DERBY -- If Fern Arable in "Charlotte's Web" had "some pig," the Nelson family of Derby has some cow. Best on Earth, in fact.

Elleeta Skybuck Lucy -- Lucy for short -- was recently crowned the top female Holstein on the planet at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. The tall, black-and-white-patched, 7-year-old star lives with nearly 400 other Cowtown Holsteins in a tidy barn a hiccup away from the Canadian border.

For those not well-versed in cow competition, the clearest explanation is this: The award is a really big deal. The World Dairy Expo is the largest cow competition in the world, and winners go on to fetch high prices for their offspring.

Byron Moyer, a dairy specialist with the state, said the designation is important -- not only for the recognition for the farm and farmers, but also because of the financial benefit a world-class animal garners. Her genetics and her offspring will be very valuable and in high demand, he said.

The World Dairy Expo is "something you only go to if you have something special," said herd manager Renee Nadeau of Derby, who is still beaming from the win.

The Nelson family (father Doug and son Cy) who own Cowtown Holsteins, and Nadeau started the year off with a bang, winning the most cumulative points during the Vermont state show to take top exhibitor and top breeder. Cowtown repeated at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Mass. -- winning the top two honors again.

It was a good year. There was more to it.

"We definitely knew Lucy was a special cow," Nadeau said.

They made plans for Lucy and a few other cows to head to the competition this month, enlisting the man who sold Lucy, Callum Mickinzen of Canada, to show her.

"Our goal was to get in the top five for her age," Nadeau said. "The others, the goal was the top 10."

Lucy met the challenge: She took a first place in her age group, 6 and older. She was invited back to see how she stacked up against all the other first-place female Holsteins. The judge narrowed down his four favorites, and Lucy was in.

Then he slapped her on her back, crowning her grand champion female Holstein of the show -- beating 416 other Holsteins.

"I was teary-eyed," Nadeau said. "It's a huge accomplishment for me, being 27. A lot of people do this for 30 years and never get that. I was just excited, really."

Just what makes Lucy a champion?

Standing in a bed of sawdust at her home in Derby, Lucy shows off her shiny coat, her big udder and her straight top line. What's really important is that Lucy is very "dairy," meaning her energy goes to producing milk and not to body fat, Nadeau said. She's lean, her bones are prominent, her hide is silky and her veins are visible.

For the win, Lucy was awarded ribbons and trophies, and the owners received a $1,000 check. The win will prove more lucrative as time goes on. Lucy's embryos are being harvested and implanted in surrogate cows, and those calves will sell for a lot of money. Nadeau said people pay between $5,000 and $30,000 for calves. She was unsure how much Lucy's would go for.

Lucy, chewing her cud, seemed pretty unfazed by all the recognition. Nadeau said her milk production is high, and though she's a world-class cow, she isn't getting the kid glove treatment.

"She's still a working cow," Nadeau said. "That's what I love about her. She's a hard worker."