Brad Gavenlock will be the first to admit he used to solely focus on chasing blue ribbons at dairy cattle shows.
Don't get him wrong, he and wife Jess still love claiming broad ribbons and first place titles in the show ring.
After all, if it wasn't for showing cows they wouldn't have met and Brad - who came from outside dairy - would never be in the industry.
But the couple, who operate Cherrylock Cattle Company at Tallygaroopna, Victoria, have expanded their thinking on dairy cattle breeding and marketing to incorporate show-type and DataGene's Balanced Performance Index (BPI).
And their mature Jersey cow, Cairnbrae Valentino Daisy 16, who won the BPI award for the breed at International Dairy Week recently, is the epitome of this breeding philosophy.
"We play the middle road," Mr Gavenlock said. "We want a cow like Daisy, that's 95-points, who can win Dairy Week and that can do over 9000 litres and punch-out some bulls."
Cairnbrae Valentino Daisy 16 has a BPI of 359 placing her within the top 300 cows in the breed.
The BPI is an economic index that drives improvements in production, health, fertility, longevity, workability, feed efficiency and type.
At IDW at Tatura, Victoria during January, in addition to winning the BPI award, Cairnbrae Valentino Daisy 16 came second in the seven-year-and-over in-milk class, a strong showing of up to 13 cows.
The Gavenlocks and their friends the Polson family bought Cairnbrae Valentino Daisy 16 in May last year for $35,000 at the Jayden Jerseys Complete Dispersal at Tamworth, NSW.
Jayden Jerseys originally bought Cairnbrae Valentino Daisy 16 at the dispersal of her breeders' the Carson family from Western Victoria and she'd previously claimed intermediate champion at IDW in 2018.
"We bought her because of her pedigree and genomics," Mr Gavenlock said. "We love the depth of her pedigree, genomic numbers and cow family; we are hoping to breed some bulls (from her)."
Mr Gavenlock and his business partners want to capitalise on the demand for Australian Jersey genetics overseas, particularly in North America.
He said this interest in Australian bloodlines has developed because of the rise of JX or "bracket bulls" - (Jerseys with an infusion of Holstein blood) in the Northern American industry.
Cherrylock Cattle Company worked in the high-end livestock genetics "value-adding" space, Mr Gavenlock said.
The business prepared animals for shows and sales, as well as boarding and managing other people's cattle.
Their services also include breeding work such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and embryo transfer as well as anything that ensures owners get the most from their genetic investment.
As part of this work, the Gavenlocks started running an annual dairy sale.
It was through this sale that they realised how important the "middle road" was when it came to breeding and marketing dairy cattle.
"It was probably (the sale) that diversified us out of chasing that ribbon, to be able to have a foot in both camps," Mr Gavenlock said.
"As genetics have changed, there have been certain bulls that could tick multiple boxes, they breed commercially functional dairy cows, that are high on BPI and that you can show. We didn't want to be pigeon-holed into a market where we could only sell to 10 per cent of the Australian dairy industry, diversifying we are a supply option for any farmer."
DataGene stakeholder relations specialist Peter Thurn said Cairnbrae Valentino Daisy 16 was a great example of how it was possible to have high BPI animals that appealed to a wide market.
"Any cow that can achieve what she's done, it's incredible," he said.
"At her age, to be as sound and productive as she still is and maintain that level of genetic merit among a lot younger cows is a fantastic achievement."
As for Daisy's showing career - Mr Gavenlock did not rule anything in or out.
"The main reason we took her to Dairy Week was to put her out there," he said.
"For people to see an old cow that's still in great form and she came second in her class.
"Is it her last hurrah? I never say 'definitely' to anything."
Glomar Hotline Sarah 6200 was the winner of the Holstein BPI award at IDW.
