RED DEER – Canadian cattle returned to the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, this year, after a five year hiatus, and they triumphed.
The supreme champion came from Pierre Boulet of Montmagny, Quebec, and was bred by Thrulane Holsteins of Elmira, Ont.
The world expo featured 2,600 animals and 890 exhibitors from 37 states and seven Canadian provinces in Madison Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.
Canadian cattle have been shut out of the prestigious show since BSE was found in 2003. When the border reopened to breeding animals born after 1999, they were able to return to the international showcase.
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The show string of 11 females from Morsan Farms of Ponoka, Alta., brought them a reserve junior champion at Madison with a bred heifer named Lacoulee Justine Goldwyn.
The Alberta dairy also had other class winners that were a feather in the cap, said farm marketing manager Chris Parry.
“Anything was a bonus on the day. We always try to compete for the top six,” he said at the Westerner dairy show held in Red Deer Oct. 25. The divisions at the American show were large, with the biggest being 45 head judged in a single class.
“We knew we had a nice heifer. The quality was the strongest I have ever seen,” he said.
The quality of cattle here drew Parry from England to the Morsan operation three years ago.
“Canada is known for the quality of its Holsteins. I came here for the challenge of working with the best in the world.”
Most of the Morsan females shown at Madison and Red Deer are entered in the Toronto Royal Agricultural Winter Fair dairy show in November. Morsan farm hopes Justine fares as well at the Toronto show as she has at the other events.
“It will be a group of different judges and we hope she will be competitive,” Parry said.
Last year, Morsan had the Royal reserve grand champion Holstein, which was also the grand champion at the 2007 Westerner.
At this year’s Westerner Show, Justine went on to be named junior champion Holstein. The farm also won grand champion with a 10-year-old cow named Alholm Rudolph Jingle.
The Red Deer event grows larger each year. This year there were more than 220 Holsteins and 32 Jerseys at the show and sale.
The Jersey component has grown in popularity each year.
Jim and Kirsty McAvoy of Mara, B.C., returned to the show after being absent for many years. They won the reserve intermediate champion Jersey female with a young heifer that they describe as a family pet. The family milks 60 Holstein cows at Starcrest Holsteins but keeps Jerseys as a sideline.
“It is a kind of hobby for a lot of people,” said Kirsty. “They’re nice cows and you never would have seen Jerseys at these shows before.”
The grand champion Jersey was the entry of Markus Hehli of Rimbey, Alta.
