The Tullamore Show is set to kick off tomorrow (Sunday, August 11) with Dutch dairy farmer Gerrit van Der Kolk selected to judge the Holstein Friesian classes.
The dairy section returns to the Tullamore show this year with three different breeds on display and up for judging will be dairy Shorthorn, Jersey and Holstein Friesian.
There will also be number of handling tasks as well on the day for young handlers to get involved in and to win prizes.
There will be a total prize fund of €21,500 for the dairy section. There will be a competition for each breed on the day with the Holstein Friesian section having two classes.
The first class of the Holstein Friesian cows is the super heifers in milk class, where there will be prize of €2,500 for the best heifer on the day and is sponsored by T.P Whelahan.
The second class is the senior cows in milk class with the winning cow receiving €2,800 and is sponsored by Lakeland Dairies.
The chair of the dairy section at the Tullamore Show has in advance thanked all the sponsors involved in the dairy section and highlighted that there has been a record number of entries recorded for this year’s competition.
Tullamore Show
The judge for the Holstein Friesian classes is Gerrit Van Der Kolk of the Bossink herd in the Netherlands.
Van Der Kolk is milking 110 cows in the Netherland while rearing his own 80 replacement heifers with his wife and three kids.
He has a fully pedigree registered herd with 15 of his cows having an excellent classification meaning they are ranging from 90-97 points and on average his herd has a classification score of 88 points.
There are seven possible grades within the classification score, reflecting the number of designated points achieved as follows:
- Excellent (90 to 97 points);
- Very good (85 to 89 points);
- Good plus (80 to 84 points);
- Good (75 to 79 points);
- Fair (65 to 74 points);
- Poor (50 to 64 points).
Van Der Kolk has the 2nd highest herd classification in the Netherlands and has judged at numerous shows across the Netherlands and looks forward to his first time in Ireland.
In the last five years, Van Der Kolk has been the national show champion in the Netherlands three times.
Van Der Kolk is a passionate Holstein Friesian breeder, as he looks for the qualities he likes in the breed which are longevity and balance in a cow.
The judging of the young stock is set to kick off at around 10:00a.m., with the milking cow classes commencing around 2:00p.m.
Meanwhile, Rachel McNamara from Co. Limerick will judge the Holstein Friesian handling, while Will Slade from Devon, UK, will judge the dairy Shorthorn classes and the judge for the Jersey classes is Stacey O’Sullivan from Co. Cork.