ILLAWARRA CATTLE SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED
QUEENSLAND BRANCH PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2011
It is with pleasure that I present the annual report of the ICSA Queensland Branch. The year under review saw some of the extremes of weather possible. Widespread flooding during the Christmas New Year period caused widespread devastation to many of our members. The continual wet weather caused crop losses, some stock losses and associated herd health problems. Whether it is a measure of the resilience of our breed or the resilience of our breeders but within a matter of months many of those most severely affected were reporting that their herds were going better than ever.
Members were saddened during the year by the passing of life member Clarrie Marquardt OAM. Clarrie’s contribution as a premier breeder and involvement in the administration of the breed earned him life membership of the ICSA. His passing reminds us of the long association he had with the late Dave Savage and the debt of gratitude we owe to these gentlemen in the administration of our breed in Queensland and federally. Another former federal president Gordon Downes also passed away after a short illness. We also mourn the passing of Ray Daley from Maleny.
I find it almost amazing that after years of post deregulation upheaval, factory closures, constant price uncertainty that our membership has remained stable. On the other hand we would certainly welcome enquiries from younger men and women wanting to milk big herds of Illawarra cattle. The four clubs within the branch continue to function, meet regularly and carry on the good work of promoting our breed.
In previous years I have listed the major prize winners at our two royal shows. As these have been documented on our website and are still available there I will instead congratulate the various winners on their success. At both these shows we saw interstate judges making their first Queensland royal show appearance namely Mr Paul Ringland from Bega and Mr David Moxey from Rolland Plains. For those with a sense of nostalgia it was good once again to see Sunny View exhibiting the champion cow at Brisbane. Mention should be made of the huge effort of Greg and Bronwyn English in exhibiting at Brisbane. Also at Brisbane it was our pleasure to have Mikayla Krause, the USA exchangee with us.
I attended the Malanda show where Keith Dorries was the judge. A very good show was had and the pleasing feature was the number of younger members exhibiting very good cattle. A visit to a couple of farms in the district reinforces my view that the breed is in very good hands on the Tablelands.
During the year some of our members received special accolades. Life membership of the state branch was awarded to Harold Thompson in recognition of the contribution he has made both with the Alfa Vale herd and his work on state and federal committees over many years. Matt Henry received the John and Geraldine Nahrung Young Ambassador Award. This is not an annual award but rather when someone of outstanding achievement is recognised. Matt will be contesting the national final of the young judge’s competition in Adelaide. We owe a debt of gratitude to John and Geraldine for their continued support of the branch especially in relation to youth activities. Simon Tognola won this year’s young judge’s competition with Will Smith third. Simon will be eligible for next year’s final.
Once again some outstanding production results have been achieved. The Michael Ledger Memorial Shield was once again won by JP Bourke & Company of Gladfield with their cow Myrtleholme Glenda 16 who produced 11270 litres of milk and 932 kgs of fat plus protein. Several state records were broken during the year. The Priebbenow partnership broke all three sections of the Junior 2 records while Chelmonte Farming took out the Senior 2 milk and protein, the Junior 3 protein and fat and Senior 3 milk and protein and Senior 4 fat. JP Bourke & Company were the winners of the top ten cow competition.
The ongoing problems of registration and showing regulations have once again surfaced with discussion foreshadowed at the forthcoming federal AGM. I personally would have thought it best to let the changes made at last years meeting settle and give those changes a chance to evolve before once again tampering with the system. While those changes may appear extreme they do have the desired effect of returning to a higher percentage of Illawarra blood.
On a personal note it was my privilege to accompany Keith Dorries on a trip to the USA last October which included a visit to the World Dairy Expo at Madison. Keith was thrilled to see progeny of Panorama bulls at the Expo and on farms that we visited. Regular updates from the United States show that Royal Treble is going very well and may in fact be the leading sire in latest surveys. Subsequent visits to the UK by Geoff Cochrane and Neville Mueller reinforced my opinion the need for greater cooperation between the various breed societies. To do this as well as promotion within Australia I believe we need a federal secretary whose role is promotion as distinct from the work of the LBC.
The treasurer will give his report once again showing that we remain in a healthy financial position. We have continued our usual promotions and advertising and this year will break new ground by advertising in the American Milking Shorthorn journal and American Red and White Association journal.
The branch committee has a blend of youth and experience and continues in its efforts to promote the breed. Special thanks must go to Alison Teese for her efforts as publicity officer. Betty Ledger, our secretary performs her role with distinction. Her efforts in establishing the web site are to be commended for this provides an international window for Australian Illawarras. I personally thank Betty for her work as secretary.
Thank you for your attendance here today and my thanks to the South East Queensland club for hosting the meeting and the provision of morning tea and lunch.
RA LESTER
