After being a regional winner and national runner-up for three consecutive years, the Brown Swiss cow Cimmaron Even Jenny EX91 4E, owned by The Cimarron Partnership from Malmesbury, Wiltshire was announced as this year’s winner of the Genus ABS Long Life Cow Competition at the Livestock Show at the NEC in Birmingham.
“The Long Life Cow Competition was created to celebrate those cows who have made an outstanding lifetime contribution,” comments Genus ABS UK & Ireland Business Development Manager (Genetics) Stephanie Whittaker, who was part of the judging panel. “There are many attributes which mean a cow will last longer. She will suit the management system, she will get in calf regularly over several lactations, and she will be a high producer with good compositional and hygienic milk quality.
“To farmers, a Long Life Cow has a variety of meanings so the criteria were deliberately left open so participants could describe what they thought made their cow a worthy competitor.”
Cimmaron Even Jenny was born in March 1997 and calved for the first time in June 1999. She is in her fourteenth lactation having had her fourteenth calf aged 15 years and 11 months. She has produced nearly 131 tonnes on milk in her lifetime with an average calving interval of 373 days.
“Jenny is a perfect example of the ultimate in profitability, combining production, longevity and good transmission of both type and production,” comments Mike Edwards. “Over her lifetime she had averaged 22.4kg per day and produced over 10,500kg combined fat and protein. Her cell count has averaged 132 and she has never been treated for mastitis. In 2004 she was breed champion at the Dairy Event and was classified EX for the third time at 13 years old. There are three generations of her family milking in the herd today.”
This year’s entrants averaged 11.0 lactations each and producing on average 102,264 litres of milk.
Cimmaron Even Jenny was selected as the national winner from four breed finalists. The other finalists were:
- Northern Regional Winner was Holstein Cow Sandisfarne Afghan Ruby EX93 (7) who is owned by the Sanders family from the Isle of Man. She is in her 11th lactation and has produced 139,349kg
- The Southern Regional Winner was a Jersey cow, owned by Brian and Jenny Ravenhill-White from Chittlehampton, Devon. Whitenhill Remakes Windswift EX95 (5E) has produced 66,805kg and 6,591kg fat and protein and is in her 11th lactation
- Northern Ireland Regional winner was Ballydrum Celsius Betty EX91, a 14th lactation cow with a lifetime yield of 128,267kg owned by Mr R Woolsey from Toomebridge, Co Antrim
“I think the competition clearly demonstrates that the modern dairy cow is capable of outstanding production while maintaining good levels of reproduction and withstanding disease threats. It also showcases the exceptional levels of stockmanship on UK dairy farms. A cow won’t last this long without top quality and skilled staff taking an active interest in her well-being,” Ms Whittaker concludes.
Source: www.genusbreeding.co.uk