Community & Business
16 July, 2021
Millaa duo Malanda champions
YOUNG people are far from lining up to milk cows these days, but the dairy industry has a new disciple in Terese Daley of Millaa Millaa.
BY SALLY TURLEY
YOUNG people are far from lining up to milk cows these days, but the dairy industry has a new disciple in Terese Daley of Millaa Millaa.
She is putting a new spin on “Millaa View” Dairy, the business her ancestors have been operating for the last 94 years.
Terese’s first calf heifer won her class in the recent Malanda show, before going on to win Champion Holstein cow and later, Supreme Champion Cow of the show, making 16 year old Terese, the youngest exhibitor to win that title in the show's long history.
“Winning at that level was just incredible, there was a lot of competition and I honestly did not imagine a win like that was possible. I was asking myself “is this even real” and all I could think was, I am going to have to walk out there and accept that trophy. There were even a few tears,” Ms Daley said.
Tonia and David Daley gave their daughter “Millaa View Diamond Pansy” to prepare for the 2018 Dairy Youth Camp and Terese set to work teaching her to lead and parade well.
The work paid off when judge Paul Newland noticed Diamond Pansy and her handler on the first day commenting that Terese had the calf “dancing off the end of the halter.”
They took out second place that weekend and it was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the two.
“When Dad asked me after the youth camp if I would like to start my own stud, the answer was a definite yes,” Ms Daley said.
A mere three years down the track, Terese has registered online with Holstein Australia and created her own dairy stud, “Glengarriff .”
“Dad said I could pick a few cows out of the main herd to start the stud off with. I chose a few that I liked that had good personalities and Diamond Pansy was one of those,” Ms Daley said.
“I entered her in the Holstein Dairy section of the 2019 Malanda Show, but she didn't do that well, coming second in her class to my sister Kimberley's heifer. But she calved at the end of 2019 and was looking really good, so I put her into the Semex On-Farm challenge.”
The Semex-Holstein Australia On-Farm Competition is the largest dairy livestock judging competition in the southern hemisphere.
Each year, more than 2,500 entries across the country compete for a range of local, regional, state and zone titles.
The competition is open to all Holstein females, but unlike conventional livestock judging events, cattle are assessed for their structural correctness on their home property so all breeders can compete against the best in their region or state on an equal basis.
The judges were impressed with “Diamond Pansy, awarding her a 1st in the “two year old in Milk” category, a first for Far North Queensland and an 'honourable mention' in the area, all of which placed her 4th in her class in the ‘Best of State.’
Handing this outstanding cow over to his daughter has prompted David Daley to make a bet with Terese.
“Dad said if the Cowboys and the Broncos get into the final this year, I will have to give Diamond Pansy back, but I will keep her and get another up and coming heifer if they don't. I am feeling pretty confident at this stage,” she grinned.
But Terese's involvement goes beyond preparing and presenting cattle. She is the chief calf raiser at home with 38 healthy, happy babies in her care, she has put together a herd of 11 (soon to be 12) cows in her stud, most of which are in calf and, under instruction from her father, has started artificially inseminating them herself.
Terese works two days a week as a school-based receptionist at Malanda firm, Carey Group Accounting, but even though she enjoys the work there, she believes dairying is the ultimate and only career choice for her.
“It makes me feel good knowing I have helped feed people with the dairy products I have helped my family produce. Farming is such honest work and I just love the animals and being responsible for something other than myself,” Ms Daley said.
The dairy industry has not been very lucrative for a long time, but for Terese, it about more than money.
“It worries me that some of the more radical people out there believe farming is a bad thing,” she said.
“I would like to educate people around how much we care about and look after our animals and it would be great to show them farming is a good thing. I would love to be able to work on my parent's place and even eventually take the business on one day,” a glowing Ms Daley said.
