The resilience of Scenic Rim dairy farmers continues to inspire Brian Cox.
Even so, he was pleasantly surprised to find out Beaudesert had been named the subtropical region’s 2017 LEGENDAIRY capital.
Mr Cox is a third generation dairy farmer from Kerry, 20 kilometres south of Beaudesert. He runs the property with his parents and brother, milking 150 cows a day and producing 1.1 million litres of milk annually.
He nominated Beaudesert for Dairy Australia’s national LEGENDAIRY program, which asks people to put forward their hard-working communities in order to support and promote the industry.
Winners of regional capitals receive $2500 funding. The eight regional finalists then go on to be considered for the Australian title, which includes a prize of $7500 to go towards the community.
Mr Cox said continued dedication of Scenic Rim dairy farmers set them apart from the competition.
“As a dairy region we are resilient, we’re quite a successful region in that a lot of the farmers are still here,” he said.
“A lot of the other regions have sort of died away but Beaudesert and the local community is persisting.”
The $2500 already received will be put towards a “cow art project”. They hope to build 1.5-metre plastic cows, decorated by local schools or businesses, and then display them publicly.
Several local farmers, spread across 50 farms in the area, have been strong supporters of the project, along with Dairy Australia, whose dairy awards began in 1999 as a way to acknowledge the achievements of people who produce dairy products.
Mr Cox said he and the team that put forward the nomination, hope to present the cows at a community event, as a way to keep dairy industry awareness alive and well in Beaudesert.
What will happen if the community is crowned Australia’s LEGENDAIRY capital?
“I want to have a festival,” Mr Cox said.
“I have other farmers that have helped me do this, and supported this application with me so I would have to consult with them. This is the first step.”
