udder. Congratulations to Lyn and Denny Blomeyer on producing a cow of this calibre.

The best progeny group (animals of the same sire) was won by Callendar Farm with an amalgamated group of Maddox daughters.