Megan sparkles in landmark year for Holstein-Friesians
Drumlina Atwood Megan edges Mature award at IHFA Annual Awards in Portlaoise, reports
THE crème de la crème of Holstein-Friesian breeders gathered at the IHFA Annual Awards last weekend to celebrate a landmark year of high standards for the breed.
IHFA chief executive Charles Gallagher said that high yields are now being matched with longevity by the top performers, which is a clear objective of the breeding policy advocated by the association.
Many of the top performing cows in the leading dairy herds are now with ten lactations and above, he told the 150 breeders at the awards ceremony at the Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise on Friday night.
In the category awards, the competition was toughest in the Mature Cow in Milk class, where the champions of the Bailey Championship at Virginia and the National Dairy Show at Millstreet came to the fore again.
The Co Monaghan syndicate of Boyd/Greenan/O’Neill/Timlin/Moore with their Baileys Champion cow, Drumlina Atwood Megan, edged a fraction ahead of Donal and Katheen Neville’s National Dairy Champion at Millstreet Dairy Show, Milliedale Dusk Rhapsody, from their herd at Croagh, Co Limerick.
It has been the kind of year that so many breeders can only dream of for Donal and Kathleen, whose shrewd judgement and abundance of confidence in making the expensive purchase of Milliedale Dusk Rhapsody in the UK has been truly vindicated.
Guest of honour Zoe Kavanagh, chief executive of the National Dairy Council, presented the award and gave an enlightening presentation on the ‘cradle to the grave food’ as an insight into the facts about milk as the nutrition food backed by scientific findings.
She said that the “fact versus fad” ongoing debate is confusing to the consumer and she gave a homework exercise to the dairymen to download a new app, ‘Dairy A-Z’, which answers all the questions on the sector.
Kilwarden Gold Bonnie ET from the herd of Brochan Cocoman at Kill, Co Kildare was judged the top Five-year-old Cow in Milk for 2018, while Laurelelm Fever Brilliant delivered the top award as the Four-yearold Cow in Milk 2018, for Rickey and John Barrett, Adamstown, Ballinhassig, Co Cork.
The Laurelelm and Laurelmore herd of the Barretts won a number of the awards in the classes, while Philip and Linda Jones of the Hallow Herd at Gorey, Co Wexford also had several cows/heifers placed in the classes.
IT HAS BEEN THE KIND OF YEAR THAT SO MANY CAN ONLY DREAM OF FOR DONAL AND KATHLEEN NEVILLE