The excitement had been building for weeks as the purebred dairy industry waited in anticipation to see the 2018 World Dairy Expo Supreme Champion parade through a ring to sell to the highest bidder.

The sale of a two-time Supreme Champion and three-time All-American doesn’t happen that often at public auction. That kind of sale is usually done in private, and then the grapevine gets active and everyone hears a different version of how the sale went down.

Not this time. Cutting Edge T Delilah would enter the ring owned by Elite Dairy but exit with a different name on the ownership line, in front of a standing room-only crowd and hundreds of people watching online.

It was a beautiful fall day and big white tents were erected for the event. More than 150 Brown Swiss cattle were washed, clipped, and on display for tire-kickers and buyers alike.

Nestled in a valley in upstate New York, the scenery surrounding the farm was spectacular. Mountains on either side, old farms lined the winding road through the valley, and a small white sign with green-and-black lettering marked the way to Elite Dairy in Copake.

The 6-year-old Delilah was tied up with the other older cows. It was easy to pick her out. As dairy cows go, she was exquisite; tall, sharp, deep-bodied with a beautiful udder. She looked as good on that day as she did when she paraded under the spotlight on the colored shavings during the Supreme Champion pageant at World Dairy Expo a year earlier.

People from coast to coast descended on Copake and were milling around with their sale catalogs in hand waiting for the sale to start. Sale Manager Wayne Sliker announced that Kyle and Delilah would enter the ring at 10:30 sharp. And as promised, at 10:29, Kyle and Delilah were standing at the entrance waiting to go in.

I was sitting nearby taking photos to capture the moment for those who couldn’t attend. And as I watched, I saw a young man and his cow getting ready to part ways. He held her halter with one hand and wrapped the other hand around her face and patted her gently.

As he looked at her, I wondered what he might be thinking. Would this be the final time at the halter with his show cow? Would he help load her onto a trailer and watch as she left the farm down the winding road to a new home? Would he see her at the next show and wonder if she recognized him?

You see, she is a satisfying show cow. The fitters did little to get her ready. They washed, clipped, and fed her, and then she stood there and made milk. She would eat, her udder would fill up, they would put a halter on her, and when it was time to show, she put her head up, paraded through the ring as if she knew she was on display, collected her ribbons, and went back to the farm to produce milk until the next show.

She didn’t require any extra tweaking; what you see is what you get with Delilah. She is an honest cow, and there’s not a dairyman in the world who doesn’t appreciate an honest cow.

Kyle led Delilah into the ring and the crowd was properly impressed. Her strength and magnificence made the entire place look small. This cow and her charisma cannot be contained, and she did not disappoint her fans.

When she left the ring, the market posted her worth at $210,000. But when she walked back to the barn, you could see she was invaluable.

As Kyle led her through the crowd, four fitters gathered around her head. One gave her a pat on the head, another scratched her behind the ears, and another lovingly stroked her neck. These men were her closest fans and wanted to make sure they gave her one last touch.

But one young man just couldn’t. Kyle’s brother, Mike, who had watched Delilah grow from a calf, walked away wiping the tears from his eyes. He slipped behind a barn for a few minutes to gather himself before he came back out and stood quietly in the distance watching Delilah and his brother walk back to the barn.

This cow had made an indelible mark on these brothers that will last a lifetime. No matter where she goes or whose barn she stands in, the memories of Delilah will be recounted by not only these two brothers, but Delilah fans everywhere.

When the sun set on Elite Dairy that evening, Delilah still had two owners, one old and one new. Kyle’s grandfather kept half-interest in her, and the other half was sold to a new owner from Kentucky. She will continue to call Elite Dairy her home, and continue to be cared for by her first and truest fans, brothers Kyle and Mike Barton.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.