Dairy cows strut on the beauty pageant stage

Nearly a hundred qualified dairy cows, including one that has given birth to three litters, are wearing bows, neatly trimmed, and have their nails done to participate in the beauty pageant in Moc Chau town ( Son La ), on the morning of October 15.

On the morning of October 15, the 17th Miss Dairy Cow Contest was held in Moc Chau (Son La). The event aims to encourage and create a strong competitive movement for local dairy farmers.

At 7am, preparations for the "contestants" are almost complete. Each household owner usually chooses 1-2 of the most beautiful cows in the herd to compete. In order for their cows to win the crown, the owners invest in shaving, bathing, trimming their nails, brushing their fur...

The cows that the owners bring to the competition usually have good milk yield, appearance, and number of births. In addition to the beauty pageant, the competition also has other categories such as first runner-up, second runner-up, cow with the best milk yield, dry cow, weaned calf, etc.

With the nature of exchanging and encouraging people to participate in economic production, the event attracted a large number of people in the region to watch. The Miss Dairy Cow Award takes place annually in October, however, due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, it was interrupted for 3 years, and this time it was held again.

At 9:30 a.m., the competition began. 18 cows that passed the preliminary round took turns walking in front of the stage for the judges and the public to admire and score.

The contestants were escorted by a team of farm staff. Many humorous situations occurred. Dairy cows are shy animals and rarely go out, so some cows were afraid of crowds and just stood still on stage, making the "bodyguards" laugh.

One of the most popular candidates is the "weaned calf" award because they are quite funny.

The outstanding criteria for selecting the winning cows are that they must possess all the typical characteristics of purebred Holstein Friesian cows: beautiful appearance, healthy body, harmonious body structure, four sturdy legs, large stature. In particular, the growth and milk production indicators must be superior to other cows.

In the end, the crown belonged to the cow of the owner Pham Thi Nhuan (from the Dao Garden 1 unit). This contestant was born in 2019, her father is from the US, her mother is Dutch - Cuban. The cow weighs 682 kg, has given birth to 3 litters, and has a milk yield of 12,655 kg in 305 days. The criteria for appearance, growth level, and milk yield are all record-breaking.

Mrs. Pham Thi Nhuan shared: "This is the first year that my family's cow has won the crown as a "beauty queen". Both my husband and I are very emotional. When I registered for the contest, I only thought that I would participate to respond to the livestock movement with the people, but I did not expect such a high achievement". Mrs. Nhuan also added that her family's economy used to be difficult. Since raising dairy cows, life has been much more stable. She has paid off her debts and has the conditions to send her children to school.