BDCC Election 2022
NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF A GENERAL ELECTION BY BALLOT
Nominations were called for vacant positions on the Association’s national bodies on 27th July and closed on 10th August.
Breed Development & Conformation Committee vacancies
Under current governance rules direct elections to national bodies is allowed. Should the number of nominees exceed the number of vacancies an election is to be held.
Each voting member shall be entitled to vote for any number of candidates not exceeding the number of vacancies. There are two (2) vacancies for Breed Development and Conformation Committee (BDCC).
How to vote online
All members eligible to vote who the Association holds an email address for have been sent the notice of election and instructions on how to vote using a secure online voting platform. Votes must be registered online no later than 5pm AEST Wednesday 7th September 2022.
How to vote by mail
All members eligible to vote who the Association does not hold an email address for have been posted the notice of election, ballot paper and candidate resumes. Ballot papers must either be returned by post, or a photograph / scan of the completed ballot paper emailed to governance@holstein.com.au no later than 5pm AEST Wednesday 7th September 2022.
Three (3) nominations have been received and the list of candidates in random order is below:
Wes Brown - Juleanwes Holsteins, 252 Wallamore Rd Tamworth NSW 2340
I, Wes Brown have owned and operated ‘Juleanwes Holsteins’ with my wife Julie since 1984. We started our stud at Wingham, NSW then moved to Tamworth in 1994, converting a Lucerne farm into a dairy enterprise. When we began to lease the family farm in 1984 at Marlee, the herd was a grade herd and averaged 4,300 litres. Today the herd is averaging over 8000 litres with increased numbers. We have built the herd through the appendix system with a few cow families introduced along the way.
In 2014, we were awarded ‘Master Breeder’ award at the 100th Centenary celebrations at Toowoomba. Also in the same year, we were fortunate to win the Mature Cow award in the final of the Semex On-farm competition with ‘Juleanwes Morty Zara’.
Since moving to Tamworth, ‘Juleanwes’ has expanded its operation, with our son Mitchell joining the partnership and increasing farm size from 81 hectares to 192 hectares. Our milking herd had also increased from 180 to 340 and estimate to be up to 360 by November 2022.
At present, I am a member of the Breed Development Committee for Holstein Australia. I have also held the position of Sub-branch President and NSW State President.
I personally like breeding Holstein cows. I like to classify and I like to herd record. I like cows that have the right bone quality, dairy character, well balanced udders, good feet and legs and therefore bred for longevity. If we can combine all of these factors, we have a future as an Association.
Moving forward, I think the Holstein Association has an important role to play in the future, with genomic data collection and implementing all the technology that is available today.
For some farming families, the introduction of robotic milkers is an option. Breeding cows to suit this and conventional milking systems is also important. I believe another important factor to consider for the future is creating opportunities for the younger generation to enter the industry.
Show ethics is also a very important matter from an industry point of view, and the need to monitor activity in this area.
Bryan Dickson – Emu Banks Holsteins, 500 Ayrford Rd, Terang VIC 3264
I am Bryan Dickson of Emu Banks Holsteins, Terang Victoria.
We farm 900 milking cows with my wife Jo and four daughters. My children enjoy showing cows at shows around Victoria, Sydney Royal, and IDW. We classify 100% of our 2-year olds, whether they look good or bad. We genomically test all our calves and support the Australian breeding system.
I would like to contribute to the future direction of the Holstein cow by nominating for the Breed Development and Conformation Committee.
I have previously been a director at Genetics Australia. I was also a Director for 9 years and Chairman for 3 years at the research demonstration farm, Demo Dairy in Western Victoria.
Geoff Horrocks - Foxleigh Holsteins, 235 Cranes Rd Yalca VIC 3637
Dairy cows have been a part of my entire life. Looking back I realise how lucky I was to grow up in an era when true type cows and actual performance (classification and herd test) formed the basis of our breed’s progress. This was all encompassed by a breed society and herd book register that was formed and existed because of passionate cow people who sustained themselves and their families milking their own cows.
Sadly the last 30 years have seen a huge deviation from those early ideals. Our breed’s genetic direction has predominately been in the hands of people who don’t milk their own cows. The spotlight has been shone on the very young cattle of the breed and the word” longevity” thrown into the wastepaper bin.
The system now has announced to us problems with” inbreeding “with the easy solution being crossbreeding.
The last 2 years at BDCC have been mostly wasted due to covid restrictions and lack of face-to-face meetings. Should I be fortunate enough to be elected, together with other members of the BDCC,I am keen to get our teeth into the many challenges facing our herd book, breed society and the future of the registered Holstein cow.
Appointment of Returning Officer
The Board has appointed an independent Returning Officer to oversee the return of ballots and scrutiny of results.
Announcement of Results
According to the rules the results of the ballot will be announced at the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 14th September 2022 and recorded in the minutes of the meeting.