Illawarra and Southern Branch Presidents Report 2019 This year has been a quite year the Illawarra and southern branch, we didn’t hold a spring fair, but plans are well in place to have another one on Tuesday October 8th 2019. The Bega on farm challenge and the all breeds Bega calf day for our southern members was as popular as always, and there is plans on incorporating the northern members into this event. The local shows of Albion Park, Kiama, Berry, Nowra, Robertson and Bega were all well attended. Sydney show, there was a small number of entries but Glen Gordon from Cohuna(Victoria) did a good job judging. Well done to interstate exhibitors Brad and Jess Gavenlock for bringing your cattle up and winning junior champ heifer with Panorama Blossom 2. This year the NSW state conference was held at Denman with a good number of attendees, a presentation from Geoff Potts(dairy Express) and future genetics were the main topics for discussion. After the meeting attendees drove to Brian and Deb Parkers the walked around the herd and heifers, with special note of the colourful young bull in the heifers. Lastly I’d like to mention some non cow related news, Mitchell and Georgia Burke gave birth to Dulcie Fay Burke in May. (Georgia is a granddaughter of Geoff Downes(Roo View), and Natalie Shierlaw gave birth to daughter Mckenzie. Tom Cochrane I & S Branch President Queensland Branch Presidents Reports 2019 it is with great pleasure that I present this report for 2018-2019. It has been a trying year with the price of milk, the cost of production and the weather. No wonder so many people are leaving the industry. To those of you who have lost loved ones or have sickness in the family our thoughts and prayers are with you. To those that have shown at our various shows, thank you for keeping the Illawarra Breed in front of the public. Gatton show has pushed ahead to be the biggest Illawarra show in Australia. For how long I don't know, but it is up to us as breeders to support these few shows we have left. Congratulations to all who won prizes at the various shows. A special congratulations must go tot the English family on their Brisbane Show wins. I believe it is 29 years since the last Illawarra Supreme Cow and I don't think we have ever won all 3 Supremes at BrisBne before. To those that have won milk awards during the year, congratultaions. It is not easy with the weather as it has been. All clubs are still operating, having meetings at various times and come clubs are still running calf days. Again we ran the On Farm Challenge. It was very well supported and was judged by Doug Savage. The awards day was run in conjunction with the Darling Downs Club 50 year's celebration held on 29th September 2018. It was great to see so many people at this function. To have the original members; Pat O'Sullivan, Lloyd Peters and Bob Ceisolka present made the day. It was also great to have Ian Mueller, our Federal President, attending. I would like to thank all committee members for their attendance and discussion at our meetings. Thank you to Di who does a great job with the books and to Tanya for her job as publicity officer. A big thank you must go to Betty. She seems to be on anything as it arises, which makes all our jobs a whole lot easier. Again I thank you all and wish you all well in your efforts of breeding our great Illwarras. Hopefully 2019-2020 may be a little bit better. Thank you all, Mike Henry South Australia Branch Presidents Report 2019 It is with much pleasure that I present my 2019 report for the S.A. Branch of the Illawarra Cattle Society. In my 2017 report I said the challenges in the dairy industry and the milk price in the southern region were very difficult. In 2017 I did not think it could get worse but I was wrong; the very poor milk price in the past year, together with a very bad season, especially in spring, has made the past year one of the most difficult to navigate with extremely high fodder prices and a lack of paddock feed for replacements to come into our herds. The milk price indications for the 2019-20 year are a lot more realistic, and with the hope of good spring rains we could receive an average harvest. A good display of Illawarras was exhibited at the Adelaide Royal. Although it is difficult to grow numbers it is encouraging that we were able to encourage young people interested in Illawarras to exhibit. I thank the exhibitors, stewards and spectators for making Adelaide our strongest show. Good entries were received for the On Farm Challenge. Phil Hentschke was our judge and Damien Doecke, together with Emily & Trent Mueller, created a very interesting slide show. Congratulations to all winners. Production records held by SA Illawarras nationally must be held as a very high achievement and the Blackwood Park herd would hold more records than any other herd Australian wide. At Murray Bridge and Mt Pleasant shows the numbers are not great but the quality certainly stands out. A suggestion came from Federal Council that branches should hold judging schools to get new young talent on to the Provisional Judging Panel. Our branch held a school at Springvale Illawarras with approximately 8-10 young people entering. We held two classes and an unofficial class to gain experience and knowledge. We also had a class to compete for the Provisional Panel. I would like to congratulate all who attended. Rupert Gazzola and Damien Doecke were the two who achieved the recommendation to consider going to the provisional panel. Our financial position is very stable and we thank all who contribute to the steer raising programme we have, however we must not forget that in 2020 Illawarras are Feature Breed in Adelaide, and we must start getting good sponsorship for that show. South Australian members are represented on many Federal committees and I thank you for your time and commitment to the breed. The Central Illawarra Cattle Club organises social events and the calf day; this is where our younger members can take on leadership positions. Congratulations to Neville Mueller of Glenhaven as he has been given the award as a new S.A. Illawarra Life Member. Thank you to Brett Cleggett as our Promotion Officer and to our members who may not milk cows but take a keen interest at the shows as stewards. Thank you to Marie Mueller our Secretary / Treasurer for the very efficient way you do your work to make my job easier. I am not aware of how many years I have had the pleasure of being S.A. Branch President over many terms, however I am sure I do not have enough fingers on my hands to count them. As I indicated at a previous committee meeting, due to the Federal duties I inherited I would not be seeking to stand as President for the next year. I would like to thank everyone for their support and encouragement and I feel very humbled to be given the opportunity to be part of the Illawarra Cattle Society of Australia on both Branch and Federal levels. I will take this opportunity to congratulate, encourage and support the new S.A. Branch President. Thank you, Ian Mueller Victorian Branch Presidents Report 2019 It has certainly been a challenging year for the dairy industry, not just in Victoria but across the entire country. The Illawarra breed has not been immune to the higher than usual level of producers choosing to exit the industry, however it has been really pleasing from a breed point of view to see a continued strong demand for any cattle that have come up for sale. Both the Ovensdale second stage dispersal and Llandovery tag sale posted particularly strong averages in the face of a depressed market for dairy cattle. Later in the year the Rubyvale and Hazelmont dispersals also posted strong averages, with the sale averages for Illawarra’s far exceeding that of the other two breeds that were represented in the same sale. Of the 100+ Illawarra’s sold on that day – only about 10 head or less sold to what I would consider established breeders. A great indication of the interest in the breed that appears to be generating in Victoria. It is of course greatly disappointing to see young enthusiastic breeders sell their herds, but on the flipside it creates opportunity. There have been five new memberships gained as a direct result of sales over the past year, with potential for several more. Shows have continued to struggle attracting numbers, obviously not helped by the industry climate. With a relatively newer membership base in Victoria we don’t have the diehard show culture that can be found in other parts of the country. Despite this it was a tremendous thing for the breed for Wallumlands Sunstorm 8 to take out Supreme Champion of the show at IDW for a second time. It was just as exciting for me to have new member Rachael Barnes win Reserve Supreme with her Junior Champion Illawarra. Kudos to the Hayes family for yet again being prepared to sell a good one in the interest of breed progress. The decision was made to cancel the calf day for 2019 due to low entries. We will be working hard to ensure that this gets back up and running as strong as ever in 2020. The value of the On Farm Challenge competition comes to the fore in a tough climate, with entries just as strong as ever, allowing for the best cows in the state to have their day in the sun regardless of whether they ever set foot in a show ring. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find someone willing and able to take on the mammoth task of judging this competition. Thanks must go to Lindsay Marshall for getting the job done in 2018. In May we ventured to South West Victoria for a meeting and herd inspection at the developing herd of Amor Illawarra’s owned by the Heath Family. It was good to see some new faces in attendance. The South West is an area of great potential for the breed, although as yet we haven’t been able to get real traction in the area. It seems that just as we gain some new breeders we lose a couple as well. On a positive note the Bailey’s and Breen’s have both maintained ownership of some animals and so are certainly not lost from the breed entirely. Thanks to my committee, especially Raymond Parker for not only his effectiveness as Secretary/Treasurer, but also for his organisational efforts. Thanks also to any members that have taken the time to attend meetings during the year. In the year ahead I am looking forward to kicking off our youth initiative to promote and encourage participation of our youth at shows. Michael Tuhan Mid Rivers Branch Presidents Report 2019 In what has been a very challenging year Financially/Weather wise as this treacherous dry pattern rolls on. Our members have had to make some hard and sometimes heartbreaking decisions. We say farwell to Peter Notley for his efforts around the Kempsey area, being a dryland dairy just got the better of his feeding situation. Farrer faced with a 0% allocation made an early decision and parked their herd at Creighton Park & Hurlstone, hoping to restart when the weather becomes favourable. The local shows were a highlight again with Nicole & Shane Debraceny gaining Supreme Cow at Taree with Silverleigh Cindy 93 and Res Supreme Junior to Joel Dorries with a Panorama Empress Hfr. At Wauchope a 11 year old Kinchela Miss Ruby claimed the Champion Cow Honor with the Debraceney's awarded the Junior & Intermediate. However in the Interbreed awards The IDW Champion 2013 cow missed the Supreme by a very close margin of 1pt. I would like to mention that Miss Ruby's Parader was dressed in dirty, flouro coloured work clothes that didn't help her presentation. I was very privileged to adjudicate at Kempsey where Greg Osbourne gained the two Junior awards and for the fourth year in a row Peter Rosten was awarded Supreme Cow with yet another Mocha Flowergirl 2. What an absoulutley fabulous family line Peter has to play with. In November the branch held a Top Quality meeting at Joel Dorries where all our issues to cover were well resolved. We saw a very impressive herd of 130 cows, Joel only has been dairying on his own for 3 years and with great help from Panorama Illawarras and other notable Illawarra studs he is establishing an excellent future! We held another meeting in May at Denman to coincide with the state conference attended by our fellow breeders from the l&S. After a very good and lengthy discussion at NSW State & MR Branch level we would like to advise Federal Council that the MR Branch Will Not support a sale of the building asset. Last word is of a Big thankyou to Luke Miller our Secratery. Kindest Regards Brian Parker President