‘Cream of the crop’: Loka Manu to judge against nation’s best at Brisbane Ekka

The 18-year-old is one of seven finalists from across Australia and New Zealand who will compete for the national crown at the Royal Brisbane Show in August.

Loka Manu, 18, was one of seven finalists chosen from Australia and New Zealand to judge dairy cattle at the Brisbane Ekka next month. Photo: Lyndsay Douglas

An 18-year-old Kandanga cattle judge is one of seven dairy cattle finalists to compete for the national crown at the Brisbane Ekka in August.

Loka Manu, a Gympie Show dairy cattle judge, is one of two Queensland finalists chosen to judge dairy cattle by the Agricultural Shows of Australia, where he will compete against other judges from Australia and New Zealand for the National Young Judges and Paraders Competition.

In an interview posted on the website agshowsaustralia, Loka revealed his story of how he came to be living in the Mary Valley after growing up in Taranaki in New Zealand.

“I had always known dairy has been a great passion of mine. I originate from Taranaki New Zealand on the west coast of the North Island where I was born into the dairy industry. I have been in the dairy and milking cows since before I could walk and spent a lot of my childhood on my aunty and uncle’s farm,” Loka said.

“These days I’m currently working my way to herd management and in ten years I’d like to still be dairy farming. I started to compete out of pure love and passion for dairy cows. I absolutely love cows which made me passionate about competing. As a young child I was in and out of foster and family homes which were quite rough. The dairy industry was my therapy. Without it I would have no idea where it would be.

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“My uncle, Kane Bretherton, in New Zealand really got me into the dairy industry since a young age. He taught me a lot of what I know today, especially in the dairy. In 2018, I moved to Queensland from Melbourne where I went to school to work with my grandfather Simon Durdle. I was offered a full time job with Steven Ledger (a former national young judges competitions) who milks and shows a herd of Illawarra dairy cows who noticed my passion for the dairy industry.

Loka Manu, 18, was one of seven finalists chosen from Australia and New Zealand to judge dairy cattle at the Brisbane Ekka next month. Photo: Lyndsay Douglas

“He invited me to my first show and I instantly fell in love with showing cows. While I was at Malanda educational dairy camp I was fortunate to work with Colin Daley (Far North Queensland Holstein breeder and judge) and Phillip Henske (former Holstein Australia classifier) who taught me about the parts of dairy cows and what an ideal cow should look like. They both dramatically impacted me and my knowledge of dairy cows.

“I’ve been following local and royal shows for the last three years as a dairy cattle exhibitor and fitter. I’ve even taken cows to Brisbane Royal in 2019. Steven Ledger introduced me to showing cattle in 2018 when I undertook a traineeship with the Ledger family.

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“Steve, who has previously won the dairy cattle judge national title, was a huge influence on judging cattle. I started judging dairy cattle at the Gympie Show in 2018. I was fortunate enough to attend a judging school in Malanda, in far north Queensland which, with my mentors, have created my success. Between the 18/19 show season I attended that educational dairy camp which taught me an incredible amount about judging dairy cows. I started competing for my love of dairy cattle which I now take very seriously.

“The best moment of my showing career was at Brisbane Royal in 2019. I was lucky enough to win the youth team challenge, RNA and State young judges, as well as placing third in the state paraders competition and then winning reserve junior champion with a Illawarra heifer during the dairy show.

“My most embarrassing moment would have been at International Dairy Week. I was parading a heifer in the sale in front of thousands of people both in person and on the live stream. The heifer was spooked and jumped. I only let go of the heifer because everyone told me to but I had been thrown into the auctioneers table which caused the front of it to collapse on me while I was on top of pot plants. I was pretty badly hurt but I just got up and wiped the sawdust off my jeans.”

Agricultural Shows Australia chairman Dr Rob Wilson said the national competition was designed to recognise new talent in livestock judging and presenting nationwide.

“These young people are the future of agricultural show competitions which are crucial to the continual improvement of Australia’s food and fibre,” he said.

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“The national competition is a coveted opportunity to grow personally and professionally by practising skills against the cream of the crop.”

Queensland Agricultural Shows president Kerri Robertson said judging in a dairy cattle competition it is important for the assessor to relate the form of the animal to its function.

“These young judges will be looking for structure, soundness and strong milk production attributes in the dairy cows they are judging,” He said.

“Entrants use their skills to adjudicate the placings of the stock and then must articulate their approach.”

The competition will run at the Brisbane Ekka from August 7 to August 9, 2021.

Originally published as ‘Cream of the crop’: Loka Manu to judge against nation’s best at Brisbane Ekka