Jane Sykes, of Ringarooma, won champion cow with an Ayrshire at last week's Scottsdale Show and will be hoping to repeat the performance on Saturday.

The Sykes family will have 15 Ayrshires and two Jerseys at Deloraine.

Ayrshire Tasmania president Arthur Taylor said that it had been many years since the breed featured.

"It was overdue," he said.

"Ayrshire are one of the popular breeds — herd numbers are still holding and our membership's increasing, which is good.

"They tend to be mixed in with other breeds in dairy herds and there are some cross-bred herds too.

"They're about on a par, production-wise with the Jersey, but the Jerseys' butter fat is a little better, while the Ayrshire's milk is more easily digested."

Mr Taylor said that the Ayrshire's temperament was an attraction nowadays, but that did not used to be the case.

"Years ago, they'd kick you out of the shed, but they're very placid nowadays, but that also depends on how they're handled, of course," he said.

The show runs from 9am-5pm and admission costs $10 for adults and $5 for children.