Felicity likes nothing better than a good lick and a cuddle and her penchant for following owner Gemma Otton around their Bega dairy farm has landed her in the national spotlight.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The four-year-old crossbred cow has been named Miss February in the 2017 Legendairy online calendar, as part of Dairy Australia’s celebration of the special bond Australia’s Legendairy farmers have with their animals.
When Ms Otton and her husband Tom started leasing their farm Willowview in March last year and purchased the existing herd, Felicity was quick to claim her stake as a favourite cow.
“Felicity has always been a character and I have quite a soft spot for her,” Ms Otton said.
“When we went to view the herd she followed us around for cuddles the whole time.”
Felicity also likes having Ms Otton’s undivided attention.
“When she sees me in the cow-yard she’ll push through all the cows to come for a cuddle and bashes anyone who tries to get in the way!” she said.
The Legendairy calendar photo came about through the cow’s constant quest for attention.
Felicity has always been a character and I have quite a soft spot for her.
- Gemma Otton, Bega dairy farmer
“We went to check our on-heat cows and Felicity followed me around as usual,” Ms Otton said.
“I grabbed my phone for a selfie with her and I snapped this instead.
“She’s a very photogenic cow so it was pretty easy to get a good photo of her.”
Both now aged 24, the Ottons have had a tough induction to dairying, but are starting to see the benefits of their decision to enter the industry.
“This is the first farm we leased and it was a tough six months or so, but everything is working out and is settling down now,” Ms Otton said.
“When we first started out we had the first milk price drop.
“Tom and I did everything ourselves, we couldn’t afford to have workers, so we were working seven days a week.
“But now we’ve got a bit ahead of our debt and it’s a lot easier.”
Mr Otton’s family has a beef farm down the road from Willowview and he previously managed a Jersey farm for four years.
“We decided we wanted to go out on our own; being 23 it was hard to get our foot in the door but we got there,” Ms Otton said.
“We love the family side of it.
“My two-year-old daughter Sophia is with us every day on the farm and it's a great way for her to grow up.”
The Bega Cheese suppliers hope to transition their herd to mostly Jerseys, but at the moment they’re milking about 150 Holsteins, Jerseys and crossbreds.
While there is no prize specifically for Felicity, “she will probably get an extra scratch and a cuddle,” Ms Otton said.