00:00The Victorian Winter Fair wrapped up on July 4 with the judging of the Supreme Senior Champion cow
00:08and it was Matt and Nicola Templeton from View Fort Holsteins who came away with the Champion Ribbon.
00:15Matt tells us a little bit about the Champion animal.
00:19Yeah, so we purchased her in the annual dispersal in December 2020 and yeah, off-brand sorry.
00:29Like I said, she's a Kimberley Big Cow.
00:33She's got a big Australian pedigree.
00:38Yeah, so she's a three-tone and that family reverts back to the Felicities
00:45who is probably the greatest known cow in Australia.
00:49She's known as Australia's Sweetheart.
00:52And then generations after was Gordon Three-Tone and she's only three generations from her.
00:59So yeah, it's a pretty cool pedigree to have.
01:04And like I say, to carry her off the park pretty good still, it's an honour to have her.
01:10And how does she go in your herd?
01:12She's a no-fuss cow.
01:15This is the first time we've shown her.
01:18She's been waiting for the right time.
01:21So yeah, she goes along with the herd.
01:25Like I say, no fuss.
01:27She gets in calf every year.
01:29She's 92 points now in the classification system.
01:33So yeah, we're going to sell a daughter out of her in our sale.
01:38So yeah, she ticks all the boxes for us.
01:41And what other plans do you have for her?
01:43We're going to try and keep her going and take her to International Dairy Week.
01:48She's only just fresh.
01:50We're giving the best we can of her.
01:52We can't even garb her again.
01:54We're giving the best we can to comfort her.
01:57And how do you feel about winning the Grand Champion at Vic Winter Fair,
02:01which is one of the premier events in Australia?
02:04Well, this is the first time that we've actually shown the street in our own right.
02:09And yeah, to come out on top is very, very rewarding.
02:15Yeah, we bought a nice sample, I suppose, of selection of animals.
02:21But probably with our sale in mind, really, just as part of a promotion.
02:26But yeah, I think to come out on top has just really shown the strength of what we have in our herd.
02:33And yeah, it's been very rewarding.
02:35And on a personal level, I know you've had a few battles.
02:38So can you kind of talk a little bit about that and how much this means to be here
02:43and being able to do what you love?
02:53Like you say, we have had some battles, but you've got to stay positive.
02:57And the reason we get up every day and milk our cows is our cows.
03:03We love farming, but we love our cows even more.
03:06And this is an avenue as part of our business now.
03:10And that leads into our sale.
03:13So yeah, but like I say, everyone's got their own sort of battles they fight.
03:20But unless you stay positive and have someone to look forward to,
03:23i.e. getting up every morning to look at these cows and get them ready for the show,
03:28that's what we love to do.
03:30I would like that as well, to support them from the dairy industry.
03:35And particularly our shelving community has been amazing.
03:41Yeah, the people that rallied around us the last couple of months
03:44and helped us get here, they know who they are.
03:47We could never have come without them.
03:50So yeah, we're very, very thankful to our crew, backing the shed
03:54and just so many people for getting us through this week.
04:00For more information, visit www.fema.gov
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