The Exhibition Dairy program at the Royal Adelaide Show enables hundreds of cows to be milked, with the milk being purchased by a local processor.
The unique program has been successfully running for more than 30 years and consists of a 12 unit herringbone-style commercial dairy and a viewing platform that allows showgoers to watch the action from above.
“Prior to the Exhibition Dairy being built, farmers used to milk their cows individually and take their milk away or dispose of it,” said Greg Klatt, Exhibition Dairy Manager.
“The Exhibition Dairy provides an opportunity for the cows at The Show to be milked and, because it’s a commercial dairy, it’s an opportunity for farmers to sell the milk, due to our contract with Lactalis.
“It’s also an educational program as the farmers can speak to the general public as they are milking and answer some questions, and we organise education talks for showgoers about the South Australian dairy industry. So, it’s a win-win.”
The dairy cattle competition draws a large number of entries from across the country and it’s among the largest Royal Show competitions in Australia.
Holstein was the feature dairy breed in 2024, and competitions are also open for Guernsey, Ayrshire, Jersey and Illawarra dairy cattle. All breed champions are eligible to compete for the coveted Supreme Champion Dairy Cow of Show.
This year, 106 cows were milked twice a day during The Show and more than 19,000 litres of milk was sold to Lactalis. A McColl’s Transport tanker picks up the milk each night from the Leader Street entrance after The Show has closed.
“Taking animals to The Show is not a cheap exercise and when farmers have their cows at The Show, their milk’s not going into their tank at home. So, it’s a way for the exhibitor to recoup some of that money. And our processor pays us a commercial rate for the milk.”
Two weeks before The Show begins each year, Agri Dairies is employed to set up the dairy and thoroughly clean it.
“Then during the show, we have an automatic wash system. I have a person helping me out called Cameron McDonald, who is the Assistant Dairy Manager. Cameron and I do all the day-to-day cleaning and checks,” Greg said.
“Then after the milk tanker has been at about 11pm to pick up the milk, Cameron comes through and cleans the dairy again. The truck drivers put a rinse through the bulk tank for us, but Cameron cleans the tank down before we start milking the next morning.
“Agri Dairies supplies us with all the chemicals we need for cleaning. We use a different cleaning regime in the mornings compared to at night, which is pretty standard across the industry. And the automatic system runs the chemical through the lines, which makes it much easier.”
Greg and Cameron keep a close eye on milk quality and address any issues promptly. “We thought some contaminated milk might have gone into the tank last year, but we took a sample out of the tank and took it straight down to our processor to get tested and it was clear,” Greg said.
“The animal in question must have been right at the end of the withholding period so the milk was fine. But our system picked up a potential issue which shows the system is working.”
The Exhibition Dairy has a strict herd testing policy and any cows with high cell count or on medications aren’t milked in the commercial dairy.
“We’re pretty strict, but all the exhibitors appreciate it because the farmers don’t get paid if anything goes wrong with the commercial milk. And we have a rule that if the contamination leads back to a particular cow, that farmer pays for it. So, the exhibitors are very careful with animal health.”
The Exhibition Diary program is well supported by the Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society of SA (RA&HS).
“We’re very fortunate that the RA&HS defrays the cost of maintaining the dairy. If anything needs repairing or replacing, they pay for it,” Greg said.
“And we have excellent support from the dairy exhibitors. We have open communication with the exhibitors around the judging program. We’re very flexible because that’s critical when you’re showing animals, especially an in-milk cow.”
Find out more about the dairy program at The Show here.