Wisconsin Holstein Convention and Futures Sale a Success in Tomah
Baraboo, Wis. – The LaCrosse, Monroe and Vernon County Holstein Breeders, in coordination with the Wisconsin Holstein Association, hosted the annual Adult Holstein Convention at the Cranberry Country Lodge in Tomah, Wis., February 21-22, 2014. Over 200 Holstein breeders from across the state were in attendance for meetings and to receive recognition for outstanding accomplishments in 2013.
Following a presentation from Holstein Association USA Regional Directors Corey Geiger, Paul Buhr, Jr., and CEO John Meyer on Friday afternoon, breeders attended committee meetings to discuss new and old business for the upcoming year. At the dinner that evening, the 2013 Wisconsin Top Performer cows were announced. Recognized were Tom Kestell of Waldo, Siemers Holsteins of Newton, Allan & Susan Lundberg of Osseo, Kellercrest Registered Holsteins of Mount Horeb, and Jeff and Kate Hendrickson of Belleville. Receiving the overall Top Performer was Kellercrest Holsteins with Kellercrest Shottle Loni-ET, EX-92 GMD DOM, with a record at 6-09 3x 305d 49,163M 5.3 2605F 2.84 1397P lbs. Also recognized were owners of cows that have produced 300,000 and 400,000 pounds of lifetime milk.
Friday evening concluded with the announcement of the Young Adult Educational Scholarship award winners and the fifth annual Wisconsin Convention Futures Sale, sponsored by Wisconsin Holstein’s Young Adult Committee (YAC). Winners of this year’s Educational Award were Brandon and Shianne Ferry of Hilbert.
The Futures sale averaged $4817 on 33 lots that included choices from some of the area’s most prominent cow families. High seller at $12,000 was Lot #18, consigned by Charles, Eric and Brandy Westphal of Brownsville, and purchased by Al & Cathy Silverthorn and Joe & Kathy Hughes of Omro. This fancy June 2013 McCutchen with big time show potential and good numbers also has a +2363 GTPI, and is a top 100 GTPI McCutchen along with top 50 for type at +4.03 PTAT. Second high seller was Lot #6 from Budjon Farms, Joel Kietzman and Clark Woodmansee of Lomira at $10,000. This heifer, Budjon-JK ABS Dial It In-ET*RC, an Absolute daugher of EX-95 2E Scientific Gold Dana-Rae-ET, is a September 4, 2013 calf and sold to Bob Miller of Orangeville, IL. Rounding out the top three was Lot #7 at $9,000, which was a choice consigned by Synergy Dairy of Pulaski purchased by Jeff Jauquet of Luxemburg. At the completion of the Futures sale, the Junior Activities Committee worker auction raised $3,525 for the Junior Holstein Association.
Saturday morning kicked off with round panel discussion by renown breeders Frank Regan of Regancrest Holsteins, Waukon, IA, and Bob Miller of Mil-R-Mor Farm, Orangeville, IL. Following Regan and Miller, the annual WHA business meeting was held, and included committee reports from board members who head the various WHA committees and a report on the financial status of the Association. Four incumbent board members were re-elected to the board of directors: Kent Wendorf of Viroqua; Dan Cnossen of Hatley; Tracy Nelson of Ellsworth, and Chad Ryan of Fond du Lac.
Following the annual meeting, 40-year and 50-year members and Wall of Fame inductees were honored. This year’s Wall of Fame inductees were Marlowe Nelson, the cow Snow-N-Denises Dellia, bred by Robert Snow of Sparta, and the bull Regancrest Elton Durham, bred by the Regan family of Waukon, IA.
Marlowe’s receipt of this award marked the first time a living person received recognition. Nelson worked tirelessly in establishing the Japan/Wisconsin trainee program in the 1950s, where young Japanese men traveled to Wisconsin to learn about dairying while working on state Holstein operations. Nelson is also a previous WHA President, has served as a delegate to the National Holstein Convention numerous times, and is very active in his community.
Snow-N Denises Dellia, EX-95 GMD DOM, was bred by Bob Snow of Sparta and purchased as a cow by Frank Regan of Regancrest Farms, Waukon, IA. To date, Dellia has 158 offspring, of which 34 are scored Excellent (21 of those female). This includes three at EX-93, four at EX-94 and two at EX-95. Dellia’s sons include the renowned Durham and Dundee. Durham, this year’s inductee for Wall of Fame Bull, has over 4,400 daughters scored Excellent and was named Premier Sire at World Dairy Expo five times.
Following the awards luncheon, the afternoon was highlighted by farm tours to Johnson-Way Holsteins and Ar-Lor Holsteins, Pierce-Vale Farm and Hauve Farm.
Honored at the Saturday evening banquet was this year’s Younger Distinguished Dairy Person, Distinguished Service, and Distinguished Breeder award winners. This year’s Younger Dairy Person recognized the partnership of KHW Genetics – Ryan and Traci Weigel of Platteville, Wis., and Ryan and Brandi Kamps of Belmont, Wis. Honored with Distinguished Service recognition was Christianne Williams of Baraboo, Wis. Receiving the prestigious Distinguished Breeder honor was Indianhead Holsteins, Robert and Karyn Schuaf of Barron, Wis.
KHW Genetics started almost 14 years ago with the purchase of Kamps-Hollow Altitude-ET at the Pioneer Dairy Classic in the fall of 2000. The partners now own 111 head of Registered Holsteins, all descendents of Altitude, who has developed into an EX-95 Dam of Merit. They have bred 18 Excellent, 34 Very Good and 10 Good Plus females here in the U.S. and not one of those animals is scored below 81 points. They have also bred three Dams of Merit, namely KHW Regiment Apple-Red-ET EX-96, KHW Regiment Apple 2-ETN, EX-93, and KHW Goldwyn Aiko-ET EX-91. Aiko and Altitude are still owned by the partnership. While the Weigel and Kamps families say that their experiences with Altitude and her offspring have been truly rewarding, their most exciting accomplishments lie closer to home. More specifically, they state that watching their children Kaelyn, Kenadee and Keegan and Delaney and Tessa, who are now becoming more excited about the Registered Holstein industry and exhibiting their cattle at local shows is something they look forward to for years to come.
Christianne Williams was an employee of Wisconsin Holstein for 19 years. She worked extensively with the junior program and helped to coordinate the 2008 National Holstein Convention hosted by Wisconsin. Chris is only the fourth employee in the history of this award to receive this recognition.
Distinguished breeders Robert and Karyn Schuaf of Indianhead Holsteins have a world-renowned dairy operation recognized for its deep genetics centered around a strong cow family philosophy. The Schaufs milk 80 Registered Holsteins with a herd average just under 30,000 pounds of milk per cow. They have been recognized as having the highest BAA in the nation for their herd size, peaking at 112.7. In 2002, 54 of their 110 cows were classified Excellent, and they dispersed the milking herd along with select heifers. The sale was the highest-recorded sale average in the U.S. at that time. Karyn and Bob have four sons, Christian, 33; Gabriel, 31 (Katie); Zachary, 28 (Brooke); and Jacob, 23.
Also honored at the Saturday evening banquet were outstanding advertisements in the Wisconsin Holstein News. Taking top ad honors for the year was Moorclose Holsteins, the Bill and Kelle Calvert family of Cuba City, Wis.
The WHA Board of Directors met at the conclusion of the convention to elect officers for the upcoming year. Newly elected officers are President Chris McCullough of Juda, Vice President Paula Bovre of Fond du Lac and Secretary Marci Walker of Wisconsin Dells, with Matt Lippert of Pittsville and Kevin Jorgensen of Waupun also serving as Executive Committee members.
The Wisconsin Holstein Association holds its annual convention each year in February. For more information on this or other events, check out the website at www.wisholsteins.com, or call 1-800-223-4269. Images of the award winners are available upon request.
About Us
Wisconsin Holstein is a membership organization with the purpose of promoting the Wisconsin Holstein Registered Breed and its breeders and owners. For more information visit the WHA website at www.wisholsteins.com.