Milk prices might be on the floor, but that did not deter 15,000 farming folk from heading to one of the highlights in their calendar, the Virginia Agricultural Show.

Now in its 74th year, the Cavan show has lost none of its lustre, with the Diageo Baileys Irish Champion Cow contest featuring alongside showjumping, fashion shows and prizes for such treasures as the best marrow and the longest carrot.

Every vantage point was taken, as hundreds gathered from mid-afternoon for the judging of the ultimate cow pageant.

Judge Edward Griffiths, from Yorkshire, was effusive about the qualities the champion should possess. The perfect rump, a silky feminine coat, fabulous legs and feet, and bloom in her udder were among the traits he was looking for.

The winner should also be “full of vitality, have sweetness of the teat, show strength in the front end and depth in the rear . . . I think anyone looking in the ring could admire the quality of these cows, who would have collectively produced 90 tonnes of milk in their lifetime. I think they deserve a round of applause,” Griffiths told the crowd, who duly obliged.

Cow hairdresser

Behind the scenes, Steve McLoughlin, from Co Kildare, a cow hairdresser and beautician was busy backcombing the tail of one of the competing cows. He has been tending to nine cows and has been in Virginia since Monday to ensure they had no last-minute jitters or meltdowns.

“All of the cows arrived on Monday and are washed every day,” he said. “We use special shampoos and sprays on them to have them looking their best. We even use a special baby oil gel to highlight their udders.”

A total of 28 cows from around the country competed, but just three of what Griffiths said were some of the best dairy cows in Europe took the honours.

The €10,000 prize went to Laurelmore Duplex, owned by John Barrett, from Togher in Co Cork, in his first time competing at the Virginia show.

Baldonnel Goldwyn Sublime, owned by Cyril Dowling, from Dublin, took second place, while Evergreen Duplex, owned by Liam and Sandra Murphy, from Bagenalstown in Co Carlow, was third.

Marketing tool

Mr Barrett said the prize would prove a great marketing tool in selling his cattle. The competition was a welcome break from milking 140 cows on his 300-acre farm, he added.

Laurelmore Duplex happily posed up for the snappers and batted her eyelashes like a pro. While her call of nature may have splashed one spectator’s wellies, he decided it was forgivable for the day that was in it.

Although thrilled with his win, the issue of milk quotas, never far from farmers’ lips at the Virginia show, also exercised Mr Barrett, who described the dropping of milk prices as a “disaster” for farmers.

Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness, who presented the cup, said the issues farmers faced following the scrapping of milk quotas would need to be tackled. But, she added,"milk quotas did not save us in 2009 when we had a similar crash in prices; they wouldn't save us from this crisis now".