HUGE crowds watched as the best cows in Australia went on show at Tatura last week.
The Holstein supreme exhibit, Dryfield Dundee Paradise, triumphed over the top Jersey for the ultimate International Dairy Week award.
Both supreme exhibits had, in previous years, each taken out junior and intermediate champion ribbons, before each won champion cow in their respective breeds last week.
Dairy Week co-director Brian Leslie said these performances were "pretty amazing" and showed consistency in judging as well as the quality of the cattle.
When the Jersey supreme exhibit, Karin and Corey Couch's Riverside Renaissance Ivy 2, won champion cow last Wednesday after previously winning the other Dairy Week broad ribbons, Mr Leslie told the crowd that achievement was a first.
However, the same thing happened the following day, with the Holstein champion.
Mr Leslie said breeders who attended Dairy Week every year had commented that this year's event was "equal to the best".
"It's an international event that people from around the world focus on," he said.
Dairy Week co-director David Blackmore said the fact the near-record crowds, coupled with strong Japanese interest, showed the Tatura event had really "come of age" in recent years.
"Our farmers are getting paid the value of their cattle - what they are actually worth, rather than just selling them cheap," he said.
"This is what we set out to do (with IDW)."
Japanese Holstein judge Tadashi Takahashi complimented the quality of cattle from "top to bottom" of each class last Thursday.
"I go to the US to see the World Dairy Expo, the biggest dairy show in the world. (I) attend the show every year," he said.
"The animals here, in any class, any of the top one, two, three (placings) can compete against those at World Dairy Expo.
"They have very nice udders, even though they are older cows with lots of lactations, but they hold their udders in perfect shape. You don't see that anywhere else."
