In less than a decade, Reagan and Sherrie Hamilton have grown their dairy herd from 10 cows to 700, and they have their sights firmly set on hitting 900 in the future. PAGE 4.
BY RACHAEL NAPIER
THE NEW year has started off with favourable growing conditions for our summer crops, just add water.
Decent rain that warrants turning the wheel off has been patchy, and looking around, it seems that the north-east has won that title.
Although we haven’t had too many days that have been super-hot, the nights have remained quite warm, contributing to cumulative heat stress in some of the cows, and workers without airconditioning.
Summer storms have been wreaking havoc here and there with pivots blown over, trees and powerlines down, and power lost.
The Murray Dairy office has welcomed Kylie McKee as the new regional manager.
Kylie has re located from New Zealand and has a background in sharefarming and a career in the health industry managing people.
I’m sure her previous roles have made for solid foundations within her new role with Dairy Australia and I look forward to my interactions with her in my role as Murray Dairy Board chair.
I recently had the opportunity to catch up with the Gardiner Foundation at Ann and Mark Gardiner’s Bamawm dairy farm.
It was an introductory tour for their new chair-elect, Andrew Metcalfe, who will replace Dr Len Stephens when he retires later this year in October.
We talked about current farming challenges, project updates and future opportunities.
I am always impressed with the calibre of people that the Gardiner Foundation attracts to both their board and staff.
As an industry, Victoria is certainly fortunate to have this organisation.
The Murray Dairy Board has welcomed Fiona Elgin as our interim executive officer.
Fiona filling Amy Fay’s maternity leave position. She has an impressive CV with a focus on governance and a passion for rural boards.
Fiona comes from an agricultural background and is already working well with the Murray Dairy Board.
I recently had the pleasure of attending International Dairy Week. This year they celebrated 35 years!
My favourite part is in the evenings, when you can usually spot some exhausted exhibitors snoozing with their cattle in the hay.
I’m not a show person myself, but I can certainly understand the passion!
The Australian Dairy Conference will be taking place in February on the Gold Coast — what an excuse for a summer holiday.
After that it will be time to get the seeder out and have a yarn to your agronomist.
Make sure to reach out to the Murray Dairy team for any support you need over the coming months — they are always happy to help and love hearing a “g’day” from our local dairy farmers.
– Rachael Napier is the Murray Dairy chair.
THE FIRST season of break crop treatments have been applied in the C4Milk research project in the Murray region.
The project is funded by Dairy Australia, Gardiner Foundation, Murray Dairy and Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
The goal of this research is to better understand the impact intensive fodder cropping rotations have on the sustainability and profitability of dairy farms.
The project is doing this by evaluating crop-oncrop effects over multiple seasons.
We want to understand how important break crops are in continuous forage growing systems.
As more dairy farms in the region transition their systems to include growing forage crops it has been observed that maize-cereal rotations are relied on heavily, as they can produce the large volumes of high-quality forage that is needed to feed lactating cows.
There are concerns that continuing this type of cropping pattern for extended periods may result in agronomic issues — such as weeds, pests and diseases — and also have a negative impact on soil resources.
While the impacts of poor crop rotations has been demonstrated in grain production systems, there is very little research in fodder cropping systems.
Treatments in the project include different break crop strategies, such as single season break crops and consecutive season break crops (for example, winter-winter or winter-summer) and different types of crops, including winter cereals
Are you looking to grow, manage and optimise your annual pastures more effectively?
Dairy Australia’s Feeding Pastures for Profit program is designed to equip farmers with the knowledge and skills to make the most of their pastures, ensuring improved feed quality and growth year-round.
This comprehensive program focuses on ryegrass while also covering other species such as lucerne and fescues.
It delves into understanding plant growth, managing rotations to optimise feed quality, and tackling seasonal challenges.
The course kicks off in March and runs throughout the year, starting with two theory days followed by five on-farm days that address real-time, seasonal issues, including:
Autumn start-up: Establishing pastures for growth.
Managing winter conditions: Maintaining productivity through colder months.
Spring surplus: Making the most of excess growth.
Seed head phase: Timing grazing for optimal results.
Managing heat stress: Keeping pastures productive in summer.
Keegan Sutton completed the Feeding Pastures for Profit program in 2023, after his employer enrolled him to prepare for more responsibilities on the farm. With plans to travel, Keegan’s boss
wanted him to step up and take the reins while also better understanding paddock rotations and pasture management.
Reflecting on the program, Keegan said he gained a solid grasp of paddock rotations and now confidently grazes at the 2.5 to three-leaf stage to optimise both quality and quantity.
He also learned to manage daily allocations and identify how much to lock up for silage in spring.
“The most valuable thing I took away was knowing the right time to graze and how to use supplements effectively to ensure even grass allocation every day,” Keegan said.
His advice to anyone considering the course: “Just do it.”
(wheat, barley and oats), vetch, canola, maize and soybeans.
The research is being carried out at a dryland site near Mitiamo, which is managed by Birchip Cropping Group, and an irrigated site near Kerang, that is being managed by Irrigation Farmers Network.
Crops are being harvested at ‘silage’ stage and we are measuring forage yield and quality.
Soils are also being sampled every six months to measure a number of properties such as carbon, various forms of nitrogen, moisture, and other key minerals and attributes.
After three seasons of setting up the break crop strategies, the project is looking to run two years of cereal forage cropping — barley-barley at the dryland site, and maize-wheat-maize-wheat at the irrigated site.
This will hopefully provide some information on what effects, if any, of the carryover from the break crops, and how much of an impact they have on the following crops.
– From Murray Dairy
Register your interest
Expressions of interest are now open for the 2025 Feeding Pastures for Profit program, facilitated by Phil Shannon (northeast) and Tom Farran (central). The course will begin in March and run through to October/November, with locations determined by the areas of interest received. To register your interest, go to the events page on Murray Dairy’s website: dairyaustralia.com.au/murraydairy
For more information, contact Murray Dairy team member Bec Wyper at becw@ murraydairy.com.au or call 0493 060 095 Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your skills and grow more grass through the seasons. – From Murray
BY SOPHIE BALDWIN
EIGHT YEARS ago, former shearers Sherrie and Reagan Hamilton decided to rear a few calves on an ex-dairy farm they had purchased at Wakool.
They started with just 10 cows.
Having some excess milk, they put in a call to Murray Goulburn, who at the time said they would pick up them up if they had more than 500 litres.
“We decided to buy a few more cows, and then we calved down 60, and that is where it all started for us really,” Sherrie said.
Over the ensuring years, they have moved farms a couple of times, and are now milking 700 with a plan to hit 900 in the future.
Sherrie said their progress had just evolved as they had made the most of any opportunities that came their way.
“To be honest, I can’t believe where we are and we wouldn’t have half of what we had now, if we hadn’t of made a start in the dairy industry, but that’s not to say it’s not stressful because it is, and it is also a lot of hard work,” Sherrie said.
The herd size soon grew to 200, and because the cows outgrew the infrastructure, they decided to buy a farm at Tullakool that had a better dairy — a 44-unit rotary.
“We then grew the herd again to around 350 and we were looking at building a feed pad, but the cost came in at around $1.5 million, so we decided it was better value to buy another farm down the road that already had a rotary and feed pad — that was in 2021.
“We wouldn’t have have got as far as we have if we had of started all this on a greenfield site,” Sherrie said.
Throughout their entire journey, they continued to supply Murray Goulburn who then turned into Saputo after the milk price crash in 2015.
“Their growth incentive has been very good for us because we have been basically growing production every year since we started, and we haven’t had any reason to move processors,” Sherrie said.
Since purchasing the farm, the couple has put in an additional 25,000 litre vat, installed cup removers, concreted from the dairy to the feed lane and built a 45m x 200m barn.
In the future, they hope to build a maternity barn and maybe buy some more land.
“I want a dedicated maternity area to give the girls the best possible start, and the price of land around here is reasonable, which creates an opportunity for us to expand down the
track,” Sherrie said.
“If we lived in a high rainfall area, land would be way more expensive and out of our reach.”
Sherrie acknowledges lack of rainfall is a risk, but the risk is mitigated to some degree by access to good quality bore water and irrigation.
The farm also has two centre pivots which are used to grow wheat and barley.
“As part of our risk mitigation, we like to have two years’ worth of feed ahead, and when there is affordable water and favourable
conditions, we grow as much as we possibly can and store hay and silage,” Sherrie said.
For the last couple of years, cheap temporary water prices have enabled them to grow rice for additional income and they rear all of their calves and run a beef herd of about 130 to 140 head.
They usually sell all their steers once they reach a certain weight.
“We have a river block where we take all the calves so they are off the home farm,” Sherrie said.
The home farm is 607ha and they also lease a further 400ha.
Sherrie runs the dairy side of things, while Reagan grows the crops and does the irrigation. They can step into each other’s lanes of they have to, but Sherrie reckons it works well having their own roles.
The herd is a bit of a mixed bag consisting of Holsteins, Jersey and crossbreeds.
Cows are calved every day of the year to keep a flat milk supply and collars help with health and fertility.
“I am not into breeding at all, and I am not fussed where our milk comes from, as long as we get it,” Sherrie said.
“We use sexed semen and all our cows get two goes at AI, or if they are older cows, we usually join them straight to beef.
“We use World Wide Sires and they tell me what bulls we should join to and I tell them when the semen is too expensive,” she laughed. They breed mostly for good udders, longevity and polled animals.
“We aim to get our cows in-calf at around 100 days.”
Staffing is always an issue, and while they have been down the backpacker route, they are looking toward employing more permanent staff.
Sherrie has had a permanent Filipino working for the last eight months and has applied for three Kenyan workers, the first one has already arrived.
“The problem with backpackers is spending time teaching them and then they leave, now with a more permanent staff, we won’t have to do that in the future.”
Sherrie said while getting to where they have could be largely attributed to hard work, it had also been made easier by their trusted financial adviser/agronomist/bookkeeper, who is part of every major decision they have made.
“He has been instrumental in finding opportunities and guiding us forward and we have been lucky with the timing of our buying and selling.
“We make the hard calls, and I am not afraid to make a change if we have to — one bank told us they wouldn’t finance our last farm purchase, so I just rang another bank and we had no trouble.”
In the future, Sherrie hopes to get the herd up to around 900 cows, employ some more permanent staff and eventually milk three times a day.
“We have three boys — Jye, Thomas and Mason — and I want to have a sustainable farming business they can take over if they want to, but they will have to go off and do something else first.”
BY SOPHIE BALDWIN
Cohuna dairy farmer Adam Spradbury is fulfilling a dream he has had since he was a young boy after finally purchasing his first farm late last year.
Adam grew up in Cohuna, and for a couple of years when he was in primary school, his parents had a dairy farm which ended up leaving a lasting impression on him.
As a teenager, he also spent some time at Elmar Farms at Horefield, which prompted him to fall in love with cows and breeding.
Adam may have grown up, moved away and life may have led him on a different path for many years, but after a marriage breakdown, he decided it was now or never, and he has thrown everything on the line to purchase a 65 hectare farm.
He looked at a few farms around the place, but it was the price of the land and proximity to his old home town that appealed to Adam.
He moved to the farm in October with 20 milkers, 30 poddy calves and 18 heifers he purchased from some random herds.
He is hoping to purchase a few more cows over the next couple of months before he kicks off milking sometime in early April.
“I think a smaller framed cow will suit my farm better, so I am planning on milking Jerseys and some Aussie Reds,” Adam said.
“I am hoping to start off with around 40 cows and work my way up to a hundred, with the possibility of going organic down the track as well.”
To keep a flat milk supply, he will run a split calving herd.
Adam successfully ran a small farm in Gippsland and is no stranger to looking after livestock.
He has always had a house, chickens and some sort of beef herd, although he is currently in the process of offloading the last of his beefies, so he can purchase some more milkers.
One of his Jersey cows is a 15-year-old family pet, and Adam is hoping she will at least get one season in the shed before she retires.
“She has been a great pet over the years, but has only ever had four calves, which is why she looks so young — she used to love eating cypress, which makes cows abort,” he said.
Adam is the first to admit the farm requires a fair bit of work to bring it up to scratch, and he has been busy cleaning up mountains of rubbish, fixing fences and sheds and bringing the 18-aside swingover dairy into working order.
“It was last a working dairy farm back in 2016, so I have had to spend a lot of time replacing rubber ware and electrical wiring,” he said.
“I have a carpentry background and I have quite enjoyed fixing everything up.
“I know it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I am prepared to give it a red hot go.”
Adam intends to turn the current 11 paddocks back into the original 17 so he can better manage his grazing rotation, something he thinks will be better with smaller more manageable paddocks.
“I have done a heap of spraying to get the weeds under control and I have sown some millet to get some early feed growing,” he said.
“I plan on sowing some lucerne in autumn so I can eventually cut some hay – I want to keep things simple and grow quality feed.”
He has plans down the track for some sort of feedpad, but his main priority will be to get all the basic things up and running first. “Eventually, I hope to have a worker to
help out, until then, I know I am going to pretty busy,” he laughed. Adam said he would have to prioritise the important jobs for the first couple of seasons
“It is a gamble, and I have risked everything to give this a go, but I also feel like I am finally getting to live out my childhood dream, and it feels pretty good,” Adam said.
BY ANDY WILSON
ONE OF the nation’s leading dairy manufacturers has joined forces with Shepparton Foodshare in a three-year deal to help ensure food security for those struggling financially.
Noumi Limited produces a range of dairy and non-dairy milk products Australia-wide and has committed thousands of litres of dairy milk products to support Goulburn Valley communities in need.
Noumi chief executive officer Michael Perich said the fresh dairy products being donated came from local farms.
“It’s then manufactured by our 230 staff that we have here at Shepparton,” Mr Perich said.
“And it absolutely gives us a buzz to see how this gets into the mouths of those in need in the community, especially for the kids that are less fortunate — how do they get the nutrition in their food?”
Shepparton Foodshare chair Jeremy Rensford praised Mr Perich for caring for the local community and said the deal was “more than tokenism”.
“This is making a real impact on the ground for those that need it the most,” Mr Rensford said.
“This shouldn't be at odds with making a profit and I commend you and your team for being able to do both — we certainly are grateful.”
Noumi’s Shepparton dairy milk processing facility processes more than 250 million litres of milk each year supplied from about 40 local dairy farms.
The Perich family has its own 2000-strong dairy herd.
Noumi’s 2024 net revenue from its milkbased dairy products was $412 million and $177.6 million from its plant-based milks.
The family also grows crops, which Mr Perich said were affected by recent weather events.
“A little bit of weather came through, which — especially for the harvest — is throwing a spanner in the works,” Mr Perich said.
“But overall the conditions are looking good.”
Mr Perich said the global demand for Australian dairy was starting to lift.
“Which is good for dairy overall.
“A little bit sort-of slow in what’s happening to the Australian market yet; there’s still a lot of challenges there with managing cost-ofliving and how the consumers then purchase these products.”
Mr Perich said import tariffs proposed by the incoming Trump administration were something Australia needed to be “careful’’ with to take any advantage.
“People are still looking for these food products, especially in those markets, so I think it's important we focus on what we can control there,” he said.
“Dairy’s always been a product that some markets through South-East Asia and the greater Asian market are always looking for.
“How do we get a bigger share of that?”
Students from Gowrie Street Primary School were at the announcement on Wednesday, December 11, having completed their first year of a full-time lunch program which relies on donated food.
Mr Rensford said people wanted to know that outlets such as Foodshare were having an impact.
“Everybody here wants to make sure we’re having a human connection, and I’m here to tell you with authority that we actually are,” he said.
Gillian Damianopoulos intended to volunteer one day of each week in her semi-retirement but now works at FoodShare five days per week. “If you were here for a day, and saw how much food goes out to one agency, and we do it for a lot of agencies, it’s mindblowing to think that so many people need help,” she said.
“I feel like a proud grandfather when I visit that school; they have a roster where the students actually cook their meals so that every student is able to come to school and eat well.
“It wasn't that long ago that some of them, or perhaps a lot of them, weren't doing that and now they are.
“That’s an example of the type of impact this has.”
The school’s lunch program coordinator Chelsea Smith said the school provided children with breakfast, lunch and morning tea.
“It keeps children’s nutrition at the forefront,” Ms Smith said.
“There is a lot of food insecurity in the local area so we feed over 200 kids at no cost to families at all.”
Foodshare provides most of the food for the program, with Ms Smith coordinating a team of cooks each morning.
The cuisine from the new industrial kitchen includes sushi, chicken pie and taco bowls, and the school also provides an ongoing fruit bowl for ‘grazing’ during the day.
Mr Rensford said Foodshare was not yet celebrating “too hard’’ and hoped the new deal with Noumi would inspire other large food producers to donate.
“We still don’t get enough in, compared to what has been required of us to push out,” he said.
“And that is something that we’re completely ill at ease with.
“I've been known to say ‘you know what, we wish our organisation was irrelevant, we wish that our community was fed well enough, that they didn’t need us’, but sadly in the current season, and perhaps in the next few years at least, it’s very unlikely; so we've got to do the very best that we can.
“As we do get bigger, we rely on these more forward-looking partners.
“And we are getting bigger, we don’t want to get bigger, but we've got no choice.”
MOYHU DAIRY farmer Leah Garnett presented her innovative findings on greenhouse gas abatement at the Australasian Dairy Science Symposium at its 2024 November conference in New Zealand.
Leah’s presentation stems from a critical review she authored on strategies for reducing emissions in Australian dairy farming, a rapidly evolving area of research with significant implications for the industry’s sustainability and competitiveness.
Leah co-manages a 320-cow dryland farm with her partner, Joel Hourigan, in partnership with Joel’s parents, who run a separate 400cow dairy farm in nearby Milawa.
While managing the demands of dairy farming, Leah has pursued academic excellence, recently completing a Master’s degree through the University of New England.
“Along with dairy farming, I completed a Masters last year through UNE. My project was on methods of abating greenhouse gas emissions from Australian dairy farms,” Leah said.
“I felt the literature review I did as part of my dissertation would be a valuable resource to dairy researchers and the industry, especially as it is such a quickly evolving field.
“So, after I finished, I turned my literature review into a paper, in collaboration with Richard Eckard from The University of Melbourne.”
Her dissertation focused on abatement strategies for Australian dairy farms, and was published in the CSIRO journal, Animal Production Science.
Her critical review explores the potential for Australian dairy farms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly enteric methane, which accounts for a significant share of emissions.
The review highlights promising strategies, such as dietary adjustments to reduce methane
by up to 50 per cent and methods to lower greenhouse gas emissions from fertilisers and effluent.
However, Leah emphasised the economic barriers to adoption.
“Many abatement options aren’t yet cost-effective for farmers,” Leah said.
“To achieve widespread implementation, we need more research investment, particularly to refine these strategies for grazing systems and ensure they’re practical and economical on the ground.”
Leah’s research also addresses the global demand for lower carbon footprints in agriculture, a trend that is reshaping market expectations.
By identifying research gaps, her work provides a roadmap for future innovation in greenhouse gas mitigation, ensuring the Australian dairy industry remains competitive in a sustainability-driven global market.
Becoming a dairy farmer was a life-changing decision for Leah, who relocated from Darwin to Moyhu in 2020 with Joel and their two young daughters.
She brought with her a strong background in agricultural extension, which continues to influence her approach to farming.
“We aim to grow as much high-quality pasture as possible, efficiently and sustainably, while prioritising the health of our cows and family,” Leah said.
Leah was sponsored by Gardiner Foundation to attend ADSS.
Her presentation at the symposium not only offers an opportunity to share her work with researchers and industry leaders, but also underscores the importance of connecting science and farming practices.
As the industry grapples with environmental challenges, her insights contribute to the broader conversation about creating a sustainable future for Australian dairy farming.
cow
has won the Goulburn Murray and North East Jersey Breeders Club champion cow in its annual on-farm challenge.
Placed first in the six and seven-year-old class, Warrain Valentino Love Lies 12, was elevated to champion cow for the competition, after impressing the judge, Simon Tognola from Tatura.
Warrain Valentino was owned by Darryn Hourigan, from Millewa, who also owned the winner of the four-year-old class.
Champion two-year-old was Froglands
Viral Belle BK Farming owned by Ben Predretti, Tallygaroopna, and most successful breeders were Graeme and Rowan Sprunt from Kaarimba.
Judge Simon Tognola travelled from farm to farm scoring each Jersey cow out of 880 points, consisting of 22 traits totalling 40 points each.
The challenge involved 12 Jersey studs with more than 90 entries.
Results
Junior class: Kaarmona Casino Josie 13, Ruby and Jorja Sprunt, Kaarimba, first.
PT/Genomic class: Kaarmona Bosa
Budy 15, Graeme and Rowan Sprunt , Kaarimba, first.
Two-year-old class: Froglands
Viral Belle BK Farming, Ben Pedretti, Tallygaroopna, first.
Three-year-old class: Loxleigh Olive Christmas Lily 7883, Geoff and Natalie
Akers, Tallygaroopna, first.
Four-year-old class: Darynvale Matt Favour, Darryn Hourigan, Millewa, first.
Five-year-old class: Klein Meer Chive 3158, Theresa Hicks and Darren Sagrera, Dederang, first.
Six and seven-year-old class: Warrain Valentino Love Lies 12, Darryn Hourigan, Millewa, first.
Eight years and over class: Loxleigh Hatman Buttercup 6069, Geoff and Natalie Akers, Tallygaroopna, first.
Most successful breeders: Graeme and Rowan Sprunt, Kaarimba, 1. Geoff and Natalie Akers, Tallygaroopna, 2.
Darryn Hourigan, Millewa, 3. Farmers’ aggregate:
Three-year-old
and Rowan
BY ANDY WILSON
A TALLYGAROOPNA dairy stud ended more than four decades of breeding first class Holsteins with its final dispersal sale at Shepparton Regional Saleyards on December 12.
Wallaroi Holsteins sold all 111 lots, which included 22 heifers on their first lactation, with the herd averaging (inclusive of six late omissions) 33 litres of milk and 2.16kg of solids.
Wallaroi principal and Holstein master breeder Max Hall began the dispersal two years ago and said he was looking forward to slowing down his farming pace.
“I will still be at the farm, but I’ll just be milking about 20 cows that weren’t in the sale,” Mr Hall said.
“I will still be feeding calves and supplying a bit of milk locally, but I am nearing 60 and so I am looking to retire a bit.”
The average price at sale was $3355 with a top of $10,250 for Lot 16, Wallaroi Chief Justine, VG86 sold to Munzels in Gunbower, a cow Mr Hall said was “one to watch”.
Mr Hall said the four Justine cows were of a particularly good Canadian family.
The second-highest price was that of first-lactating Wallaroi Randall Butter GP 83 for $8500
Dairy Livestock Services auctioneer Brian Leslie said the day’s offer of cattle was ‘‘very good’’, with over 20 online bidders from across the eastern states joining 12 at the sale.
“There was a widespread range of buyers from across Victoria and the country in fact; one from Tamworth in NSW and one Queenslander,” Mr Leslie said.
“They came from all parts of Victoria too, from Gippsland, Leongatha and out in the west of the state.”
There were several volume buyers with the strongest being Jack and Matt Kenny from Cororooke, near Colac, who took home over a dozen cows.
Mr Leslie praised the “very high’’ quality of cows on offer.
“It was really good to see there were several
return buyers which is really positive about the quality of Max’s breeding,” Mr Leslie said.
Mr Hall began his stud in 1980 as a teenager when he bought his first cow, and was granted master breeder status in 2009.
He said that although the sale was late in the year, he had been confident the sale would have been strong.
BY SOPHIE BALDWIN
It was all hands on deck for the Robertson girls ahead of International Dairy Week. Dakota, 11, Isla,10, and Peyton, 6, were busy preparing their heifers over the summer, getting up early feeding and practising their leading.
The girls love the show and they love the fact the pool is nearby as well.
“IDW goes for a whole week and I have got my own swag to sleep in this year,” Isla said.
The girls have been working hard with eight-month-old Jantilly and sevenmonth-old Black Rose, who are part of the Southern Star Holstein team this year.
Dakota said Black Rose was her favourite.
“Black Rose is special because she is the last heifer (their family line was nearly extinct before her birth) and Mum said we have to look after her — she still gets a bucket of milk even though all the other heifers calves are weaned,” Dakota said.
The Robertson family from Yarroweyah are no strangers to the show circuit.
They have been attending IDW for a few years now, along with many of the local shows including Cobram and Rochester.
At this year’s National Herd Development Winter Fair, Jantilly came second in the youth section while the family had a class win with another heifer, Tonio.
Jantilly’s dam, Southern Star Windbrook
Jantilly, also received honourable mention and won the aged cow class at the Winter Fair, so she has some pretty good genetics behind her.
“We enjoy the shows and we like working with the cows and getting to know them,” Isla said.
Mum Beck said it was really rewarding to watch the kids as they learn their way around a cow.
She said the girls were also taking a keen
interest in the animals as they progress through the generations.
“Some of the calves they are working with now are daughters out of the calves they first led a couple of years ago — watching and listening to them make the connection is really rewarding.”
And the girls certainly know their animals, as they chatter away about their heifers and all their calves.
Everyone might have a different favourite
but one thing is for sure — the girls love their calves and they love