increase font size
Corey Ferguson, Otorohanga, with the family’s supreme champion dairy exhibit, Ferdon Tbone Veneer EX. Photo Credit: Eve Tomlinson, UK.
The supreme dairy exhibit at the New Zealand Dairy Event (NZDE) has a close family link to a cow who has won the same title three times.
Ferdon Genetics, from Otorohanga, from the heart of New Zealand’s Waikato knew they wouldn’t be flying under the radar when they returned to the NZDE this year with the show’s 2024 Jersey Grand Champion, Ferdon Tbone Veneer EX. But pressure is something they are used to absorbing, because Veneer comes from a family line laden with superstars.
One of them is Ferdon Comerica Viyella (who won NZDE Supreme Champion in 2012, 2015 and 2016 – in among a swag of Grand Champion Jersey titles and Reserves during her heavily decorated career). Veneer and Viyella’s dams are maternal sisters, and there were other “V” family members who showed in the Ferdon string.
Ferdon Genetics is owned and operated by Warren and Michelle Ferguson, together with their son, Corey, milking 200- 210 head on 75 effective hectares. They showed 18 in-milk and six dry heifers in two breeds.
For the Ferdon crew, winning never gets old. They have now won Grand Champion Jersey nine times, Supreme Dairy Cow five times, and Premier Jersey Exhibitor nine successive years.
Veneer came out of the five-to-six year-old in-milk class. And, while Ferdon is known for its Jerseys (which take up 75% of the herd) they also run 25% Holsteins and some registered Ayrshires.
One of those Holsteins, Waipiri CR Freaky Girl-ET, won Senior Champion Holstein this year. She was held out of contention for the Supreme (all breeds) race by the Intermediate Champion Holstein (and Supreme Intermediate Champion), who travelled from Tahora Farms in the South Island, Tahora Sidekick Legacy2, who qualified to compete for Supreme Exhibit by winning Grand Champion Holstein.
“We did feel the pressure this time,” Michelle acknowledged. “It was a relief when we won the Jersey championship, but then we had to wait for the Supreme."
Number's Game
The Jersey and Ayrshire shows did have the biggest class numbers, and a second Jersey – the Junior Champion – went on to win Supreme Junior Exhibit. It gave the Jersey show two of the three big awards.
Thomas Jeyes was typically low-key about his winning Jersey junior entry, Manor Black Apple Tess (sired by Rapid Bay Black Apple).
The Jeyes family immigrated from the United Kingdom to New Zealand 11 years ago and started dairying from a modest start. Today, the family is sharemilking 650 cows with no staff outside of Thomas, 19.
The Te Kuiti herd is made up of crossbred cows and 160 registered Jerseys. Thomas is responsible for the show programme, in between working fulltime on the farm, with the support of the rest of the family and their farm owner, Sir David Fagan (New Zealand’s former champion shearer, who has won the New Zealand Golden Shears a record 16 times).
Thomas started showing and breeding with his prefix, Manor Jerseys, in 2017. Before last year, the best the family had done at the NZ Dairy Event was second in class. In 2024, they started to make their move – winning Junior Champion Jersey (and Reserve Supreme Junior Champion) with Manor Cocochip Alaska. They also won another heifer class. This year, they came to play.
They won Junior and Reserve Junior Champion Jersey with Manor Black Apple Tess (sired by Rapid Bay Black Apple) and Manor Victorious Classy (sired by River Valley Victorious-ET and led by Thomas’s 17-year-old sister, Annabel) respectively, before Tess went on to trump the entire junior show.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.
In a reasonably tight season for milk prices, the Summer Sensation Sale at the New Zealand Dairy Event in Feilding last month averaged $4,612 over 33 live lots.
Cow comfort and staying relevant is at the heart of some major changes to the New Zealand Dairy Event’s (NZDE) show schedule in Feilding from January 22-24.
The New Zealand Dairy Event (NZDE), underway this week in Fielding, is pushing hard to become the country’s premier show destination for dairy cattle.
A dream came true for 25-year-old Joanna Fowlie when she won Supreme Champion of All Breeds at the New Zealand Dairy Event (NZDE) in Feilding month.
Farmer-owned co-operative Ravensdown is winding down the operations of its agritech subsidiary C-Dax following a long decline in sales.
The recent East Coast Farming Expo, held over two days at Wairoa, offered an insight into the current state of agriculture on the east of the North Island, at a time when the locals are remembering the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.
A Research programme supported by Beef+Lamb NZ is investigating the potential of ‘accelerometer’ sensors for early detection of conditions such as facial eczema (FE) in sheep.
In the past year, the Farmer Time for Schools programme which seeks to connect New Zealand school students with farmers, has experienced further growth.
Fresh Carriers Co. Ltd (FCC) and Zespri have completed the first ever kiwifruit charter powered by a low-emissions fuel.
New Zealand lingerie brand Rose & Thorne is expanding its virtual bra fitting service in an effort to provide rural women in with better access to specialised advice.
OPINION: Two Australian cheesemakers have rescued the iconic Tasmanian cheese company King Island Dairy.
OPINION: World famous liqueur maker Baileys is the latest to dabble with plant-based products.
