2013 District Show Season

The 2013 District Show season was a success, to say the least.  Larry and Nicole, along with Princess Morgan and Princess Attendant Crystal, traveled all over the state attending each of the shows and racking up about 1,900 miles! All of the early mornings were worth it to see some of the best Holstein animals Wisconsin has to offer.  1,352 animals were all spruced up and looking their best while strutting their stuff at each of the 9 Districts.  Some of our favorite memories from this year's season were Larry becoming an honorary Princess at District 4 and handing out ribbons, the 10 & under class (how cute is the future of the dairy industry?), and all of the amazing people we got to meet along the way.  Congratulations to all of the exhibitors and winners of this years show and we can't wait to see everyone again at the Wisconsin State Championship Show in July.

Breakfast on the Farm

This past weekend the WHA staff packed up their boxes of goodies and headed out to attend the Breakfast on the Farm.  Larry Nelson, Executive Director, attended the Trempealeau County breakfast while Nicole Smith, WHA intern, and Morgan Behnke, WHA Princess, attended the Dane County breakfast.  It was a great day of meeting and informing the public about our association and handing out promotional items.  After a hard day's work, we got to enjoy a delicious breakfast and some live entertainment.  Overall it was a great day promoting our association and the dairy industry. 

Princess Morgan interacting with the crowd at the Dane County Breakfast on the Farm

 

Kick Off to June Dairy Month

To celebrate the begining of June Dairy Month, WHA held a "Kick Off to June Dairy Month" celebration at the Kid's Learning Express Center in Madison.  Though the sun wasn't shining, the kids were smiling as they learned about the dairy industry.  The kids, ages 5 and under, attended five different stations that showed different aspects of the dairy industry.  WHA Princess Attendent Crystal led a station called "A Day in the Life of a Farmer" where children got to view a milk machine, feed, bottles, and see what a typical farm day is like.  WHA Princess Morgan's station allowed the children to get up close and personal with a Holstein cow and two bull calves.  Green County Dairy Queen Taylor read to the children to teach them about dairy while two other Green County Royalty led a station about dairy products, which even had samples of ice-cream, yogurt, and cheese.  The children also got their pictures taken at the photo booth posing like farmers.  It was a picture perfect day.  What a great way to kick off June Dairy Month by spreading the word to children that might not otherwise get the chance to learn about the dairy industry.

Green County Dairy Queen Taylor reading to the children.

The children got to taste samples of dairy products.

They had the opportunity to make friends with Holstein calves.

Thank you to Morgan, Crystal, the Green County Royalty, and the Kid's Learning Express
for making this such a great event.

2013 Summer Internship Opportunity

The Wisconsin Holstein Association is searching for college students looking to learn more about the registered Holstein industry and wanting to gain valuable experiences that can be utilized in any industry. Applicants attending a 2 or 4 year college are welcomed to apply. It is not required to be majoring in an Agriculture field but background in the dairy industry is preferred.

Salary or Hourly: Salary w/ bonus opportunity       

Reports to: Executive Director & WHP Editor           
Travel: Up to 50% (requires a personal vehicle, valid drivers license and offers mileage reimbursement)
Date: May 27 – August 16, 2013 (some weekends required)            

Location: Baraboo, Wis. (housing not included)

Major Duties & Responsibilities:

Event Planning  

• Attend all WHA sponsored summer events and other county Holstein events. These include the WHA State Championship Show, Showmanship and Judging Contest, Junior State Fair Holstein Show, WHA Futurity and Open State Fair Holstein Show. Intern may also be asked to attend District Shows around the state when needed
•  Work with WHA committees to plan events such as the 2013 WHA Futurity, State and District Shows, State Picnic and more. This may include inputting and finalizing show entries, organizing awards, volunteers and other details such as mailings and dignitary needs. 
•  Organize show booklets, meals, send correspondence before and after an event and archive final placing results.

Public Relations

• Ability to communicate to all areas of the Association in a timely manner 
• Assist in any communication materials needed for members or external media such as pamphlets, letters, bios and entry forms 
• Work with external sponsors as it pertains to awards, signage and coordination of events 
• Build valuable partnerships with industry partners

            Web, Print and More 

• Write press releases announcing upcoming events and summarizing placings and/or winnings  
•  Compile and publish updated marketing materials on www.wisholsteins.com such as press releases, entry forms, event details and imagery. 
•  Take photos of event winners when needed to post online and share with Editor. This will require the creation of an archive for year-end presentations. 
•  Interview Wisconsin Holstein breeders and write profile articles as assigned by the Editor; this may require taking photos for the articles 
• Write articles of interest for the WI Holstein News and website as well as identify potential roundtable discussions for the News 
•  Opportunity to learn database management and design e-newsletter creative.

Preferred Knowledge

• Excellent communication, writing, organization and time-management practices 
• Ability to handle multiple tasks at one time with strong prioritization skills 
• Strong knowledge of PC operating systems (MAC experience a plus) 
•  High level of attention to detail and ability to focus 
• Strong work ethic with a positive attitude 
• Knowledge of current trends in the dairy industry

Education and Experience: 

• Received their high school diploma 
• Currently enrolled in a 2 or 4 year University 
• Experience in the Registered Holstein or dairy industry

To apply:

Submit the following materials by November 15, 2012 to larryn@wisholsteins.com or mail to: WI Holstein Association, Summer Internship, 902 8th Ave., Baraboo, WI  53913.
            1) Cover letter explaining why you would be the best fit for the position
            2) Resume including education, work experience and accomplishments
            3) Latest grade transcript
            4) Two letters of reference

Interviews will be held at the WHA office in Baraboo, WI. Please call 1.800.223.4269 with questions about this internship opportunity.

Its time for final comment on future U.S. genetic evaluations

Breeders have until July 16 to give input on the CDCB’s Business Plan proposal

On Friday June 15, the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding released its roadmap for operational and financial aspects of how U.S. genetic evaluations might be carried out once USDA takes a step back from providing this service. The five-page Business Plan discusses governance, data flow and collection, as well as future fees to fund the system. The initial budget is projected to be $1.153 million and it will expand to $1.84 million by the third year.

As breeders review the Business Plan for the first time, you will want to turn to page 5. It is the chart most of us will want to review quite carefully. It contains the fees (surcharges) above and beyond the current genomic test costs to obtain information gathered on your animal’s genomic evaluations. The proposed fee schedule rewards those who contribute data to the system while it charges higher fees to those who do not participate in production data collection or breed sponsored programs such as classification which are essential to calibrate the entire system. It also places the largest cost center on males which are projected to account for nearly 80 percent of the fees collected.

For breeders that have waited nearly five years to get information on their bulls, you can test them for $20 and receive a one-time evaluation. If you find a blue-chipper, and wish to receive continual updates, then you must pay $800 for that privilege. On the flip-side breeders should be able to recapture that expanded fee from semen sales. As stated earlier, all fees move upward on a sliding scale as a participant contributes less data to the system.

There are also other important aspects that warrant careful review. Some include:

• The fees are subject to change based on the number of tests run (fees collected from those tests) and expenses to conduct genetic evaluations.
• The number of voting members for the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding expands from 9 to 12 with a system to further expand the group to 14 to include some other allied industry partners (page 1).
• It creates a provision to expand the number of nominators (a role currently handled by A.I. and breed associations) for genomic tests. (The nominators are important because they also collect the fees).
• It provides a mechanism to continue Material License Agreements with individual organizations and protect data confidentiality. In addition, a provision has been added that seeks independent review of breed association type data.

One unresolved question in my mind can be found on page 4 (North American genomic consortium). Our Italian and British friends already have access to our genomic information. Who else may one-day gain access and how will that be determined?

As dairy producers, we will have 30 days to comment on the Business Plan (June 16 to July 16). Download the the five-page document here along with a one-page explanation here.
Since the Council of Dairy Cattle Breeding has no website, comments can be emailed to one of the nine voting members . . . or the four Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding officers. Those emails include:

Purebred Dairy Cattle Association (PDCA)
John Meyer, Holstein Association USA jmeyer@holstein.com
Neal Smith, US Jersey Association nsmith@usjersey.com
Chuck Worden, Holstein Association USA wormontdairy1@frontiernet.net

Dairy Records Providers (DRPs)
Kent Buttars, National DHIA kent_buttars@yahoo.com
Pat Maddox, CA DHIA ruannpat@aol.com
Dan Sheldon, National DHIA drswhf@yahoo.com

National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB)
Marj Faust, ABS/Genus Marj.Faust@genusplc.com
Keith Heikes, Genex kheikes@crinet.com
Bob Welper, Alta bwelper@altagenetics.com

Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB)
Ole Meland, Chair omeland@accelgen.com
Jay Mattison, Vice Chair jmattison@dhia.org
Becky Payne, Secretary bpayne@usayrshire.com
Gordon Doak, Recording Secretary gdoak@naab-css.org

By Corey Geiger, Holstein Association USA, National Director

Labecca Johnson

The Wisconsin Holstein Association is pleased to welcome Labecca Johnson of LaCresent Minn., as our 2012 Summer Intern. Labecca will be based out of the office in Baraboo, Wis.

During the summer Johnson will serve in a public relations role attending numerous WI Holstein events around the state and assist in the creation of Marketing materials. Some of her responsibilities will include interviewing and writing feature Breeder Profiles for the WI Holstein News and represent the office at numerous shows such as District and State shows during the summer. She will also assist in the planning and coordination of the 2012 WI Holstein Futurity. Her experience in design, e-newsletter creation, website updates and writing will be utilized this summer along with her technical and analytical skills.

She has been extremely involved on her family’s dairy, Pine Creek Farms, Inc., where she assisted with milking, feeding, calf care and numerous other chores on the farm.

Labecca is an Independent Consultant for Magical Moments Productions where she designs brochures, ads, logos, videos and numerous presentations, is a Direct Support Worker for REM Wisconsin and a Direct Care Worker for PossAbilities. She has served as the Marketing Communications Intern for Accelerated Genetics in 2011, was the Minnesota State FFA Reporter from 2009 – 2010, and a past Houston County Dairy Princess and Princess Kay of the Milky Way Finalist.

Currently she is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls majoring in Marketing Communications-Agricultural Emphasis with a minor in Speech Communications. On campus she is an active member of the UWRF Dairy Club, serves as the Yearbook Editor and assisted with the bi-annual heifer sale. Lebecca plans to graduate from the university in December 2012.

Spring Barn Meetings Will Focus on Cow Comfort

The Wisconsin Holstein Association invites all members and dairy farmers to the 2012 Barn

Meetings. The focus of this year’s barn meetings is caring for high value Registered Holsteins in

a freestall environment. Along with guest speakers from the UW-Extension system, all of the

hosts will share their experiences and management practices they have implemented over the

years to help their herd remain healthy and productive.

Four locations have agreed to be host farms for these barn meetings and will take place on the

following days:

Monday, March 19 - 12:00 noon, Bears Grass Dairy - Augusta

Speaker: Maria Bendixen, Clark County Agriculture Agent

Friday, March 23 - 11:00 a.m., Sunnyside Dairy Farm – Valders

Speaker: Scott Gunderson, Manitowoc County Dairy/Livestock Agent

Tuesday, March 27 - 10:30 a.m., Nor-Way-Pete and Four-of-a-Kind Holsteins – Eland

Speaker: David Kammel, UW-Madison Center for Dairy Profitability Ag Engineer

Thursday, March 29 - 11:00 a.m., Stone-Front Farms – Lancaster

Speaker: Mark Mayer, Green County Dairy Livestock Agent

The WI Holstein Association is excited to have these outstanding Holstein members host our

educational meetings.

Bears Grass Dairy, Inc. - Donald and Tamara Schroeder, Gary Schoeder, and Donald

Honadel

Our first Barn Meeting is hosted by an example of today’s modern “family farm”. Bears Grass

Dairy, Inc., is run by the extended family combination of Donald and Tamara Schroeder, Gary

Schroeder and Gary and Donald’s nephew, Donald Honadel. The current herd of 366 cows is a

combination of several herds brought together from tie-stall operations into their current freestall

dairy.

Donald Honadel started his Registered Holstein involvement as a young man with his project

calves and took over their Honadel herd of 55 cows from his dad in 1998. Donald and Tamara

started with Registered Holsteins in the 1980’s. They were converting from a predominantly

Guernsey herd and purchased some Registered Holsteins to go along with their grade Holsteins.

They used the “Donamara” prefix. Gary started with Registered Holsteins in the 1990’s, buying a

couple of project calves for his sons to show. Shortly after, he discontinued working at a diesel

truck mechanic shop to aid his brother in farming the farm where he grew up. He used a

“Schrobro” prefix and together with Donald and Tamara, they milked 60 cows at their tiestall

barn.

The Bears Grass Dairy team joined these three herds along with a combination of dispersal

cattle, local grade replacements and some key purchases at consignment sales as the base and

foundation of the current herd. They were able to grow into the original freestall barn, as well as

an addition, and have been using the “Ursa-Grass” prefix for the current herd. In addition to the

owners, there are also two more family members of Donald Honadel’s who work part-time and

three full-time employees.

They maintain a rolling herd average on two-times a day milking of 25,934 3.63 942F 3.03 785P.

They have a 104.2 BAA and for the last 12 years have received the PGH award. They farm 885

acres in partnership with the families growing primarily corn, alfalfa, grass hay, and oats.

The main cow family featured at Bears Grass is descended from “Erinn” who was purchased as a

first choice in the Wisconsin Spring Sale in 1992 and has sampled several bulls into A.I. Most of

the family tree is free of O Man, Goldwyn, Shottle or Planet. Some of the daughters to look for

are Escargo a VG-88 daughter of Scoop who has a +1916 GTPI and sisters by Onward, Iota, and

Gerard. Embassy is a daughter of Toystory who scored VG-86 and has a GTPI of +1891. She

and her full sisters join daughters by Boliver, Man-O-Man, Garrett, Shottle, O-Style, and Jives.

Embassy also has an O-Style son going to Accelerated Genetics.

Buying into some fresh genetics is also important and they have brought in some animals from

many established families in the Holstein industry. Miley is a Glen from EX-93 Goldwyn

Maritime who is out of EX-91 Miss Maui Miracle, then EX-95 2E Miss Mark Maui. She

freshened in January with a Windbrook heifer and will be a highlight of the barn meeting for

visitors. They also purchased Calorie, an Observer from Larcrest Cosmopolitan, who will be in

their flush program this spring.

The combination of herds moved into the current freestall facility seven years ago. Originally

one of the tie-stall barns was kept as a hospital and fresh cow facility to help lower the risk of

contamination in the milk tank and to house the dry cows. Over time they observed cows having

difficulty getting up that had been moved from one facility to the other. In 2009, an addition to

the freestall barn was completed and all mature cows were moved over to the main facility.

Treated cows are milked in a small parlor separate from the rest of the herd.

The Bears Grass Dairy group has learned several things over the year, including minimizing the

number of movements of cows from pen to pen and making sure there is adequate sand in the

freestalls. There is also additional pack areas for those cows that may still have trouble with the

freestalls. Hoof trimming is a priority for the management team at Bears Grass Dairy as they

have about one-tenth of the herd trimmed every two to three weeks.

The Schroeders and Honadels invite everyone to join them at their barn meeting and look

forward to showing their facilities as well as the herd of cows. To find Bear Grass Dairy take

Hwy. 12 north from Augusta, turn west onto County V and go approximately two miles to the

farm on the left side of the road.

Sunnyside Dairy Farms - Bill and Todd Borgwardt

Sunnyside Dairy is our second host of the 2012 Barn Meetings. This family farm near Valders is

a partnership between Bill and Todd Borgwardt. This uncle and nephew duo has made their mark

on the Wisconsin Dairy landscape not just in their breeding and management of the Registered

Holsteins at Sunnyside, but also in their leadership and involvement in WHA. Both men have

had their turn as state board members with Bill leading the board as President in 1998.

The current herd of Registered Holsteins began over 90 years ago and both Todd and Bill have

been involved their whole lives. The herd consists of 250 milking females. On a three times a

day schedule, the rolling herd average is 27,305 3.9 1064F 3.13 854P. Type is a priority in the

Sunnyside breeding philosophy and currently they have 6 EX, 40 VG, 80 GP and 33 G cows

resulting from their last classification.

The current freestall barn and parlor were built in 1999 with the newest additions being a new

heifer and calf facility With the help of four full-time employees and Todd’s father, Roger, they

maintain their high production through feeding and management while breeding for type.

Sand bedding has been the main cow comfort tool used in the freestalls for the last 12 years.

Though it works well for the cows, Todd feels it isn’t the best bedding for cleaning and handling

with the manure pit. The four-row barn has drive through feeding and headlocks for all groups

except the very fresh group. Todd has found that their double-8 herringbone parlor has worked

very well with their larger cows versus a parallel parlor system. He has also found that the

optimal stall width for the larger cows is 48 inches or wider. They have both 46 inch and 48 inch

stalls in the facility and feel that if they built today they would use the larger stalls.

Several notable ladies of Sunnyside have made their way through these freestall facilities and left

their mark. Sunnyside Daffy Goldwyn-ET EX-90, Sunnyside Daisy Goldwyn-ET VG-86 and

Sunnyside Della Talent-ET VG-88 are daughters of Sunnyside Dede Linjet-ET EX-92 who goes

back to Roulette Dewdrop-Red EX-91 3E. Elm-Lawn-G Horace Michigan has left her stamp on

the herd with several notable daughters. The first, Sunnyside Mel Aspen-ET EX-91, was the first place Senior 2-Year-Old at the District 10

Holstein show in 2011. There is also a Dundee daughter, Sunnyside Melody Dundee-ET VG-87,

as well as their Linjet sisters.

Sunnyside Cora Debo-Red-ET VG-87 is a fancy red two year old, who along with herdmates

Danville-ML Finest Missy-ET EX-90 and Astrahoe Jo Lee Roll-TW EX-90, will be highlights of

this barn meeting. Missy is an 8th generation Excellent granddaughter of Golden-Oaks Mark

Marion-ET and Roll is a 14th generation Excellent granddaughter of Royal Rosa, both cows that

thrive in this freestall environment.

Todd and Bill look forward to having everyone join them at the Barn Meeting to share some of

their insight and their great group of cows. They have a strong interest in Registered Holsteins

and have a goal to breed good solid cows and hope to continue to do so in the future in the

current facilities. Directions to Sunnyside Dairy from I-43, take exit 144 west. Go 6 miles on

County Hwy. C to Borgwardt Rd., then south 1 mile to Newton Rd. The farm is on the southwest

corner of Newton and Borgwardt Roads.

Nor-Way-Pete and Four-of-a-Kind Holsteins - Andy and Chad Peterson and Dan Cnossen

Our third barn meeting will be held in Eland at Nor-Way-Pete Holsteins. Nor-Way-Pete is

owned by Andy and Chad Peterson. The herd is comprised of both the Nor-Way-Pete cattle and

all animals owned by the Four-of-a-Kind partners. The herd manager and part owner of the Fourof-

a-Kind animals is Dan Cnossen. For the most part, Andy and Chad do all the crop work and

feeding as well as serving as a sounding board for cattle decisions. Dan supervises the parlor as

well as making the breeding decisions and merchandising any members of the herd.

The current rolling herd average for 249 cows on three-times per day milking is 30,887 3.75

1157F 2.93 904P. Their BAA is 108.7, which ranks in the top 10 nationally for their herd size.

Their breeding philosophy consists of using bulls who make cows that are outstanding in

mammary system, feet and legs and dairy strength. Their goal is always the same: breeding great

type with outstanding production.

There are several Excellent cows in the herd, almost all homebred with several 92, 93 and 94

point cows. They have milking daughters of Sanchez, Alexander and Million among others. The

herd also features the family of Four-of-a-Kind Roy Reba EX-93, which includes several

outstanding individuals. The influence of Durham can be seen throughout the herd.

The farm’s milking facility was built in 2002. They feel sand freestalls are the most important

ingredient in cow comfort, and say breeders should build their facility for the kind of cows you

want to milk. Keeping show cows comfortable and in shape while running with the rest of the

herd is challenging but doable.

The Nor-Way-Pete and Four-of-a-Kind partners would like to invite everyone to come tour their

facilities and see this outstanding group of cows. Visitors are welcome to tour the facilities

starting at 10:30 a.m. followed by a meal and plenty of cow talk. Nor-Way-Pete and Four-of-a-

Kind Holsteins are located 5 miles west of Wittenberg on Hwy. 29, then go south 11/2 miles on

Cherry Drive to the farm on the right.

Stone-Front Farms - Andy and Lyn Buttles

Andy and Lyn Buttles, along with their daughters Christina (5) and Kayla (2), will be hosting the

final barn meeting at Stone-Front Farms just outside of Lancaster. Together they milk

approximately 600 Registered cows on the farm in the rolling hills of Grant County. They farm

1000 acres of tillable land to grow the majority of their feed needs and utilize an additional 600

acres of pasture for raising replacements.

Stone-Front Farms has been the breeding ground for some amazing animals that have moved on

to do great things for their new owners. In recent years, Stone-Front Iron Pasta EX-96 has made

a splash in the show ring and was sold as a young cow. Andy still has five milking daughters and

many other family members in the herd from Pasta. Windy-Knoll-View Ultimate Pala and

Odyssey Chief Mark Ina also have outstanding descendents making their mark in the herd.

Andy and Lyn have expanded the herd size to the current size of 600 and built on the foundation

of animals started in 1913 by Andy’s great-great-grandfather. Andy and Lyn took over the herd

from Andy’s parents, Elam and Barbara Buttles, who are still an important part of the operation

as they raise all the young stock at a farm nearby. Though Christina and Kayla are not full-time

helpers yet, they can often be found helping in the calf barn or office. Andy also credits their

outstanding staff of employees for helping the farm run smoothly.

A decision to move the herd 15 years ago from Waterford, Wis., to its new home in Lancaster

allowed for an expansion to the current freestall barns. Andy was sure to pay attention to stall

size and design when adding on to the facilities. This helped to transition from their tie-stall barn

and to feel comfortable in putting great cows in a freestall environment versus the traditional tiestall.

The Buttles are delighted to invite everyone to see their facilities and cows at this year’s barn

meeting. Please enjoy the camaraderie and a lunch featuring Dave Schmocker’s world famous

grilled bacon. Stone-Front Farms is located three miles east of Lancaster or 12 miles west of

Platteville on Hwy. 81. The farm is on the south side of the road.

All barn meetings are open to any interested Holstein breeder. Any other breeders wanting to

host similar barn meetings should call the Wisconsin Holstein Association at 1-800-223-4269

and we’ll work with you to set one up for your local breeders.