Polished, shaved and a piece of fake hair on the tail: cows show off at Wintershow

Farmers from all over North Holland came to Middenmeer to show off their dairy cattle. And the name Winter Show says it all: it is organized in the winter. This time it was only postponed by a cow flu that broke out early this year. “But fortunately that turned out not too bad, so we can still do it today,” says Kees Conijn, secretary of the Winter Show.

The animals, divided into different categories, are viewed in a large ring by a professional jury that came all the way from Friesland today. To the spectators they all look like beautiful cows, but the jury pays attention to details. “The cow has to make a nice stride, have strong legs, udders with many veins and the teats have to sit right underneath. It has to be an example cow,” explains Kees Conijn.

Care

However, there is much more to it. Farmers are often busy weeks in advance to get the cow as ‘nice’ as possible. “Six weeks in advance I kept them separate and fed them something else. And four days before this day I shaved them,” says Sjoerd van der Helm, who himself participates with five cows.

And on the day itself there is still a lot of brushing and cleaning every time the cow has done a big errand. Only the milking is postponed as long as possible that day. “I milked them for the last time late last night. That way the udder stays full all around”. explains Sjoerd. And that is something that the jury also pays attention to.

What also stood out were the hairpieces that various farmers were working with. A kind of hair extensions that are attached to the tail of a cow. The reason for this: there are many cows that are missing their hair. “We milk with robots at home and then there is a chance that the tails will get stuck in the engines. Then you have to shave them off,” says dairy farmer Sjoerd.

The photo below shows a cow with such a piece of fake hair (text continues below the photo).

This year about 65 cows traveled to Middenmeer. “Slightly less than in previous years,” says Kees Conijn. And that could just be due to the nitrogen crisis, the secretary thinks. “Farmers are with their heads elsewhere. It’s not a rose scent and moonshine right now.”

But this problem was not discussed today, because the visitors and participants have been looking forward to the inspection for a long time. “It really is a holiday for everyone who loves beautiful cows,” says the secretary of the Winter Show proudly.

And that there are beautiful cows is certain. Participant Sjoerd has taken a good look around and is impressed. “The competition is very high, I think North Holland has very good cows,” he concludes.