ILLAWARRA CATTLE SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED
QUEENSLAND BRANCH PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2010
It is with pleasure that I present the Annual Report of the Qld Branch of the ICSA.
Membership has once again remained steady. It is pleasing to note that after nearly a decade of dairy deregulation, there has not been a mass exodus or a collapse in numbers.
The four clubs within the Branch remain active, hosting meetings, calf days, and shows that promote the breed. The Downs Club continues with its on-farm challenge, which also includes production indexes in its placings. John King was the judge for this year’s event. The major shows in Malanda, Gympie, and Maleny continue to be well-supported and present an opportunity for interstate judges to officiate. In this regard, Geoff Cochrane from Malanda, Michael Tuhan from Gympie, and Liz Hurford from Maleny were the judges selected.
Our two Royal shows continued to be keenly contested, with a quality display at both. David Kuhl from South Australia judged at Toowoomba, where F.S. Johnston & Sons won the champion cow. Allen Vale Illawarras won the junior champion title, which was also the runner-up in all breeds. The juvenile champion was from the Ledger family. M & G Henry won the on-ground milking competition.
Brisbane saw another good display with Ian Mueller making a return visit as judge. The highly decorated Panorama Angeline 9 was again the champion cow for the fourth time, three of which have been in succession. Jock Johnston showed the reserve cow, Jondene Dainty 97, with KE & AM Dorries Panorama Honey, receiving an honourable mention. There is a body of opinion that the performance of Panorama Angeline 9 is a record at Brisbane. With the passing of many of our old hands in such matters, it has been hard to verify. Does the Branch or the RNA have previous results on file over the years? Michael and Glenda Henry showed the junior champion, with Allen Vale Illawarras, the juvenile. Michael and Glenda Henry were the most successful exhibitors at the event for the first time. Also present in Brisbane was the American exchange student, Jessica Achen, who was helping the Ledger family. Nicole Priebbenow acquitted herself well as the Illawarra dairymaid. The Federal President, Mr David Henry, was present at both the Toowoomba and Brisbane shows.
JP Bourke & Co won the national Holzhauser competition for the top ten cows’ production award, also finishing fourth place with their second group. The Chelmonte farming company finished in fifth place in this competition. The Bourke family, therefore, also won the State branch top ten cow competition. Their cow, Myrtleholme Empress, won the Michael Ledger Memorial trophy for the top production cow in the state.
Two of our younger members deserve congratulations for their efforts during the year. Aleicia Dorries was the Oakey show princess and went on to win the Regional award at the Toowoomba Royal Show. Although unsuccessful at the Brisbane Royal Show, she performed her duties very well, bringing credit to herself and her family. Matthew Henry, along with his studies and efforts, has chosen to stand for the State Council. He already has a fine track record as a young judge and exhibitor, and we welcome his input on the State Council. Matt won the Queensland final of the Young Judges competition and will now compete in the National final in Adelaide.
On a personal note, it was my honour and privilege to judge at Dairy Week this year, and as I understand it, the first resident Australian to do so. I certainly hope I haven’t put the cause back for years to come, and that it will be a regular occurrence for an Australian to judge our breed at Dairy Week.
It is worth mentioning that Brisbane this year was the first showing by Phillip McConville from the Warwick district. He won place ribbons with his heifers, and we wish him well for the future.
As a variation to our usual publicity, the Branch produced a calendar and later a flyer, which were both distributed to all Queensland dairymen. The calendar was self-funded by the advertisers, professionally designed, and well-received by all. The flyer was a later reminder to dairymen of what is available in the Illawarras. I believe more needs to be done on a Federal basis in keeping commercial dairymen aware of available Illawarra AI sires.
The treasurer will deliver his report showing that the Branch remains on a sound financial basis. I thank Mike Henry for his efforts as our treasurer. Rob Radel is standing aside from the State Council. I thank him for his contribution during his membership in this committee.
Our thanks to Lloyd Peters for his work as a field officer. Lloyd is often the only contact dairymen would have with the Branch. Alison Teese continued her good work as publicity officer and deserves the thanks of the members. Our secretary, Betty Ledger, deserves all praise for her work throughout the year as the go-between with our clubs, show societies, sponsors, and the Federal office.
The branch committee meetings continued to be conducted harmoniously, with all matters receiving due diligence, for which I thank the members.
RA LESTER
PRESIDENT
