Echo leads 2017 Baileys cow competition

The highly anticipated Baileys all-Ireland champion cow competition took place at the Virginia Show last Wednesday evening.

Once again, crowds flocked to the purpose-built showgrounds throughout the day but it was the main dairy attraction which held the crowd late into the evening with lines of people three and four rows deep surrounding the spectacular. Growing in stature year by year, the now €10,000 competition was celebrating its 34th anniversary and with it came one of the biggest entries ever recorded.

The judge for the 2017 competition was Paul Miller. He, along with his family, run a 410-cow herd in Worcestershire, which has won many top accolades in the show ring such as the NMR/RABDF Gold Cup. With a starting number of 34 entries, Miller slowly reduced this number to his four standout animals. These stood as Hilltara Lanthority Echo 2, Dalevalley GWY Embrace, Kilwarden Fever B Shower 2 and Baldonnel FM Sunshine.

As excitement built around the ring, Miller eventually tapped out Hilltara Lanthority Echo 2 as his Diageo Baileys champion cow for 2017.

This stylish third-calver was brought out by Sam McCormick, Bangor, Co Down, and was described by the judge as “carrying all the attributes you want in the breed”. Echo 2 milked nearly 11,500kg in her last lactation, of which 821kg were milk solids. This year, she calved in June and is currently giving 65l a day. The sire behind the champion is Comestar Lanthority while the dam is homebred Hilltara Zenity Echo.

Looking for his reserve, the judge made his way to Monaghan-based Denis and Eleanor O’Neill to tap forward their four-year-old Dalevalley GWY Embrace. This second calver gave nearly 9,000kg in her first lactation, with a protein percentage of 3.54%.

Unlike the champion, this young cow is no stranger to the show ring, having secured the reserve heifer-in-milk championship at last year’s winter fair. Classified VG88 Embrace is sired by show-maker Braedale Goldwyn and out of two-time Winter Fair supreme champion Desmond Dundee Embrace.

Finally, honourable mention went to Brochan and Joseph Cocoman’s Kilwarden Fever B Shower 2. Currently given 40 litres a day, having calved in May, this marked the second calver’s show debut. Shower earlier in the day secured the junior cow championship before standing her own against the mature cows to claim honourable mention. Sired by Crackholm Fever, she is out of homebred Kilwarden Bolton G Shower.

The last animal to make the top four was the day’s heifer-in-milk champion Baldonnel FM Sunshine from Cyril and John Dowling, Baldonnel, Dublin 22. This too marked a show debut for the three-year-old which calved back in March. The sire behind Sunshine is homebred Baldonnel Flashmatic, which has been used across the 63-cow herd with great success.

Two other competitions took place in line with the event, which were the top EBI award and the best protein award. Claiming top spot in the protein class was John Barrett & Sons, Togher, Co Cork, with Laurelmore Duplex Impala who gave 504kg protein over a 305-day lactation. This cow is no stranger to the Baileys competition having won the dry cow class at last year’s event and the overall cow championship in 2015.

The highest EBI cow on show, with a value of €80, was Louth cow Monamore McC Margot from James and T Kelly, Drogheda. This cow also received the award at the 2016 Diageo Baileys cow competition.

Speaking after the show, judge Paul Miller said: “The enthusiasm from both the exhibitors and spectators was incredible. It was one of the strongest competitions I’ve ever judged; the quality of the cattle was just unreal. The overall winner was an outstanding cow. She had all the attributes you want in the breed – a fantastic udder, coupled with fantastic legs and feet. Just quality.’’