Wallumlands Sunstorm 8 is the first Illawarra cow to all breeds champion at International Dairy Week. She is pictured with one of her co-owners Glen Gordon, Cohuna.
Wallumlands Sunstorm 8 is the first coloured cow to win, making it only the second time a breed other than Holsteins have topped the country’s premier dairy event since it started in 1990, according to event director Brian Leslie.
The show-topper is owned by three friends – Glen Gordon, Cohuna, Vic, Daniel Bacon, Tennyson, Vic, and Ben Govett, Dingee, Vic.
The trio were so impressed when they saw her at last year’s IDW (she came second in her class) as a cow with potential to succeed at IDW that they bought her following the event from breeder Terry Tidcombe, Tatura, Vic, who had a tear in his eye when they brought out to the arena when the she was named all breeds champion.
Mr Gordon said they were “pretty ecstatic” to have the first coloured cow to top IDW, and it was made all the sweeter by sharing it with his best mates.
A panel of six Australian and international judges voted on the top of the six dairy breeds out of a total 1100 entries to pick the overall winner; and the votes were close – the Illawarra won by two votes, although Mr Leslie said all judges wanted her to win.
Illawarra judge Laurie Chittick said the winning January 2011 drop in-milk cow exemplified the “complete dairy cows with good udders” he was looking for and was a “super, super dairy cow”.
Mr Gordon said Sunstorm 8 was judged Supreme All Breeds at the 2014 Shepparton Show.
He said they planned to get the cow, which is run with his herd at Cohuna, back for IDW in 2016.
Source: Australian Dairy Farmer
