An event that recognises the finest Jersey cows in Australia is being relaunched with a new name and format.

Jersey Australia has changed the make-up of its on-farm challenge which has been consolidated into a national competition.

The former Great Southern and Great Northern events have ended with club and regional winners now going directly to the national title.

The event will be known as the Genetics Australia Great Australian Challenge with Genetics Australia becoming naming rights sponsor for the next three years.

Jersey Australia general manager Glen Barrett said it was time to focus on the national title.

“The Great Southern and Great Northern events served the organisation well for many years but with changes at club level we felt it was better to build value into the Great Australian title,” Mr Barrett said.

“It will still operate the same at a club level but we have consolidated the competition and removed the intermediary stages. It ultimately brings the Great Australian into the primary focus of the on-farm challenge and we believe this will lead to stronger engagement at a national level.”

The change will enable clubs to better schedule local events throughout the year rather than building up to the Great Southern and Northern challenges that were traditionally judged mid-November.

Winners of the Genetics Australia Great Australian Challenge will be announced at the Jersey Australia annual awards night at Noosa on May 28, 2026. The Challenge is expected to attract 2000-2500 entries from across Australia.

The on-farm challenge is one of the most popular events for Jersey farmers and has been running for about 25 years.  “Everything is done on farm so judges see the cows in their natural working environment,” Mr Barrett said. “It’s straight out of the paddock and into the competition.”

Mr Barrett said Jersey Australia was pleased to continue and extend its partnership with Genetics Australia. While involved at club level, this is the first time Genetics Australia has sponsored the Great Australian challenge.
Genetics Australia CEO Anthony Shelly said the Challenge was a good match for the company.

“Jersey breeders are an important part of our business, especially on the international stage, and this is an opportunity to contribute to an event that recognises some of the best Jersey cows in the Australian breeding program,” Mr Shelly said.

Australian jerseys cows will be showcased to a global audience with the World Jersey Conference coming in 2025.

The World Jersey Cattle Bureau has agreed to host its annual conference in Australia for the first time since 2011.

The conference will start April 6 and finish at the Royal Sydney Show Jersey judging on April 21. A preliminary itinerary has been developed and will take visitors through Victoria and the NSW south coast, starting at the Gippsland Jersey Autumn Fair and visiting Western Victoria before moving to Northern Victoria where the Dairy’s Finest sale will be part of the program.

The delegation will then continue to Bega and along the south coast to Sydney.

Up to 100 people from across the globe, including Europe, North America, New Zealand and Asia are expected to join local Jersey farmers on the tour.

The conference was last held here in 2011 when Australia stepped in after the tsunami hit original host Japan. It had been planned to return to Australia in 2021 but was deferred because of COVID-19. This year the conference is in Denmark and it was held in Guatemala in 2023 and virtually from Rwanda in 2022.

One of the highlights of the Australian program will be a Future Leaders Forum with Jersey organisations around the world being invited to sponsor a potential future leader to attend.

Jersey Australia general manager Glen Barrett said hosting the conference would build on the international marketing done in recent years to promote Australian Jerseys.

“Part of our reason for applying to host this event is to capitalise on the global marketing we have been doing in recent years,” Mr Barrett said. “We see this as a celebration of Australian Jerseys, with a strong focus on Australian cow families and sires.

“The visitors will see some great Jerseys along the journey.”

Jersey Australia has led a joint trade site at World Dairy Expo in Madison Wisconsin, USA for the past two years which has led to improved international product recognition and sales.

“There is growing interest in the export market,” Mr Barrett said. “We had our first shipment of heifers to Indonesia last year, more heifers are about to be shipped to Pakistan, the Chinese market is growing again and there is a shipment being prepared to go to the UAE,” he said.

“There is certainly a growing market for Australian Jersey heifers and Australian genetics.”

Domestically, Jersey numbers have been increasing year-on-year and Jerseys now account for more than 15 per cent of the national herd, up from 10.5 per cent 15 years ago.

Mr Barrett predicted that interest in local Jerseys would spike after the conference. “Bringing international Jersey breeders here to see first-hand the high-quality cattle we’re breeding from high-quality Australian bulls will definitely benefit our local industry,” he said.

“The conference rotates around the world and we think we have the best Jersey cows in the world so we wanted to showcase them.

“This will be a great opportunity for Australian businesses to support the event and promote their Jersey genetics and products to the world.”

The World Jersey Cattle Bureau represents Jersey breeders, and their organisations, around the world. There are five world regions of the Bureau – Africa, Asia/Oceana, Europe, Latin America and North America. World conferences have been held since 1949.

A local committee is being formed to support the conference tour planning.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Glen Barrett 0418 466 371