Oakley Henry, from Wilara Holsteins in Gippsland is preparing to head off to the United Kingdom for the Holstein Australia Youth UK Exchange in September.
Mr Henry has taken up the opportunity following the withdrawal of Western Australia's Tahlia McSwain from the 2019 program.
"Unfortunately Tahlia has had to withdraw from the exchange for personal reasons, and all at Holstein Australia wish her and her family well," Holstein Australia chief executive officer Graeme Gillan said.
"In Oakley we have a fantastic replacement, which really underlines the quality, strength and depth of candidates for the 2019 exchange.
"He is clearly focused on building a future in the dairy industry and is heavily involved with Wilara's successful breeding program.
"I'm sure Oakley's time in the UK, and the experience gained, will be a great next step in his young career."
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Mr Henry, 18, is a fourth-generation dairy farmer, who is completing a Certificate III in Agriculture (Dairy Production) and has worked full time on the family farm since November 2017.
"I'm passionate about breeding the best quality cows that we can," Mr Henry said.
"I'm really keen to look at the different breeding philosophies of UK farmers as well as building my own network with young breeders from overseas.
"The cows we strive to breed at home are profitable cows with high production, fertility, feed efficiency and good type.
"It will be interesting to see how this compares with the farms I visit in the UK, and what I can learn from the experience to benefit the Wilara breeding program.
"I'm very grateful for what is the opportunity of a lifetime and can't wait.
"At the same time, I feel for Tahlia and would like to send both her and her family my best wishes."
Beginning late September Mr Henry will spend a month travelling the length and breadth of the United Kingdom staying and working with Holstein UK members, and will also take part in UK's largest dairy show, the South West Dairy Show in Somerset, and the All Breeds All Britain Calf Show in Cambridgeshire.
The Holstein Youth Exchange program is a joint initiative of Holstein Australia and Holstein UK and is now in its third year.
Following Mr Oakley's visit to the UK this September, a Holstein UK young breeder will spend January next year visiting Holstein Australia members in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, as well as attending International Dairy Week and taking part in the Youth Challenge event.
This story first appeared on Australian Dairyfarmer
