The 2016 Wisconsin Holstein Futurity is approaching
rapidly. The 30th annual Holstein Futurity will be held on Saturday
August 13th at 6pm. The exhibitors are putting in a lot of time and
effort to prepare their animals for this special event. The exhibitors have
waited three years to see how their animals will turn out, so we wanted to
share some information on our exhibitors with you. We are just as excited as
you are to see these bovine beauties at the show!
Featured Futurity Exhibitors: Bob Barden, Kimberly Jacowski,
And Gracelyn Breitenstein
Our first featured exhibitors are from Rob-Cri
Holsteins. Rod-Cri Holsteins sits on 160 acres in Plover, Wis. housing 65 head
of young stock and 45 cows. They have a RHA of 25,263 and a 108.2 BAA. Family
is an important part of their dairy operation, so naturally the futurity will
be a family affair for them this year. They decided to do something special for
the 30th anniversary by having three generation of family leading
their animals, Bob Barden, Kimberly Jacowski (his daughter), and Gracelyn
Breitenstein (his granddaughter). Not only do the leadspersons have a special
connection to the farm, so do the animals in the halters. The three animal
being exhibited by Rob-Cri Holsteins are offspring of Rob-Cri Tribute Shimmer.
Shimmer was nominated All American & All Canadian in 2008 & 2009.
It all started for the family in 1971 when Bob Barden
purchased a farm from Clair Eckels. The first registered Holsteins were
purchased from Holmland Farms in 1973. He updated to a more modern facility in 1976.
Bob showed his perseverance and dedication to farming after the facility burned
in 1985 by rebuilding. However, that was not the only hard ship Bob faced. In
2011 the facility was again destroyed, but this time by a tornado. Bob
responded again by rebuilding. In 1991 Bob was the first in Portage County to
earn the honor of All American. Rob-Cri Stormatic Manitoba was the winner the
Wisconsin Holstein Futurity and Supreme Champion of the Central Wisconsin State
Fair in 2011. Bob’s involvement in the dairy industry can also be seen outside
the show ring with numerous years as Portage County Holstein Association
President, current board member, and the honor of Portage County Outstanding
Young Farmer in 1980. Bob plans to retire this following year.
Bob’s daughter Kimberly currently works on the farm
with Bob. Kimberly graduated in 2009 from Southern Arkansas University with a
degree in Agricultural Science with minors in both animal science and
Chemistry. Kimberly is married to Matthew Jacowski. She has a daughter,
Gracelyn, and a son, Ty Matthew, with another son on the way. Kimberly has two
passions in life showing dairy cattle and gymnastics. She was the state Beam
Champion in 2000 and now still works at the family’s gymnastics facility.
Kimberly’s daughter, Gracelyn, started showing at
District 4 when she was 3 years old. She won Reserve Junior Champion at the
Central Wisconsin State Fair with Rob-Cri Dempsey Secret. She is also in
gymnastics and is at level 6. In addition to showing and gymnastics, Gracelyn
enjoys Volleyball.
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