Competition success provides cattle breeding boost for Lancashire dairy farming partnership

The arrival of Styche Zenith Cactus 2 at Greenhurst Farm, Samlesbury, near Blackburn should herald an outstanding new cow family for the Channel Bank herd, according to dairy farmer John Wallbank.

Won by the Wallbank and Young farming partnership during a day out at the Dairy Event earlier this year, Cactus was bred by the Seaton family of Styche, Market Drayton, and is sired by the only UK-proven Durham son Ocean-View Zenith. Cactus has four generations of VG or EX cows behind her and boasts a dam sired by Duregal Astre Starbuck and a grand-dam sired by Walkerbrae Eclipse.

"We have taken a renewed interest in pedigree cattle breeding in recent years, so this success has come as a real bonus," said John Wallbank. "We are currently averaging around 10,000 litres from our 145 cows, so we believe Cactus – and hopefully her progeny in years to come – will fit very well with the rest of the Channel Bank herd and help lift our performance even further."

Cactus was the prize in a competition run jointly by Semen World and Dairy Farmer magazine at the 2005 Dairy Event, which was held at the National Agricultural Centre at Stoneleigh. Entrants were required to guess the birth date of the calf, which was displayed on the stand, and John himself came up with the correct answer of 9 July 2005.

Milking daughters of Ocean-View Zenith provided the highlight of Semen World's own Dairy Event exhibit this year. Available exclusively through Semen World in the UK, Zenith now has an outstanding UK proof based on 127 daughters in 71 herds. He is the premier UK-proven Durham son for type and one of the best sires available for foot and leg improvement. From a production perspective, Zenith offers positive protein deviations and his somatic cell count score makes him an exceptional improver.