Casey Treloar’s real job might be working as a reporter, presenter and producer for 7News, but she has found a way to fit her love of dairy cows into her work/life balance and she couldn’t be happier.
Not only is Casey still breeding cows and loving every minute of it, she recently participated in Holstein Australia’s National Judging Day in Victor Harbor in her home state, where she joined fellow participants Courtney Afford and Georgia Sieben qualifying for the National Judges Panel.
“It has been such a privilege to be able balance the enjoyment of both my career and my hobby, but that is one of the best things about the dairy industry,” Casey said.
“I was going to attend the school five or six years ago but this time around the event was held just five minutes from my Mum and Dad’s and the opportunity was too great to miss.”
Casey’s love of cows, showing and judging, goes back many years.
Her passion for showing began when she started competing in junior judging competitions where she often placed in the top three.
The turning point in understanding the fundamentals of judging came after completing a dairy youth scholarship when she was 18 and began judging at some of the smaller country shows during the past decade.
Making the National Judges Panel will allow her to step up to the next level.
“It has always been my dream to make it to the panel at a royal show one day and do some top level judging,” she said.
“It is always an honour to judge at any show of course, but I am looking forward to one day reaching some high calibre shows.”
Casey said the three-day experience at the judging school was intense but extremely worthwhile.
“We had some fascinating lectures learning about the history of the shape of cows and how breeding has changed them over the years; how cows move and blend together, it was amazing,” Casey said.
She also learnt how to break down a cow from a photo.
“Technology is going to play a huge role in the future of dairy and learning how to correctly look at a cow in a photographic competition is essential.”
The opportunity to learn from a group of judges with years of experience was also extremely beneficial.
“The wealth of knowledge the over-judges had, their guidance and the way they challenged us to learn and understand how placings work was unbelievable — they have so much knowledge on showmanship and why it is important to be a good, ethical judge,” Casey said.
Casey said to join the judging panel with two other women was exciting.
“It’s great to see women acknowledged and it is great for the industry too, there are just so many opportunities if you are willing to put yourself out there,” she said.
When Casey’s family left the dairy industry she hung on to a few her favourite cows, now she has a expanded her team to include 15 show cows across three breeds including Holsteins, Ayrshire and Jersey.
“I get a real kick out of showing my own animals along with judging,” she said.
“I really thought I would grow out of this one day, but here I am still breeding some amazing cows, and loving the dairy industry as much as I did years ago.”
Casey said it was heartening to participate in a recent calf show in South Australia which had one of the biggest days in the history of the event.
“There were over 70 animals in the show which is great for the future of the industry,” she said.
Casey considers herself lucky to have a job outside the dairy industry but still show cows under her own right.
“There are still opportunities for you in the dairy industry even if you don’t own your own farm, and that is one of the best things about the dairy industry, you can always be involved and it really is such a great industry,” Casey said.