Harry Dodd from Jindivick was the 2025 Holstein Australia-UK youth exchange scholar, has his own registered Holstein cows and enjoys selecting the best for showing and breeding.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
Harry Dodd is one of a new generation of young dairy farmers who are taking on farming with passion, dedication and a global perspective.
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He also has his own cows in his family’s Master Breeder’s Starcrest Holsteins herd.
Harry grew up on the dairy farm of his parents, Danielle and Hayden, at Jindivick, Victoria.
He left school in 2025, after completing Certificate II in Agriculture at TAFE Gippsland during Year 10, then the Certificate III in Dairy Production.
He also took up a school-based apprenticeship while he was still at school, working on the family farm for two days a week for two years.
“Now that I’ve finished school, I’ll be working full-time on the farm,” Harry said.
“I feel like there’s something every day for you to do, and you can never get bored of it.
“They can be long days, but they’re always an enjoyable day.
“I like working with my cows and watching them improve over generations of breeding, and I like the challenge of having to pick out what bulls I want to use on my cows.”
Harry has his own registered Holstein herd under the prefix ‘HL Starcrest’.
Harry and his sister, Violet, own their own Holstein cows among the milking herd.
“I have 40 milkers and 30 dry heifers under my own prefix,” he said.
“My first heifer was out of one of mum’s and dad’s great cows, Starcrest Roy Petal, she was an All-Australian five-year-old cow.
“We were each given a daughter from her.
“A few years ago we both started making our own mating decisions.”
Harry and Violet have achieved significant success in showing cattle.
In 2024, Violet bred and exhibited a junior champion at the IDW Youth Show and won the All-Australian Youth Calf class.
Harry won the senior two-year-old class at the Victorian Winter Fair and was successful at the Gippsland All Breeds Dairy Youth Show.
“I love working with cows,” Harry said.
“There’s the challenge of working with the cows to just see how good you can get them — like, the transformation from when you first pick them out in the paddock to when they parade at the show.”
The family shows cattle at IDW at the start of the year, then their local Berwick show, the Gippsland Dairy Youth Show and the Victorian Winter Fair.
“Showing at IDW is a great way to exhibit your cows to the world, and everyone gets to see what you have and the families you’re working with.
“It’s a great way to see what everyone else is working with, and how different bulls have worked for other people.
“You also learn a lot going to IDW and watching how people get their cows ready.”
Harry travelled in spring 2025 to the United Kingdom as a scholar for Holstein Australia’s Australia-UK youth exchange program.
Harry began his tour at UK Dairy Day, one of the largest organised shows in the country.
He attended the All Breeds All Britain Calf Show and the National Holstein Show.
Holstein Young Breeders organise the ABAB Calf Show to showcase the skills of young dairy breeders showing their calves.
“The exchange program was a really good experience to see all the different dairy operations and how they operate.
“The calf show had to be prepared entirely by youth. I thought we need to try and get a show like that in Australia, of that scale.”
Harry travelled to Scotland and Northern Ireland to visit herds on farms, then the dairy show held at the Royal Bath and West Showground.
“At Slatabogie Holsteins in County Derry, Northern Ireland, I stayed with the Paul family, and I got to work with some of their sale heifers.
“In Scotland, I was working with a herd called Blythbridge Holsteins and it was quite a busy time of year for them, making silage and getting ready for a show in November called AgriScot.”
Harry preparing cattle for the show ring.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
In the UK, Harry was hosted by Daniel Weaver, from Staffordshire.
Daniel was recently selected as the UK scholar for the Holstein Young Breeders Australian Exchange, and will attend IDW, the Dairy Youth Camp and visit Australian dairy farms.
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