Success at International Dairy week for Forbes dairy farmer Cassandra Kath
21/3/2018
Cassandra along with her husband Andrew won the Juvenile Champion title of the Brown Swiss show with their heifer. The couple from Forbes NSW are proud of their achievements at the event. Cassandra grew up in a farming family, but her family owned a small hobby farm that worked in timber on the NSW central coast. She notes that growing up in Ourimbah on that little farm was far different from her life here in Forbes on the farm.
As a teenager, Cassandra Kath did not find farming appealing. However, twenty-five years later she is a successful Legendairy (sic) farmer and stud breeder. Kath's hard work has paid off in the form of a major title at the International Dairy Week held early this year.Cassandra along with her husband Andrew won the Juvenile Champion title of the Brown Swiss show with their heifer. The couple from Forbes NSW are proud of their achievements at the event.
Cassandra grew up in a farming family, but her family owned a small hobby farm that worked in timber on the NSW central coast. She notes that growing up in Ourimbah on that little farm was far different from her life here in Forbes on the farm.
"Until my mid-teens, my parents would have thought of me as the least likely to be in agriculture," she said.
It was when attending Gosford High School that things changed for Cassandra. She became involved with their small Jersey stud program. She indicates that it was year 9 of high school and she and a friend decided to give the cattle cub a go. They joined the show team, and Cassandra said she found her thing there and then.
Her interest in showing grew when she was taken in by some local Brown Swiss cattle breeders. Being guided by cattle breeders, she grew to love Brown Swiss cows and from then on through the rest of high school and university she took every opportunity she got to work on dairy farms. She notes that she enjoyed the process especially the showing part and was happy for all the friendships that she gained in the industry from her experiences.
It was her love of showing cattle that served as a matchmaker when she met her now husband Andrew at the Ekka Royal Show in Brisbane. Andrew was a Toowoomba dairy farmer, and they both married then purchased his family farm before moving to Forbes which offered them a more substantial property. Three years ago they started their Forbes dairy farm with 15 cows and had since built a mixed herd of 400 cows.
The showing was placed on the back burner for a while as Andrew and Cassandra raised their three children while building up their farm.
"Our proudest achievement is moving to this farm," she said. "The great thing about dairy is how quickly you can grow when you're committed and passionate, and we've met a great network of supportive people."
"You have to develop so many skills. It's not just harvesting milk; if you've worked on a dairy farm, you can go and do anything."
Cassandra and Andrew have now had the chance to reap the rewards of all their hard work thanks to the award of their heifer. This major title of Juvenile Champion of the Brown Swiss show was her first win at the International Dairy Week and an exciting win and time for the couple.
