Two firsts for National Dairy Show
Show director Alec Bryan warmly welcomed the inclusion of three classes for Jerseys when he launched the 2005 show this week.
And he revealed that Ashley Fleming, of the Potterswalls Herd in Downpatrick, Co Down, will be the first person from Ireland to adjudicate the 17 awards for Ireland’s top showing dairy cattle.
Organised by the Cork Holstein Friesian Breeders Club, the show will match the best looking cattle from summer shows with proven exhibit cattle, such as Quintana Melissa Grand, the 2003 European champion and the Irish Examiner Farming National Dairy Show supreme champion in that year.
This year’s Baileys Champion Cow, Baldonnel Charles Rosebud, and the 2005 All Ireland Senior Cow, Croagh Storm Finley, will also represent Irish dairying’s genetic base of high production Holstein type herds, which proved themselves capable of competing with the best in the world, at the 2004 Agribex show in Brussels.
Breeders hoping to get their cattle in the European show window at the 2006 Agribex Show next spring will aim for rosette winning performances at the Dairy Show, recognised by most as the premier event of its kind in Ireland.
This week, Irish Holstein Friesian Association Chief Executive Kevin Dillon revealed that Ireland’s growing stature as a source of dairy genetics will attract interested visitors from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Holland, France, Spain, Canada and China to Millstreet.
They will mingle with dairy farmers who will have a large trade exhibition, a sale of 25 of Ireland’s best bred heifers, and family entertainment to see, as well as Ireland’s best looking cows.
* Guide to the National Dairy Show in next week’s Farming section.
