A team from Wedmore Young Farmers has taken the top award in this year’s Melplash Agricultural Society’s Young Farmers Dairy Stock Judging Competition kindly hosted this year by the Crutchley family in their new dairy at Marsh Farm, Nettlecombe, and kindly sponsored by Synergy Farm Health Ltd, Crewkerne.

The annual MAS stockjudging competition is a team event, with teams of two in each age group.  This year Clubs from Dorset and Somerset were represented; a total of ten teams from Beaminster, Marshwood, Wedmore and Wells & Glastonbury YFCs.   “It was particularly gratifying to have so many junior teams this year with an even split between the genders...  these young stockjudges are the farmers, herd managers and milkers of the future.”  said Mr Mark Roberts, the organiser of the event

The whole purpose of stockjudging within Young Farmers Clubs is to train the competitors to look for and assess the type traits that are beneficial for long lasting, healthy cows that will also produce plenty of milk.  Each breed society produces a “True Type Model” which is the ideal cow, and competitors need to bear this in mind as they assess each animal.  The competitors will be looking for the functional traits such as good legs and feet leading to good locomotion, a well attached udder with enough width and height to hold the high milk yields expected from modern cows, with body capacity sufficient to support the milk and a growing calf.  A top judge will be looking at about 60 traits to decide on his placing.   The judge this year was Mr John Westaway, formerly the Senior Classifier for the Holstein Society with responsibility for grading daily pedigree cattle, he now judges at Shows all round the country. 

Each team is asked to assess a pen of dairy cows and to place them in order [best to poorest] and then give their verbal reasons for their decisions to the master judge who marks them, using a complex marking system, on accuracy of observation and comparisons.  After all competitors have given their reasons, the Judge will return to the cattle and announce his placings and the reasons why he placed them in that order.  The competitors are always keen to find out if they agreed!

THE RESULTS

Juniors [4 dairy cows judged]

1^st         Wells and Glastonbury   Natalie Hill                     84

            Juniors                           Rachel Churches           68                     152

2^nd        Wedmore A                   Edward Bennett             69

            Juniors                           Ellie Stevens                 47                     116

3^rd         Wedmore B                   Brandon Willcox            58

            Juniors                           Karl Hooper                  56                     114

 Intermediates [6 dairy cows judged]

1^st         Wells and Glastonbury   Andrew Churches          87

            Intermediates                Oli Hill                           69                     156

2^nd        Wedmore Intermediates Claire Willcox                77

                                                Jack Nicholls                 75                     152

Seniors [6 dairy cows judged]

1^st         Wedmore Seniors                      Katie Nicholls    90

                                                            James Hector    71                     161

Awards

Francis W Hunt Cup (Best Team Overall)         Wedmore Seniors

Runners up Shields                                         Wells and Glastonbury Inters

                                                                      Wells and Glastonbury Juniors

Tom Creed Cup (Best Individual)               Katie Nicholls, Wedmore Senior

Best Newcomer Tankard                      Kirsty Fox, Marshwood Vale Juniors