Have you ever wondered how the breeding program at your farm stacks up against the best from around the world? Here is an opportunity to find out. Holstein International would like to introduce the very first International Herd Competition for milking heifers. All you have to do is take a video of three home-bred milking heifers and upload your entry to the Holstein International website. Our panel of expert judges will place these entries, with the results to be published in November.

DOUG SAVAGE

Here it is, the very first edition of the International Herd Competition, an opportunity to showcase your prefix and the results of your breeding program to Holstein enthusiasts from around the globe. And entry in this competition is entirely free. All you need do is select three outstanding home-bred first lactation heifers, calved before 2.08 years of age, and make a short video which will become your entry in the competition. Holstein International will reserve the right to edit the video for length to ensure that it has maximum appeal when it is presented on our website. In order to attract maximum attention, we recommend that your video start with a scene or picture of your farm sign, to be followed by all three animals together in a group, before focusing on each animal individually as they walk. The heifers should be filmed outdoors in natural lighting and walking on a hard surface rather than in grass. Entries will be received from the 1st of March through to the 30th of September. This extended entry period will allow you to film three of your best heifers while they are in good form.

ENTRY

Entry details will need to include the farm name, owner, the number of cows you milk, and the country. We would also like to know your social media contact details to help provide maximum exposure for your herd via the contest. For each of the three animals entered we will need the name and registration number, the date of birth, and the sire. Only home-bred heifers are eligible for entry. When you go to enter the International Herd Competition 2025 you will be sent an email with a link to submit your video. Once you upload your video, you will receive a confirmation email.

INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE

Unlike conventional shows, the International Herd Competition will allow your animals to be evaluated based on a video you record on your own farm. And best of all, it will allow the products of your breeding program to be compared with the best from other farms from countries all around the world. This is the first of its kind as a truly international competition open to all Holstein breeders from every Holstein country. Your entry video will be displayed on the Holstein International website where viewers from around the globe will be able to see your herd prefix along with the quality of animals that you produce. Coverage of this contest will also appear in the Holstein International magazine as well as in our regular social media channels. What better way is there to get international exposure for your herd than to enter this the very first International Herd Competition? l

Official Judges

For the task of evaluating and judging this first edition of the International Herd Competition we have assembled an international panel of expert judges from around the world. From Normandy in France comes a judge who is very popular at present at European shows, Luc Sassel. The world-renowned Australian auctioneer Brian Leslie from DLS Dairy Livestock Services has judged extensively within Australia and internationally. And completing our judging panel is the highly respected American judge and Holstein breeder Adam Liddle, from Liddleholme Holsteins, New York.