Tuesday, July 29, 2014

8th Featured Futurity Exhibitor

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Christine Oehmichen, Oeh-My Farm

Our 8th featured futurity exhibitor is Christine Oehmichen. Christine and her husband, Craig, and children, Chase and Willow, own and operate Oeh-My Farm in Abbotsford, WI. The farm consists of 40 milk cows with 180 acres of land owned and 145 rented. They have a current RHA of 24,403 lbs. of milk and a BAA of 110.5% Oeh-My Farm has gained many accomplishments over the past few years. They have been the Premier Exhibitor at the District 4 Holstein Show in both 2013 and 2014 and they had the winning Jr. Best Three heifers in 2012. Oeh-My has also exhibited the Supreme Champion for the last 2 years at the WI State Fair. The Oehmichen's mentor local youth through a youth apprenticeship program. They also participate in shows including Central WI State Fair, WI State Fair, District Show, State Show, World Dairy Expo, and the WI State Jersey Show. Their children, Chase and Willow, are involved in the Junior Holstein Association and attend cow camp and the WI Jr. Holstein Convention. Be sure to look for Christine Oehmichen and Oeh-My Farm's entry at this year's Futurity!

Futurity Fun Fact: Along with our top prizes and best dressed awards, we also have many other awards for our exhibitors to compete for. Exhibitors have the opportunity to compete for Best Udder, sponsored by East Central Select Sires, Top Milk Production and Top Fat & Protein, both sponsored by Brian Greenman Rural Mutual Insurance Agent, Best Jr. Bred and Owned and Best Bred and Owned, both sponsored by Robert and Randy Nigh of Lirr Farms, and 1st Place Junior which is sponsored by Angela Davis-Brown of Ma-Brown Holsteins and Jerseys and the WI Jr. Holstein Association.  In order to compete for some of these awards, our Exhibitors must provide copies of test sheets and registration papers. We wish our exhibitors the best of luck!

2013 (Grand Prize Winner) Best Udder, Best Bred and Owned, Best Jr. Bred and Owned, and 1st Junior Winner: Krull Sanchez Eminem-ET - Bryce Krull

2013 Top Fat and Protein and Top Milk Production Winner:
 Burledge Shottle Graffiti-ET - Burledge Holsteins

7th Featured Futurity Exhibitor

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Nicholas Schuster, Bee-Bow Acres

Our seventh featured futurity exhibitor is Nicholas Schuster from Fond du Lac, WI. Nicholas along with his parents, Ian and Mary, own and operate Bee-Bow Acres. Nicholas graduated from the UW Madison Farm and Industry Short Course. He helps with various show strings including Budjon Farms. Nicholas is a member of the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association and he served  as chairman of the Junior Activities Committee in 2013. We are excited to have Nicholas exhibit at our Futurity Show this year!

Futurity Fun Fact: The WHA Futurity Show is a very prestigious show where only the best of the best compete to win the grand prize of $1,500. Our judge this year is Joe Gibbs from Epworth, Iowa. Joe will have the opportunity to judge all of our exhibitor's bovines, but in the end only one can become the next Futurity champion. Joe and his son, Dwight, own and operate a 170 head dairy farm. The 70 cow milk herd has a RHA of 24,000 and BAA of 109%. The 140 acre farm has served home to 40 All and Jr. All American Nominations. Joe has had 13 Holstein nominations and all 13 Holsteins were homebred animals. He has judged several state fairs, state shows, county fairs, and district shows. This year Joe will be judging at the Wisconsin State Fair, Ozark Empire Fair, Ak-Sar-Ben Show, Indiana State Fair, Southern National Ayrshire Show, and Louisville, Kentucky in November. We are very excited to have Joe serve as our judge for the Futurity show this year!



Friday, July 25, 2014

6th Featured Futurity Exhibitor

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Kyle Natzke, Crestbrooke Holsteins and Jerseys

Our sixth featured futurity exhibitor is Kyle Natzke from Fond du Lac, Wi. Kyle and his parents, Tim and Barb, and his sister, Kristin, own and operate Crestbrooke Holsteins and Jerseys. Crestbrooke is a small select herd that concentrates on showing and marketing cattle. They have received numerous Jr. All American and All-American Nominations. Crestbrooke shows locally at District and State Shows as well as national shows across the U.S. Tim and Kyle travel around the United States and Canada as professional fitters and Barb sells crop insurance. Kyle is a graduate of the UW Madison Farm and Industry Short Course. He was the 2011 WI Holstein Boy and a National DJM Finalist. He has won numerous awards for showmanship including 2 time Supreme Champion at the WI State Fair. Kyle won the Best Dressed Male award at the 2012 Holstein Futurity. We are excited to have Kyle and Crestbrooke Holsteins and Jerseys exhibit at the 2014 Futurity!

Futurity Fun Fact: Badgerland Financial has been a very generous sponsor of the WHA Futurity since 2010 and continues to be a major sponsor today. Badgerland Financial sponsors our grand prize of $1,500 and all of our exhibitors will exhibit their bovines and hope to be named the Futurity champion and take home the grand prize. Badgerland Financial is a locally owned cooperative serving members through offices in 17 communities in 33 southern Wisconsin counties. As a part of the Farm Credit System, Badgerland Financial is dedicated to helping farmers succeed. From competitive, long-term fixed rate loans to flexible payment schedules, crop insurance to life insurance, and farm tax preparation to estate planning. It's all backed by people who are knowledgeable about the business of agriculture. Badgerland Financial knows Ag because they are Ag. To learn more about Badgerland Financial and how they may help you, visit their website (www.badgerlandfinancial.com) or stop by one of their 17 local offices.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

5th Featured Futurity Exhibitor

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Kristine Jarek, East-Branch Holsteins

Kristine and her family own and operate East-Branch Holsteins and Livestock located in Bonduel, WI. The farm consists of all homebred animals with the exception of a September calf that was recently purchased at the Redfest sale to add some color to their herd. Kristine also owns a couple Brown Swiss. She is the owner of Kalypso Salon in Green Bay and has been the owner for the past five years. Her business continues to grow with increased sales and staff. Owning a salon has allowed Kristine to travel to Chicago, Minneapolis, New Orleans, and Orlando for continuing education and leadership and business development classes. Kristine has showed at the WI State Fair and District Shows for the last 20 plus years and she won the Best Dressed Female award at last year's Futurity show. While working at the Salon as the owner and master stylist, Kristine still helps at the farm with chores and milking on a weekly basis. Make sure to look for Kristine and East-Branch Holsteins at the Futurity show!

Futurity Fun Fact: Exhibiting at the Futurity is a great accomplishment for our exhibitors, however all the exhibitors will have their eyes on the top three grand prizes. The second place prize is $750 and is generously sponsored by International Protein Sires (IPS). IPS is a division of Our Help, Inc. and was founded in 1991 by Ron and Sandy Sersland. In 1999, Our Help, Inc. purchased an artificial insemination company known as International Protein Sires which opened the door to access Australian and European genetic markets through established distributers. Ron Sersland is responsible for sire selection and will personally travel wherever a customer needs him to inspect a daughter of their bulls. IPS takes pride in offering bulls that will do the right job for customers no matter where a customer might be located in the world.  International Protein Sires philosophy has always been based upon the concept of providing quality products that they would use and buy and providing quality service that they would want to receive. For more information, visit their website (www.ipssires.com).


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

4th Featured Futurity Exhibitor

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Katherine Larson, Lar-Lan Holsteins

Our 4th featured futurity exhibitor is Katherine Larson from Viroqua, WI. Katherine and her parents, Kevin and Julie, and her brother, Thomas, raise dairy heifers at their farm Lar-Lan Holsteins. This will be the first year that Katherine has exhibited at the WI Holstein Futurity. They own 200 acres of land. Katherine actively shows at her county fair, WI State Fair, district show, and the WI State Holstein Show. She has been a vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and reporter for the Vernon County Jr. Holstein Association. Katherine has had numerous accomplishments over the past few years, receiving a Farm Trip Award and she was a National YMR Award winner in 2012. She received 3rd place in the WI FFA Dairy Proficiency contest in 2014 and attended the National 4-H Dairy Conference in 2012. She is also apart of the dairy judging team and dairy bowl team. Katherine will be a freshman this fall at UW-Platteville and she will be majoring in Agribusiness. She hopes to work in the dairy industry after college and also plans to raise dairy heifers in the future. Be sure to look for Katherine and her bovine beauty at the Futurity show!

Futurity Fun Fact: The Futurity would not be possible without our generous sponsors. This year Katherine, along with rest of our exhibitors, will be competing for the top grand prizes. Our third place winner will receive $500 that is sponsored by Agropur. Agropur's mission is to "provide a wide range of quality dairy products reflecting current and future consumer's demands." The company is celebrating its 76th anniversary in 2014 and processes more than 3.4 billion liters of milk in 32 plants throughout North America. They have 3,500  member dairy farmers that they work with on a daily basis. Agropur generates more than $3.8 billion in sales and employs more than 6,500 people. To learn more about Agropur, visit their website (www.agropur.com).


 

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

3rd Featured Futurity Exhibitor

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Nicole Wright, Mar-Linda-K Holsteins

Our third featured futurity exhibitor is Nicole Wright from Johnson Creek, WI. This is the first year that Mar-Linda-K Holsteins has exhibited at the State Futurity show. Nicole along with her sister, Kayla, and her parents, Mark and Linda, own and operate Mar-Linda-K Holsteins. The farm consists of 110 cows and 305 acres and has a RHA of 24,650 lbs. Milk, 890 lbs. Fat, 760 lbs. of Protein and a BAA of 107.3%. Mar-Linda-K Holsteins was first established in 1989 when it took over Klug-View Dairy, which was originally Linda's family farm. It is a 3rd generation farm of homebred Registered Holsteins that has earned 4 Progressive Breeder Registry Awards, Production Awards, and Outstanding Young Farmer Honors. Nicole is a Junior Holstein member and has received YDJM and DJM awards. She has gone on Junior trips and been a part of Quiz Bowl and Junior Leaders. In addition, Nicole has also bared the honor of being the Brown Swiss Queen in the Brown Swiss Association and she was named Outstanding Holstein Girl in Jefferson County. She graduated from Watertown High School and plans on attending UW-Madison for the Farm and Industry Short Course. She also plans to continue to develop her Holstein and Brown Swiss herd and work into the family farm. We look forward to having Nicole and Mar-Linda-K Holsteins exhibit at the State Futurity for the first time!

Futurity Fun Fact: While Nicole is exhibiting her bovine beauty, there will be a full coliseum of excited and curious spectators. They will get the chance to witness the judge crown the next Futurity champion. While they are watching the show, they have the chance to win some prizes themselves. The Dane County Royalty and Green County Royalty will be walking around the coliseum with questions about the dairy industry to ask the audience members. If they answer it correctly, they receive a grilled cheese coupon from the Wisconsin State Fair Dairy Promotion Board to use at their booth in the Wisconsin Products Pavilion.

Monday, July 21, 2014

2nd Featured Futurity Exhibitor

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Mark and Mary, Chad and Amy Ryan, Ryan-Vu Dairy

Ryan-Vu Dairy has been exhibiting at the Wisconsin Holstein Futurity for many years and they are award sponsors for our Best Dressed Junior award. Chad and Amy along with Mark and Mary own and operate Ryan-Vu Dairy located in Fond du Lac, WI. They milk 100 cows and own 100 young stock and have a RHA of 23,868. Ryan-Vu Dairy has garnered many accomplishments over the years including being the 2nd high ranking BAA herd among 76-100 cows with a current BAA of 111.8%. They have received the Progressive Dairy Registry Award for 3 years, bred 5 Gold Medal Dams, 8 Dams of Merit, 12 All Wisconsin and Reserve All Wisconsin winners, 4 All-American nominees and 7 Jr. All American nominees. They currently have 10 cows making over 200,000 pounds of milk with one finishing a lifetime record of 432,000 pounds of milk. Chad is currently serving his second term as a director for the WHA board where he serves as co-chair for the Midwest National Spring Show and the Scholarship committee. He also coaches the Fond du Lac Dairy judging team and enjoys judging shows. In 2013, the Ryan's were recognized by Holstein USA as the Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders. We look forward to having Ryan-Vu Dairy exhibit at this year's Futurity!

Futurity Fun Fact:

After the show, we invite our show sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers, and dignitaries to attend our post show meal where everyone will be able to enjoy some of the fair food favorites and visit with each other. Some of the food that will be included in this year's post-show meal are Baked Potatoes from the WI Potato Growers, steak sandwiches from the WI Cattlemen's Association, butterfly pork chop sandwiches from the WI Pork Producers, and much more! Chad, along with everyone else will be able to enjoy a delicious meal while relaxing after the show.

Friday, July 18, 2014

2014 Futurity Sneak Peak

The 2014 Wisconsin Holstein Futurity will be here before we know it on August 9th, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. Our Futurity exhibitors have been busy putting in the time, dedication, and care that is required to raise a Futurity animal. After three years of waiting to see how their animals will turn out, we wanted to give you a sneak peak of who will be exhibiting. However, you will have to wait to see the beautiful bovines at the big show. Until then, sit back and relax and enjoy our 2014 sneak peak and we hope to see you all the 2014 Wisconsin Holstein Futurity Show!

Featured Futurity Exhibitor: Hiddenway Holsteins, Sierra Lurvey

Sierra Lurvey, along with her parents Tom and Mary and siblings Dwayne, Shannon, and Shianne own and operate Hiddenway Holsteins located in Lone Rock, WI. They milk 50 Registered Holsteins and have a rolling herd average of 21,360. Hiddenway Holsteins own 350 acres and rent 40 acres of land. Sierra has been apart of the dairy industry her whole life and has been showing dairy cattle since she was 5 years old. She is an active member in the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association where she participates in Junior Conventions. This year, Sierra competed in the Badger State Dairy Challenge where her team took first place. She is currently a junior at UW-Madison where she is studying Dairy Science and Ag and Applied Economics. Upon graduation, Sierra hopes to work in the Agriculture Industry and possibly work on a bull stud farm before she owns her own farm. Be sure too look for Sierra and her bovine beauty at the 2014 WHA Futurity Show!

Futurity Fun Fact:
Did you know that like Sierra, all of our exhibitors will exchange their blue jeans and boots for tuxedos and ball gowns? That's right, since the Futurity is a formal event, all of our exhibitors will dress to impress our special guests as they compete for Best Dressed Male, Best Dressed Female, and Best Dressed Junior. Each award winner gets $100 and a plaque. This year our Best Dressed Junior award is sponsored by Ryan-Vu Dairy.


2013 Best Dressed Junior: Colin Uecker

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Wisconsin Holstein Featured Young Farmer - Tree-Hayven Holsteins

Meet Adam, Chelsey and Aaliayh of Tree-Hayven Holsteins; a farm family from Wisconsin that milks around 75 dairy cows and farms 300 acres.  The herds consists of 210 Holsteins and 10 Jerseys that are milked and fed twice per day.  The family is passionate about raising, showing and selling happy, registered animals.  They are always looking for ways to improve and grow in order to raise the happiest, healthiest cattle possible. Most of their day consists of daily chores and family time, but if you cannot find them hanging out in the barn together, they are likely helping out at a local community event.  They have been involved with the Wisconsin Holstein Association for the past 20 years and take pride in what they do.  Read the interview with Adam below, and you will see exactly what we mean.  


Tell us about your farm. Who is involved and when was the farm established?
My parents owned and operated a small registered herd in North Central Iowa for 13 years. I learned from a very early age the importance of reading pedigrees, finding that perfect mating and anticipating that every calf born “could” be the next Expo winner. From this and many other life experiences, I gathered very quickly, the concept that there was only one kind of Holstein; a Registered Holstein.

After my family relocated to Wisconsin in the late 80’s we no longer farmed. My dad built a shed at our place that was used to keep my 4-H show heifers. The neighbor, Dave, would calve in my animals, and return the heifer calves for me to show in 4-H. I purchased my first calf at age nine. Her name was Whitttail-Valley Kirk Boy Ruby. At my very first show at the Central WI State Junior Fair, Ruby and I brought home Junior Champion honors. Ruby went on to classify VG-87 and has the distinction of being my first foundation mothers. About 15% of my current herd has the Ruby family linage. Ruby’s daughter, Stachert Sadie EX-90, LT 121,540 was the dam of my first high scoring cow Stachert Sky Electron EX-92 3E EEEEE  LT 4,113 202,180 4.2 8402 3.0 6134. Sky was a Janesland Electron daughter that lived to 17 years of age.

I started renting my current facilities at the age of 18 in 1999 and I ,alone, purchased the farm, cows, and 160 acres in 2001. When I purchased the farm, I incorporated the three cows I owned at the time, and assumed ownership of the 55 registered Holsteins from my neighbor, Dave.

Describe your typical day.
Because we are a small registered farm, everything pretty much falls on us to do. We milk about 75 Holsteins and Jerseys. We milk and feed at 5:30 am and 5:30 p.m. The rest of the day is focused on maintaining equipment, repairs, vet care, book keeping and trying to fit in family time.

Chelsey, my 11 year old daughter and myself run the farm on a day to day basis. Chelsey is charged with keeping a happy and healthy calf and heifer barn. She also drives the twice a day milking’s and keeps tabs on the show animals. Aaliyah helps with calf chores, names heifers and leads show heifers. I guess I do the mechanic work, field work, milk, feed, register animals, vet health work, and work with Chesley to battle any unexpected emergency.We have four full and part time farm hands that help with cropping, feeding and daily chores. Our families help out a lot with marketing, advertising, relief milking and chores.

What is your favorite part of dairy farming?
Upon taking ownership from Dave in 2001, I learned improvement is an essential part of business. I have never been satisfied with the status quo and work to educate myself on new trends and advancements in the dairy business. Since then, the farm has been transforming. I like to build and improve things to make my farm and animals happier and healthier.

Housing- Clean, ventilated, safe and user friendly young heifer housing is essential. In 2002 and 2010 new calf housing facilities were built. This allowed us to get our six month plus calves out of the elements, regulate temperatures, and have better access to cleaning, ventilation, vaccinating and overall health of calves. A dry cow loafing building was also built in early 2000.

Cow comfort and milking efficiently- The original barn only fit about 40 milking cows. In 2004 we built an addition to the milk barn that allowed me to milk about 30 more head. With this addition, as well as others in the years, increased space per tie stall with loop dividers, three new box stalls, rubber matting for the stalls as well as the aisle to reduce falls for cows and back comfort for myself, installed 10 fans to increase tunnel ventilation, tiled the front walkways white for ease of sweeping, cleanliness and visualization increased lighting throughout and added an office with a space for medications and paperwork.

A plate cooler and variable speed vacuum was introduced to cool milk faster and allow for more accurate vacuum pressure. A 2 ½ inch pipeline and five additional milkers with automatic take offs were added to increase milk flow to tank and decrease time in the barn.

Feed and Nutrition- All acres that I crop on are tiled as well as the fields I rent. I realize the importance of this when it comes to wet seasons and getting crops in and off the field in a timely manner. This correlates to better efficacy and nutrition of the feed. I have switched from haylage to balelage. TMR was introduced to allow more consistent feeding and nutrition. In 2012 a 18x80 silo for corn silage was built, this has reduces spoilage and fresher feed.

One of the most notable improvements I have made is the adding on of a calf feed room and pasteurizer. We have had the pasteurizer for two years and can honestly say our babies are uniformly healthier and stronger.


Are there any chores/jobs you enjoy more than others? Why?
This may sound a little silly, but I like to bed the heifers and the cows. I take pride in knowing they have clean fresh straw to rest in during the day. They look so content when they are lying in the sun chewing their cud.

What makes your farm or farm family unique?
I would have to say that what is unique to our farm, is that there is ALWAYS someone here. Chelsey and I enjoy having family, friends, visitors and “helpers” here as much as we can. No one ever gets in the way, we want people here. Having good people around you makes the “stressful” times of farming, just go a little smoother. Everyone that comes here contributes in some way. Whether it is to help with round bailing, running an errand or complementing us on our farm and animals, it all makes it worthwhile. We have some 4-H families that keep show heifers here we enjoy visiting with them when they come to work with their animals; it is fun to see their confidence build.

Also what makes us unique is that we create our own paths, learning from our mistakes and letting go of what we cannot change.  And that's what I remind myself often, that it’s okay to be different, okay to do something a different way and ok to ask for help.

What makes you passionate about the dairy industry?
This maybe sounds a little cliché, but a lot of it is the relationships that we have made over the years. Without these friendships and new learning opportunity’s I would not have been able to move forward on some important farming and life decisions.
  
What makes you excited about owning and raising registered cattle?
The Registered Holstein business brings upon it so many benefits for Tree-Hayven; first and foremost the profit potential. Holsteins produce the greatest amount of milk, fat and protein, lifetime profit and lower SCC compared to other breeds. With today’s ever rising farming and associate costs, my milk check is my most important income. The genetic variability is also another factor in my choice of breeding registered Holsteins. The choice of mating’s for my cows has greatly increased over the years. This allows me to experiment more with sire selections (type or production), balance my traits better and gain greater genetic variability within my herd. Finally, the selling of registered Holsteins far exceeds that of other breed types and grade Holsteins. Typically I sell about 10-15 animals on the local dairy market each year as well as show type calves and yearlings at County club sales and WI Holstein sponsored sales. My small investment up front, more than pays for the increased return I get in sale barn.

Marketing for us has also been in the show ring. Every time you take an animal in the ring its about showcasing your herd showing off your “brand”. Your brand represents you. Win or lose, 1st place or last, I want anyone that sees my animals to remember her and come back in the barns and perhaps put a price on her or just take a better look. I want people to know that when they are purchasing a Tree-Hayven animal they are homegrown with extreme care and attention. This is the reason I have spent so much time and effort into modernizing and improving the farm so each calf that is born has the best start and every cow feels comfortable 24/7.

What is the biggest challenge the dairy industry currently faces? How do you hope we as an industry can solve it? What can WHA do?
It is kind of a crystal ball when it comes to what the dairy industry is facing. What may be important to me is different to what is important to my neighbor down the road. However there are some commonalities like milk price, production and bio-security that all of us need to be concerned about. If we can come to a consensus as to what challenges we are facing, we stand a very good chance of successfully meeting them.

Do you serve off the farm on any committees or boards?
We try and think that the future Tree-Hayven is bright, but it also comes with much hard work and dedication. I do my best to help out with county activities or support programs that the local Holstein breeders have. With the fact that I am my own boss and a single dad, I may not be able to get involved as much as I may like. I have the hope that with greater efficiencies in my farm work, good relationships with hired help and the milk price staying put, I may be able to find additional time and resources to assist with our Adult and Junior Holsteins of Wood County.  I also would like to someday host one of the WI Holstein Spring Barn meetings or even the State Picnic.

What are your hopes for the future of your dairy farm? What about the Wisconsin Holstein Association and dairy industry?
To always improve. Set realistic goals with an outcome I can be happy with. I would like to build a dedicated calf housing barn and add more box stalls for our show cows. I hope to be able to gain some more efficiencywith daily chores so that I can spend more time with Chelsey and Aaliyah off of the farm.