This fall, one of Lakeland College's dairy cows placed fifth in the WestGen Pursuit of Excellence Barn Cow competition's 3+ lactation category.

The win gave the Student-Managed Farm - Powered by New Holland (SMF) dairy unit something to celebrate.

“Because of COVID-19, there are not a lot of in-person dairy shows happening, so this was definitely a really good opportunity for us,” says Molly Sayers, public relations coordinator with the SMF dairy unit.

The SMF dairy unit oversees much more than the care, feeding and milking of their 290-head dairy herd. They manage the health, production and longevity of the herd through genetic advancements. Placing in the top 5 is verification that their work around genetics and breeding is paying off as the herd develops improved genetic potential.

“The competition was based on conformation - the cow's genetics and how she looks,” Sayers explains.

The online competition accepted entries from Western Canada in different categories depending on the maturity of the cow and how many times she had calved. The dairy SMF unit entered two cows in the first lactation category and one in the 3+ lactation category. It was that cow, Vermilion Manifold Darian EX 90, who placed fifth in her category. She is also the newest cow to receive an Excellent classification in the barn this year.

“To find good candidates to submit, we studied their mammary systems and capacity, as well as capacities. We looked at how much rib she has, how wide she is, how deep her body is. It was pretty exciting that one of our cows placed fifth in her category,” says Sayers. “We haven't done any showing in the new facility yet, so it was nice to be involved in something like this. It was also a really good opportunity to promote Lakeland's SMF program as well.”

Emily Unger, SMF dairy unit leader, agrees, saying, “We found some animals that caught our eye and seemed to meet the criteria of the perfect cow. It was a great opportunity to work on our teamwork skills as we met in the barn at 4 a.m. and made sure the cows were milked, washed, clipped and ready for photographing for the competition. It was also a chance to build our confidence in judging and evaluating cattle, and build on skills we might have previously learned through other organizations like 4H.”

Both Sayers and Unger chose to come to Lakeland for the SMF experience and the hands-on learning opportunities in the new Dairy Learning Centre. A large part of that experience is planning for the genetic future of the herd, and Vermilion Manifold Darian EX 90 will be an important part of that legacy.

At first, the SMF unit was considering flushing her for embryos to use in future breeding, but after speaking with a WestGen representative, they have decided to flush her daughter, who has a higher genetic potential and value.

 

Photo: Vermilion Manifold Darian EX 90.