DAT's Winners Circle

A Day for Jordan Siemers and HildaBorn “not too pretty” and in October, she could have been turned out to pasture never to surface again. But she was one of just a few pedigreed heifers at the Siemers farm at that particular time, so Jordan Siemers of WI., took this October calf to the county fair and enjoyed enough success to purchase Siemers Dundee Hilda 8669-ET.

Not always the healthiest calf in the barn with legs that would seemingly be a problem in the future, Hilda did her part and grew as a heifer, freshening into “just an average 2 year old.” At home, she earned her keep as a milk cow, making 36,000 lbs as a two year old, 48,000 as a three year old and peaking at 170lb per day at 4-10. But it was her pedigree and growth that earned her way as a show cow as she was included in the show string with hopes of a Premier Breeder banner.

Standing in the string she would garner a few looks and some comments but in the ring it was usually Jordan’s cousin, Crystal Siemers-Peterman juggling the purple banners and the lead strap of her champion.

The 2011 show season was good to this EX-94 Dundee daughter. She was first at the Wisconsin Spring Junior Show and took another blue ribbon at her Wisconsin Junior Championship show debut in July. In the open shows she stood 3rd at the spring show and 5th in July. Over time she had developed into a nice cow and her legs had improved. But the real test awaited her the first week of October.

It was the morning of the International Junior Holstein show at World Dairy Expo, Hilda was milking well and she looked good. But that cool Madison morning Hilda seemed to take on a different look. The look of a winner. The look of a champion. And as Jordan and Hilda entered the show ring this would be Hilda’s day.

Even though she was a five year old, this milk cow with 170,000lbs lifetime would be showing her in the first ever junior show 125,000lb class. Catching his eye, Hilda turned the head of the right man as judge Larry Tande pulled her into first and she would be back for a shot at champion.

In the ring for senior and grand champion selection, this time it would be Jordan’s turn to juggle the purple ban-ner and lead strap as Tande would give Hilda the nod as grand champion of the 2011 International Junior Hol-stein show.

Type and production run in the family as her EX Rudolph dam has 5 EX daughters that are sired by five differ-ent bulls. The Rudolph is a daughter of the famous Golden-Oaks Mark Prudence, EX-95 GMD, 6-7 356 62,981 3.8 2406 2.7 1706 and lifetime production over 238,000 milk. Prudence was from an EX-91 Sexation then an EX-93-2E-GMD Elevation with many more Excellent, high producing, well known cows behind that.

Currently Hilda has three Atwood and two Sanchez daughters from invitro work along with daughters of Brax-ton, Spearment and Guthrie from conventional embryo transfer.

The excitement has not ended in Madison for 15 year old Jordan as this is the first year there will be an opportu-nity for the Junior All American contest for the 125,000lb cow. Hilda will see the classifier in November and is due to calve in February with twin bulls.

Cows aren’t Jordan’s only interests. As a sophomore at Howards Grove High School, he is also active in FFA, football, track, and weight lifting. Jordan’s parents are Dan and Janina Siemers.

Siemers Holsteins is a large family operation that consists of 2,800 cows with a rolling herd average of 33,131 3.72 1234 3.03 1004. All animals are registered and their breeding philosophy focuses on both genomics and show type.

Star of the Tanbark Trail: Eastside Lewisdale Gold MissySociety loves superstars and objectifies runway models. In the dairy industry, we are no different. We have our own versions of Marilyn Monroe or Cindy Crawford. Our beauties are also sleek, long, graceful and elegant, only they happen to have four legs and long flowing tails. Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy is one beauty who has earned her star on our walk of fame. At home at Morsan Farms on the great plains of Alberta, Missy is all about being a cow. Morsan Market-ing Manager Chris Parry notes, “Missy is all about food! She loves to eat and if any one comes in to the barn she is up at the feed fence ready to eat. She is aggressive with the other show cows when it comes to her grain.”

In Hollywood, we watch celebrities who struggle with all that comes with fame. Missy takes it all in stride. According to Parry, “She is just one of those cows with personality and style. She always looks great any time of the day and any time in her lactation. We get a number of tours here in to the farm and she loves to come out and show off to the crowd, and you rarely have to get her up when people are around.”

Missy’s personality rises to the top when you watch her on her own red carpet, in the showring. She knows instinctively that she is the cream of the crop. You can see it in the flow of her stride, and the gleam from her silky black hide, to the thrill of those with the pleasure of owning her as well as those who can take the credit of breeding such a once-in-a-lifetime individual. Missy is owned by a partnership of Holstein enthusiasts, including Morsan Farms, Van Ruinen Dairy, Gert Andreasen, Georges Uebelhardt and Mark Butz. Missy was bred by Eastside Holsteins and Lewisdale Holsteins, and was born on the far eastern shores of Canada in Prince Edward Island.

Missy’s most recent trip on the red carpet was at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, ON. Continuing her winning ways, Missy yet again sorted herself to the top of the 5 year old class, won another Grand Champi-onship and was named Supreme Champion. This was her second time being crowned a Supreme Champion in just over a month, as Missy won the coveted crown at October’s World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI.

No stranger to the tanbark trail, Missy has an impressive resume built to date. In 2009, Missy racked up an All-American nomination after winning the Junior 3 Year Old class, as well as being named the Reserve Inter-mediate Champion. In 2008, she enjoyed an impressive show season as a Junior 2 Year Old, culminating being selected as Unanimous All-American and All-Canadian. Her feats that year included finding herself in conten-tion several times for Grand Champion, as a mere two year old. She was named the Intermediate and Reserve Grand Champion at the Western Fall National Show, and Reserve Intermediate Champion and Honorable Men-tion Grand champion at the Grand Westerner Showcase.

In November of 2009, Missy made her mark on Holstein history in the sale arena, as well. She earned the title of The Million Dollar Missy, selling for an astounding 1.2 million dollars in Morsan’s Road to the Royal Sale. This was the second highest price ever paid for a cow at public auction in Canada.

In addition to her show and sale triumphs, Missy is proving she is more than just another pretty face…or ud-der…or frame. She is a working girl in her own right, currently projected make over 35,000 pounds of milk in 305 days as a five year old. As a three year old, Missy completed a 308 day lactation with 31,837 pounds of milk, 1,407 pounds of fat, and 1,016 pounds of protein. She also made over 25,000 pounds of milk as a two year old.

Missy is proving herself through her genetics as well and currently has 36 daughters and 22 sons. Seven of her sons are either in AI or headed to AI. Missy has offspring sired by Snowman, Damion, Shamrock, Sid, Gerald, Man-O-Man, Aftershock, Shottle, Alexander, Braxton, Beacon, Federal, Sanchez and Dolman. Her only milking daughter to date is a Dolman two year old who is scored VG 87 as a two year old, and her daughters are in high demand in the auction ring.

Morrill Philosophy Rings TrueRob Morrill’s philosophy has been serving his family well. “I’ve always felt that the better I take care of the cows, the better they will take care of me,” says Morrill, while discussing the successes his family has reaped from their passion of breeding good cows. “It’s too much work to milk ugly cows,” he laughs. It’s pretty evident that the Morrill’s don’t milk ugly cows, when one takes a look at this Penacook, New Hampshire herd. Morrill Farm Dairy is all about family, both the Morrill family and the cow families. And that is something they are very proud of. All the members of the Morrill family are involved in the family farm. Sons Andy, Kevin and Ryan all work on the farm and daughter Kimberly will be working as a Dairy Extension Specialist at Cornell University. Together they comprise the third and fourth generations of the family on the farm, which was estab-lished in 1925 by Rob’s grandfather, John. In addition, the fifth generation is in place, as the Morrill’s have been blessed with two grandchildren. Showing is a family thing for the Morrill’s. Rob noted that for the second time, everyone in the family made it to Madison for the Red & White Show at World Dairy Expo. That is a special feat, as most know. Usu-ally, someone is left at home to contend with running the farm in the absence of the rest of the team members. “Showing is our recreation. It’s something we all enjoy, and hopefully there is a little added payday that comes from marketing,” states Rob. He also noted that this year was especially poignant, as their youngest child Ryan completed his last year as a Junior in the showring. The Morrill’s interest in Red & Whites started around 1994, when their daughter Kimberly was old enough to show in 4-H. She wasn’t certain she wanted to show a calf, so Rob suggested a Red & White calf, and from there, a passion and enterprise was born. Currently, the Morrill’s are milking about 150 head, with another 150 head of young stock. The herd is comprised of about 40% Red & Whites, and about half of the Black & Whites in the herd are also Red Carriers. The focus of their breeding program has revolved around two cow families, one of which is the Scarlet family. This cow family descends back to C Continental Scarlet-Red 3E 95. Rob bought into this family by purchas-ing a bred heifer, who he felt had all the parts to become a foundation cow. Indeed she did, as this bred heifer ultimately became the grandmother of one of the shining stars of Morrill Farm Dairy, Morrill SR Scarlette-Red-ET 2E 94, the Unanimous Junior All-American 125,000lb Cow for 2010, as well as being named the Reserve All-American 125,000lb Cow. Scarlette has been tearing up the tanbark trail again this year, leaving a stream of national show wins in her wake. In the 125,000lb Cow Classes, Scarlette has won in the Junior shows at the Premier National Junior Show, World Dairy Expo and the New Hampshire State Holstein Show. In addition to winning her class in these Junior shows, Scarlette was named Honorable Mention Senior Champion at the Premier National and World Dairy Expo, and took home the Senior & Grand Champion banners at the New Hampshire State Holstein Show. Besides success in the Junior show, Scarlette is a contender in the open shows as well. She was the second 125,000lb Cow at the All-American Dairy show in Harrisburg, as well as winning the Best Udder Ribbon and being named the Total Performance winner. She repeated her second place open show winning at World Dairy Expo, this time taking home the production award. To add a feather in her cap, she has been nominated for the 2011 Junior Cow of the Year. In addition to her winning ways, Scarlette is making her own mark on the Morrill’s breeding program by prov-ing herself as a transmitter of type. She has three milking Advent daughters, all who have been scored VG as young cows, and have the potential to be Excellent cows in the near future. Two of these daughters were the winning Produce of Dam at Harrisburg. Scarlette is being flushed to Advent again to fill an order for embryos to Australia. Another family that is a foundation at Morrill Farm Dairy is that of Roncon Carla Factor-Red 4E-93, and recently, they have had the opportunity to add members of the family of Derrwynn Centra Selsey-Red EX 91. Continuing to work with bloodlines like this provide for growth and prosperity at the Morrill’s.

Involvement in agricultural organizations and educating the public about animal and production agriculture is important to them. Rob notes that there are so many myths that are perpetuated regarding dairy production, and issues such as antibiotic usage and residue that color how people view our industry and our product. Through continued involvement and activism, the Morrill’s work to ensure the future of animal agriculture and the liveli-hood their family has shared for over 85 years.

Commitment Got Nelsons Pronto Liz AcrossPatience. Drive. Dedication. Perseverance. Commitment. Above all else, commitment is a key to the success of Nelsons Pronto Liz this show season. Irene Nelson of Nelson Farms in Ceres, CA, dedicated herself to making a special heifer a great one. This girl was bred to be special. Nelsons Pronto Liz is a September 2010 Pronto daughter from a VG 88 Adolph, and her second dam is the heart of the Nelson’s breeding program, Nelsons Estimate Liz EX 94. Liz had a banner year for the Nelson family in 2001, being named the Junior All-American Winter Yearling and garnering HHM kudos in the open contest. Liz is still going strong at over 11 years of age, and just produced 20 good embryos in a June flush. In addition to her progeny, Liz had a clone who expounded on her winning ways. Nelsons Estimate Liz 2 ETN EX 92 was the All-American Spring Calf in 2003 and Spring Yearling in 2004, as well as being voted the People’s Choice Heifer in 2004 after a crowing achievement of being named Junior Champion at World Dairy Expo. She also earned Junior All-American honors in 2003. The Liz’s dam was also a home-bred cow, Nelsons Storm Liz VG 86. This family has brought global attention to Nelson Farms, and has been well received throughout the years.

Breeding that special animal is a crucial part of the equation but so is the daily program and devotion that is put in place to help that special animal achieve its full potential. Irene Nelson knows what that takes and is certainly devoted to the means to that end. Living in central California puts up certain road blocks to raising show heifers to their full potential.

“When it gets hot, they get sluggish,” says Liz of her animals. “Their metabolism slows and that affects everything, and they don’t grow any hair.” While discussing with her family how to remedy that problem sever-al years ago, they thought about what beef breeders did to maximize the potential of their animals. “We thought if refrigerator boxes worked for them, they would work for us,” stated Nelson. So the decision to purchase a refrigeration unit was made. This in itself brings about intense management conditions, as someone needs to be around to monitor the refrigeration unit, and to remove the animals in case of a power failure. “I’m pretty tied here,” laughed Irene. “I sometimes wonder if there are any other people as crazy as me, but the results are worth it.”

For example, Pronto Liz entered the refrigeration program in early June, when the California summer started to turn on the heat. She spent ten hours a day in the box, which was temperature controlled to be 58 de-grees, and was rinsed down three times per day. In the evening, when the temps outside would drop to about 65 degrees, then Liz would be taken out, exercised and turned out for the evening. During the course of the shows, Liz did lose some hair over her chine, but Irene used some Rogaine on it, in combination with the refrigeration unit, to great success. “She had great hair, all year,” Nelson said, in triumph over conquering one of the most troublesome problems fitters encounter.

Everything paid off in aces for the Nelson’s, as Pronto Liz made a successful run on the tanbark this past year. Pronto Liz started off her year by winning the fall calf class and being named Reserve Junior Champion at the Western National Spring Show. She continued on being named All-California Fall Calf, as well as being selected as the Junior Champion of the California State Show. From there, it was another win at the California State Fair. Then came the decision to participate in the big dance…World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI.

“I made the decision that the expense of a trip to Madison wasn’t worth it if we couldn’t be in the top 6,” Nelson said, once again reiterating her determination to produce a winner. The Nelsons chose to transport their own animals because Irene didn’t feel that she could put all the hard work and long hours of preparation at risk of a bad trip. “I needed to know that everything was done to get her there in top form. A bad trip and the whole thing is done.”

The trip from Ceres, CA takes about 30-40 hours. So, the Nelson’s planned their trip with three head of their own, as well as some other animals to help offset the cost of the trip. Their trailer was bedded with an 18 inch pack, and there are cameras installed inside the trailer so they can keep an eye on the passengers between stops on the journey.

Once arriving in Madison, the Nelsons joined forces with Doug and Melanie Nifong of Me-Do-Meadows. Doug was thrilled with the hair that Pronto Liz had, and commented that it was some of the best hair he had ever worked with. Yet another affirmation to Irene’s dedication in creating a winner. During the week of Madi-son, ironically, Liz experienced some of the warmest conditions she had encountered. It didn’t slow her down though, as she sorted herself to the top of the heap when Judge Gerald Coughlin placed her third in a strong Fall Calf class that produced the eventual Reserve Junior Champion.

The success of Pronto Liz and her other family members isn’t an accident. Nelson Farms consistently ranks at the top of the BAA list for herds over 500, including being third on the list this past year. The entire herd will be scored again in January, and they also do Breeders Choice sets. The herd currently numbers at about 550 milk-ing head, with about 90 percent being registered.

The Nelson family also enjoys marketing their genetics, and they employ an aggressive flush program to help fill the interest. Both Liz and Liz 2ETN have embryos available, as well as other members of the family. In fact, a full sister to Pronto Liz will be selling in Airosa 100th Anniversary Sale in Tulare, CA in February.