A Proud Dairy Legacy Lives on at IDW - Cowsmo

February 2, 2016

A Proud Dairy Legacy Lives on at IDW

The achievements of late Gympie dairy farmer Jeremy Josefski were immortalised last week when one of his cows was honoured at International Dairy Week.

IDW16Swiss-2314
Dryfesdale Fantastic Four, winner of the IDW 2016 Brown Swiss 5 Year Old Class. Photo courtesy of Casey Treloar.

In what friends described as a phenomenal win, Fantastic Four, a five-year-old Dryfesdale was announced as the top four-year-old in the milk class, before getting an honourable mention in the whole Brown Swiss Show.

“I reckon he would be up there grinning from ear to ear,” Jeremy’s wife Leah said of her late husband whose dream was to enter the prestigious IDW in Tatura, Victoria.

The award comes just months after Jeremy, 30, was killed in a car crash in the New South Wales central west in October.

The tragedy struck when he was in the process of relocating his family to Victoria, leaving behind his wife and two young daughters Keeva and Cree.

Leah’s best friend Nicole Daly, who had been travelling with Jeremy to help the family move, was also killed in the accident that devastated a whole community.

The couple’s 82 head of cattle, which had been moved down before the accident, are being minded by a friend in Stanhope, Victoria, while Leah remains in Gympie close to family.

Leah said the award and the mention was a massive feat, considering the cow had undertaken the long journey from Queensland and then calved twins.

A previous back-to-back winner in juvenile and intermediate at the Brisbane Exhibition, Fantastic Four impressed judges at IDW with her frame and udder.

Leah said the achievement was only made possible by the support of family and friends.

Paul Allott, who minds the cow at his Stanhope farm, played a big part in the preparation, while many other good friends volunteer their time and expertise.

“It was definitely a team effort,” she said.

“I guess we all wanted to make Jeremy proud. It was that much more important to make sure the cows came out right.”

Leah said after the accident, she became more determined than ever to carry on Jeremy’s dream.

“I think it’s only the beginning for me now.”

Jeremy, who had been fitting cows at IDW for years, had always planned on showing his cows there.

In a fitting tribute, the IDW Jeremy Josefski Memorial Intermediate Champion trophy was created to remember his dedication to the job.

Leah made a touching speech when the winner, Tandara Brown Swiss, was announced.

“For those of you who knew Jeremy know what a great guy he was,” she said.

“He lived and breathed farming and his passion was for these big brown cows. We are devastated he didn’t get to live this part of his dream but I’m sure he’d be up there watching the effort everyone in our camp has put in to bringing his girls out like this today.”

Now Leah, whose daughters joined her at International Dairy Week, wants Jeremy’s legacy to live on.

“I want the girls to know what their daddy used to do,” she said.

“I hope they love it, just as he loved it.”

Source: The Gympie Times

RELATED POSTS

Scroll to Top