Agriculture Victoria BetterBeef Coordinator and experienced breeding and selection consultant, Malcolm Cock, will set off as judge of this year’s Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) Heifer Challenge, later this month.
Tarcombe Herefords and Poll Herefords took out the top prize last year, becoming the first ever Hereford breeder to win the title.
Mr Cock will travel through Victoria, and into southern New South Wales, from Monday, January 29 to Tuesday, February 6, as part of Stock & Land Beef Week.
“My favourite area of the industry is female selection, as it takes a great cow to produce a great bull that produces great cows,” Mr Cock said.
“I am excited to see the quality of studs entered in this year’s Heifer Challenge and look forward to finding and rewarding the best of the best.”
A long time entrant of Beef Week and the challenge, Mr Cock has exhibited cattle for about 30 years, including at the Royal Melbourne Show, taking home the prestigious Borthwick Trophy three times.
He has also judged breeding cattle and steers at Royal Shows and numerous regional and local shows, carcase competitions and junior handlers in Victoria and interstate.
The event culminates in the RASV Heifer Challenge Celebratory Dinner, held on Thursday February 8, at Silks, Bendigo, with the Champion presented a $3000 cash prize and the Reserve Champion awarded $1500.
With close to 50 entries, the competition offers some of Australia’s best cattle studs the opportunity to benchmark their herd replacement females against a wide variety of breeds and styles.
Animals are judged on a number of criteria including breed characteristics, maternal potential, uniformity, temperament, overall presentation and physical correctness.
The Heifer Challenge is held as part of Stock & Land Beef Week, Australia’s biggest on-farm open day beef industry event.