This year’s school fete on Friday, November 10 will see the Brennans provide the ‘moo’ and ‘manpower’ for a return of a previous staple of Tongala major events: cow pat lotto.
For the uninitiated, cow pat lotto involves a cow wandering around a fenced-off area of 100 evenly measured squares on a grid created by lime.
Whoever owns the square where the cow lays its first cow pat (a colloquial term for going to the toilet) will win $500 — given, of course, that all 100 squares are sold (they cost $10 apiece)
The Brennan family has been as heavily connected to education and dairy farming in Tongala as any other in the town. Julian’s wife, Louise, is a former member of school council and the parents’ club.
Julian’s younger brother Keiran also has a senior role on school council at the Catholic primary school across the street from Tongala Primary School.
Julian’s nine-year-old son, Jed, will combine with his favourite Friesian-Jersey cross milking cow to provide the foundations of the event.
Jed is a Year 3 student at Tongala Primary and has a special relationship with cow 412, who doesn’t have an official name but is first to interact with the youngest of the Brennans’ four children when he wanders into the paddock.
Four Brennan children have been educated at Tongala Primary, including Gemma, 19, 18-year-old Meg and Will, 16 in January.
Meg will actually be working at Tongala Primary next year to continue the connection of the family to the school.
Julian is one of three farming brothers, two on the southern side of Tongala and another at the family farm on the other side of town where his mother, Alana, still lives.
There are more than a dozen children between the four (Kieran, Damien, Liam and Julian), along with sister Alicia, and the affinity with the dairy industry looks sure to continue.
As for the selection process of Cow 412, Jed said she was the friendliest of the 158-strong herd and was the perfect candidate.
The three-year-old, according to Jed, is sure to provide a patty on the day.
In the lead-up to the event, her diet will consist of hay and oats to ensure the solidity of the patty will not create any potential protests if lines are crossed.
“She poos a bit in the dairy, so I don’t think it will be a problem (getting a result),” Jed said.
“I don’t think it will take long. Grass makes them sloppy (the poos), so we will feed her hay.”
As for stage fright, Jed said once she was fed, she calmed down a bit, so there would be hay and oats on hand.
“I’m hoping she will let the other kids pat her. She is sort of like a pet,” he said.
Contact the school office on 5859 0551 or call in at 28 Miller St if you want to purchase a $10 square in the cow pat lotto competition.
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