A&P Show winner
Jim Nalder with Longsdale Donor Tania: “My grandfather did a lot of showing, and my uncle and father were involved as well. I’m happy to keep the tradition going.” Photo: Marg Braggins.
Jim Nalder from Longsdale Farm in Motupipi was delighted to win the champion Friesian and champion all-breeds trophies at last week’s A&P Show.
“I’ve had cows win breed prizes with Friesians before, but I’ve never had one win the all-breeds,” said Jim. “It’s a real honour.”
Jim’s winning cow, Longsdale Donor Tania, is a seven-year-old. She won the Australian Challenge Trophy and the Supreme Champion’s Green Ribbon.
“The Tania part of her name comes from the cow’s family that goes right back to 1918, when my grandfather started with pedigrees on the farm. Since then we’ve kept breeding back to that family. It’s a matter of trying to find the right bull. I used a sire from the CRV Ambreed selection and picked him on type points. That’s where the Donor in the name comes from.”
Jim has been a life member of the Golden Bay A&P Association since the 1990s, having served on the association’s committee since 1968. He says it is a long-standing family tradition to support the show, though he believes that more and more ways have to be found to keep the public’s interest.
“My grandfather did a lot of showing and my uncle and father were involved as well. I’m happy to keep the tradition going.”
Jim very fondly remembers the 1980s, when all the animal classes attracted many more entries than they do today.
“It’s partly to do with the commercialisation of farming. Where there once might have been five or ten farmers, there might only be one very big operation now. It’s the same with the committee too. When I first joined there would have been 30 to 40 people on the committee but now we’re down to a hard core of 15 to 20 and there are not many young people involved.”
Showing Longsdale Donor Tania was not too much trouble to Jim.
“I just clipped her up and washed,” he said. “She already knew how to lead because she’s been to the show before, many years ago, as a calf with my granddaughter Taylor.”
Longsdale Donor Tania has recovered nicely from her day out at the show and has returned to work in the herd.
Neil Wilson
