South-west Victorian dairy farmer Sarah Chant only found out she had a part share in the International Dairy Week grand champion Brown Swiss Tandara Paray Lola 74 on Sunday.
On Tuesday she was celebrating along with co-owner Tandara Brown Swiss principal Ben Govett when the three-year-old intermediate champion upset the senior champion to take the top award in the breed.
Mr Govett gave Ms Chant a share in the cow as a reward for her work for him at shows.
“Sarah has worked for me for a long time; we’ve been friends for 25 years,” he said.
“I like to reward people who help me out.”
The young second-calver has made a big impression.
Not only did it catch the eye of IDW judge Brian Leslie but on Monday night it was named intermediate champion in the Victorian branch Brown Swiss On-Farm Challenge.
Mr Leslie could not go past the young cow for his overall champion.
“And you can put my name on her; this is the best young Brown Swiss cow I have seen in this country, full stop,” he said.
“She’s just excitingly dairy.
“She’s got a marvellous udder and I think she’s just a marvellous cow to be grand champion of this show.”
Ms Chant said she was “absolutely rapt to be a part owner of her”.
“I have a couple of Brown Swiss at home but none quite as pretty as this one,” she said.
Mr Govett said the champion was from one of the stud’s main families, the Lolas.
“She’s a fantastic young cow, she does a lot of milk,” he said.
Mr Govett was also part owner of the senior champion Tandara Vivid Lunda 260.
The four-year-old cow had a strong record, having won the junior two-year-old class and intermediate championship at IDW in 2020.
“She’s a pretty good cow,” Mr Govett said.
The co-owners – Atkins, Parrabel and Angus Fraser – had bought into Tandara Vivid Lunda 260 as “they respected the cow so much”.
Mr Leslie said the senior champion had an amazing fore udder.
“You see that fore attachment, you see that snug udder, you see that incredible size and shape of teat,” he said.
The udders of the entire showing group made a big impression on Mr Leslie who said the show, though down on numbers, was one of the highest quality Swiss shows in the event’s history.
“That’s the best uddered group of cows I have seen at this show,” he said.
Tandara, which was named premier breeder and premier exhibitor, was also the breeder of the junior champion Tandara Davenport Ada.
Its owners Cameron and Tracey Bawden, Labertouche, Vic, picked up the 15-month-old at the Cherrylock Cattle Co’sFast Track To Success Tag Sale in November.
Mr Bawden said they had bought the calf sight unseen from a video as they had picked up an IDW junior championship previously with a another Tandara Amy cow family calf.
“She’s just been a dream since we got her,” Mr Bawden said.
The couple’s 270-cow herd has about 15 Brown Swiss.
“They’re slowly building, my wife Tracey’s into these,” he said.
Mr Leslie said the junior champion was a tremendous yearling heifer.
“She’s got an incredible head and neck to her, she’s got tremendous depth of flank, she got great legs and feet,” he said.
“She’s just a dairy heifer all the way through.”
BROWN SWISS HONOUR ROLL
Grand champion: Tandara Paray Lola 74, Tandara & S Chant, Dingee, Vic.
Senior champion: Tandara Vivid Lunda 260, Atkins, Parrabel, Angus Fraser & Tandara, Dingee, Vic.
Reserve: Tandara TD Heidi 273, Tandara.
Best udder: Tandara Vivid Lunda 260.
Intermediate champion: Tandara Paray Lola 74.
Reserve: Tandara Glenwood Heidi 393, Tandara.
Junior champion: Tandara Davenport Ada, Winsdale, Labertouche, Vic.
Reserve: Sherbrooke Superstar Babz, Linderlan and Sherbrooke Brown Swiss, Katunga, Vic.
Premier breeder & Exhibitor: Tandara.
Source: Farms Online