Coca-Cola’s last fairlife check: $6.173B in March 2025. The SEC filings stop at the payment. Members need co-op records; suppliers need the clause that prices the next pound of protein.
In March 2025, The Coca-Cola Company made the final milestone payment on its fairlife acquisition: $6.173 billion. For a dairy farmer, the natural question is whether any of that money reached the people who produce the milk.
The filings we reviewed establish the acquisition payment. They don’t disclose how the proceeds were allocated or distributed to Select Milk Producers members. That leaves two questions: what a co-op member received as an owner, and what a milk supplier is paid for components. One farmer can hold both roles, and each question needs different records.
New York and fairlife marked the production ramp-up at the $650 million Webster, N.Y. plant in August 2026. For Northeast shippers, the document that matters is the buyer’s written payment terms, and the rate it sets for the next eligible pound of protein.
Coca-Cola paid $979 million in cash, net of cash acquired. It also agreed to milestone payments, payable in 2021, 2023 and 2025 if fairlife met financial targets through 2024, each based on agreed formulas tied to fairlife’s operating results and with no ceiling.
Coca-Cola reported milestone payments of $100 million in 2021, $275 million in 2023 and $6.173 billion in March 2025. By Bullvine’s math, the three totaled $6.548 billion.
At acquisition, Coca-Cola booked $270 million as the estimated fair value of those contingent payments. The filings give the amounts paid but leave out the formula details, so they can’t show how much of the final payment came from volume, price or margin.
What the filings don’t tell Select members
Select sold the stake and its members are dairy farms, so it’s easy to assume the earnout reached those farms. Identifying the seller doesn’t establish what any member received, and the filings we reviewed don’t settle who received each milestone payment or whether any of it went to members.
For a co-op member, the question is what the co-op received from the sale and any milestone payments, and whether it allocated, retained, credited or distributed that money. The board can show how it recorded them. The records that answer it are:
co-op financial statements and annual reports to members
equity or patronage allocation notices
board resolutions on the proceeds
bylaws on allocation
For a milk supplier, the question is what the payment schedule pays for additional components, and under what conditions. That answer sits in a different set of documents:
the payment schedule or supply agreement
12 months of milk statements
any written premium terms
Bylaws may explain allocation rules without showing how these particular proceeds were treated. A milk statement can’t resolve the ownership question, and co-op equity records can’t price the next pound of protein.
Two roles, two sets of records
Co-op member (owner)
Milk supplier
The question
What did the co-op receive from the sale and any milestone payments, and did it allocate, retain, credit or distribute that money?
What does the payment schedule pay for additional components, and under what conditions?
Who can answer
The board can show how it recorded them
The buyer, through written payment terms
Records to request
Co-op financial statements and annual reports to members; equity or patronage allocation notices; board resolutions on the proceeds; bylaws on allocation
The payment schedule or supply agreement; 12 months of milk statements; any written premium terms
How big is Webster’s milk draw at design capacity?
New York’s August 20 release describes a 745,000-square-foot facility designed to take 5 to 6 million lb of milk a day. In its Aug. 20 release, fairlife said the plant was already sourcing milk daily from more than 40 local dairy farms. Reports showed that commercial shipments of fairlife ultra-filtered milk, Core Power protein shakes and Nutrition Plan shakes began there in January 2026. As of late August the plant was still ramping toward full capacity, and fairlife expected full operation later in 2026.
Webster: on the record vs. not disclosed
On the public record
Not disclosed in sources reviewed
$650 million, 745,000 sq ft plant
Actual milk intake
Designed for 5–6 million lb of milk a day
Supplier openings
Sourcing daily from 40+ local farms (Aug. 2026)
What suppliers are paid
Commercial shipments began January 2026
Any effect on Northeast premiums
Full operation expected later in 2026
Supplier agreements
We didn’t locate public supplier agreements. The sources reviewed don’t disclose actual intake, supplier openings, what suppliers are paid or any effect on Northeast premiums.
What the next pound of protein earns
Under a U.S. component-pay schedule, one clause sets the rate for the next eligible pound of protein. Where a statement has no protein line, the buyer can say whether protein enters the payment formula at all. Canadian producers are paid under a different system, so the USDA figures below don’t apply to them.
USDA’s federal order protein price uses wholesale cheddar and the butterfat price calculated from wholesale butter. In 2025, the average of USDA’s 12 monthly announced component prices was $2.4495/lb for protein and $2.4416/lb for butterfat. Those are announced federal order prices, not proof of what any particular supplier was paid.
Before a ration or contract change
1. Audit 12 months of statements before renewal or a feeding change
Three numbers from 12 months of statements
Calculation
Formula
What it tells you
Historical protein revenue per cwt
Total protein dollars ÷ total shipped cwt
How much protein contributed to each cwt
Historical average realized price per lb
Total protein dollars ÷ total paid protein lb
The average price paid per pound in the past
Marginal payment per added lb
Payment at current protein lb, then again with one extra lb, holding milk volume and other components constant
What the next pound earns under the farm’s terms
A year of statements supports three separate calculations:
Historical protein revenue per cwt: total protein dollars ÷ total shipped cwt
Historical average realized price per lb: total protein dollars ÷ total paid protein lb
Marginal payment per added lb: the payment at current protein pounds, then again with one extra pound, holding milk volume and other components constant. The difference is what that pound earns under the farm’s terms.
The second number is useful, but it isn’t the third. An average only works as a marginal value once three things are confirmed: the extra pound is eligible, no threshold or cap blocks it, and the deduction changes are known. Where the statement doesn’t break out protein revenue, the buyer should be able to explain how protein enters the calculation. The Bullvine’s $28,614 tenth works through an Upper Midwest example.
Question for the buyer: Which line on the statement pays for the next pound of protein, and at what rate?
2. Get premium terms in writing
When a buyer offers a protein premium or a UF/high-protein line, these terms belong in writing:
eligible pounds and test method
thresholds and caps
deductions
duration, notice and exit terms
Question for the buyer: What happens to this premium at renewal?
3. Change the ration only when total margin holds
This protein-only screen holds only when other revenue and cost changes are negligible or counted separately:
Break-even extra paid protein (lb/cow/day) = added cost per cow per day ÷ marginal protein payment per lb
As an illustration with assumed prices, not a market quote or forecast: a ration adding $0.30/cow/day, against an assumed marginal payment of $3.00/lb of eligible protein, breaks even at 0.10 additional paid lb/cow/day. If the projected increase crosses a threshold or cap, run the full payment formula at both production levels. At a zero or negative marginal rate, extra protein alone can’t cover the added cost.
A ration change can also move milk volume, butterfat, other solids and costs. The full test compares the change in total milk revenue with the change in feed and other relevant costs.
Question for the nutritionist: Does the change in the total milk check beat the change in total cost?
4. Keep sire selection balanced
Genetic emphasis should match how the farm is actually paid, inside a balanced breeding objective built on current CDCB and Holstein USA evaluations rather than protein compensation alone. The Bullvine’s analysis of TPI 2026’s protein trap covers how the 2026 revision treats protein.
Question for the breeding plan: Would this mating still make economic sense if the special premium ended before the resulting daughters entered the milking herd?
If payment depends on processor performance, require a way to verify it
A payment tied to a product, plant or margin is only as good as the records that come with it. A farm’s delivery records prove what it shipped. They can’t prove how big a performance pool was or how it was split among suppliers.
The terms to request and weigh are:
defined inputs and calculation periods
a statement the supplier can reconcile
independent review provisions
a correction process with deadlines
Not every supplier will get these terms. A buyer that won’t provide them has told the supplier something about the payment.
Question for the buyer: If the payment depends on the buyer’s results, how can the supplier check the calculation?
Coca-Cola’s filings account for the $6.173 billion on Coca-Cola’s side of the deal. The farm side still runs through two other documents: the co-op’s books and the buyer’s protein clause.
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An Ontario plant turns New York milk into brie, and Gellert says it pays a 50% duty to import it. Its US$40M annual estimate is a border cost, not a measure of lost Canadian milk demand.
An Ontario cheesemaker buys cow’s milk from dairies in upstate New York, turns it into brie and ships it back to the United States. That’s according to a complaint filed by importer Gellert Global Group (¶71). Once that brie crosses the border, Gellert says, it pays a 50% duty on it. Gellert says its Canadian cheeses enter at Alexandria Bay and Champlain, New York, and at Detroit (¶68).
The U.S. began applying the 50% duties under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 on August 22, 2026, according to the Congressional Research Service. The duties target selected Canadian goods and carry no exemption for USMCA-qualifying products. Gellert estimates the duties will cost it US$40 million a year on Canadian cheese (¶66). It says it has already paid at least US$520,538 on 22 entries made between September 16 and October 11, 2026 (¶67). Neither figure shows how much Canadian cow’s-milk demand is at risk.
The Elizabeth, New Jersey-based importer filed its complaint at the U.S. Court of International Trade on October 20, 2026 (Case No. 26-cv-04636). It asks the court to declare the duties unlawful, stop their collection, and order refunds with interest. On October 23, Gellert filed a motion asking the court to halt collection immediately while the case proceeds and to rule against the tariffs on the merits.
On October 28, the court granted Gellert’s motion in part and denied it in part. The docket entry doesn’t say which parts. The scheduling order, as reproduced on CourtListener, sets December 11 for the government’s response and January 11, 2027, for Gellert’s reply. The October 28 order leaves the oral-argument date to be determined. Those are briefing dates, not a timetable for refunds.
What the filings show about milk exposure
Paragraph 71 says one Ontario supplier makes its brie from New York cow’s milk. It doesn’t say what share of that supplier’s milk comes from the United States.
Gellert’s portfolio runs to more than 15 product lines (¶62). It includes sheep’s milk and goat’s milk cheeses, which can’t simply be counted as Canadian cow’s-milk demand. Gellert’s declaration identifies its brie and mascarpone as cow’s-milk cheeses.
Calculating the milk used to make the affected cheese requires:
shipment quantities
milk species
where the milk came from
product-specific yields
Proving lost milk demand requires evidence that sales or production actually declined:
changed orders
changed production
changed milk purchases
whether the cheese, or the milk, found another buyer
In a declaration filed October 23, co-CEO Thomas S. Gellert says the company is absorbing the duty through the end of 2026. He attributes delayed hiring and investment, pressure on working capital, and reduced margins to absorbing those costs. These are the company’s own statements, not court findings.
Separately, Gellert forecasts that if the tariffs continue, it will have to raise prices. It expects lost or reduced sales and supply-chain disruption as producers scale back (¶70). The filings reviewed don’t quantify the timing or size of any losses, or any actual change in orders or milk purchases.
What the US$40 million measures
Gellert says it imported roughly US$71 million of Canadian cheese in 2025, duty-free under USMCA. It now pays 50% of the entered value, which is the customs value the duty is calculated on. It estimates that comes to US$40 million a year (¶¶62, 66).
2025 Canadian cheese imports (Gellert): roughly US$71 million
Annual duty estimate (Gellert): US$40 million
Historical-base illustration (Bullvine math, not an expected bill): US$71 million × 50% = US$35.5 million
Annual taxable value implied by the estimate (Bullvine math): US$40 million ÷ 50% = US$80 million
The US$80 million implied taxable value sits roughly US$9 million above Gellert’s reported 2025 import value. Neither the complaint’s paragraphs cited here nor Gellert’s declaration reconciles the two, so the gap is unexplained. That doesn’t show the forecast is wrong, and both underlying figures are rounded.
Why cheese falls under the alcohol and auto tariffs
The administration says the duties offset Canadian discrimination against U.S. trade. In a statement to Fox Businessafter the suit was filed, an unnamed administration official said Section 338 lets the President offset “Canada’s continued discrimination against American dairy, alcohol, and auto exports.” The official said the administration “will defend vigorously the President’s actions in court.”
On dairy, the administration’s grievance is about quota access for retailers. According to the CRS summary of the dairy proclamation, Canada lets retailers hold cheese-quota allocations under its trade agreement with the EU, but not dairy-quota allocations under USMCA.
Gellert says that same dairy proclamation “does not reach cheese at all” (¶60). Its cheeses were added on September 8 through amendments to the alcohol and motor-vehicle actions, and collection started September 15.
Every import is classified under the U.S. tariff schedule, known as the HTSUS. Goods covered by these duties also carry a second tariff code that identifies the extra charge. Gellert’s filings report both for its cheese (¶66):
Chèvre-style goat’s milk cheese, brie and camembert: tariff schedule line 0406.90.99, extra-duty code 9903.03.14, under the motor-vehicle action as amended by Proclamation 11065.
Sheep’s milk cheese, mascarpone and borgonzola: tariff schedule line 0406.40.54 for borgonzola, extra-duty code 9903.03.12, under the alcohol action as amended by Proclamation 11064. The filings don’t give the regular lines for sheep’s milk cheese or mascarpone.
These are the classifications and treatment Gellert reports for its own products. They aren’t blanket classifications for every cheese with the same name.
The product list keeps changing. Proclamation 11076 rewrote the motor-vehicle product list again for goods entered from October 30, 2026. “Canadian cheese” isn’t a customs description. A broker’s check against current rules covers four items:
the product’s classification
its origin
the extra-duty provision that applies
the date that provision took effect
The legal fight and the narrow timing claim
Gellert challenges both the legal authority for the tariffs and the timing of collection on newly added goods. Duties on products added September 8 began September 15, seven days later, instead of after the 30-day wait Gellert says the law requires. Gellert’s declaration says it paid at least US$381,000 on entries made between September 15 and October 7, 2026, the window that timing claim covers.
An order stopping collection would change duties on future covered entries. A refund order would return duties on eligible past entries. How far either reaches depends on what the order actually covers. A win on the timing claim alone would address that window, not later collections.
What this means for operations
Processors and exporters
Each affected product needs its classification, origin, extra-duty provision, and effective date confirmed by a customs broker against current rules, including the October 30 list change. That check matters most when a U.S. customer changes prices, volumes, or delivery plans. September 15 isn’t the start date for every product. The file for each product should also hold:
shipment value and volume
the documented milk source
any order change
the contract terms on who carries tariff costs and who would receive any refund
Importers
A broker or counsel should review entries carrying these duties, especially products newly added to the tariff list and entered between September 15 and October 7. That window comes from Gellert’s own claim and doesn’t establish refund eligibility. Nor does the briefing schedule establish whether collection has been halted or refunds authorized. Even a court order can leave scope, eligibility, implementation, or a stay unresolved. Until entitlement and payment timing are clear, a potential recovery isn’t available cash.
Producers
Milk-marketing organizations and processors can say whether changes in milk requirements or market outlets tied to U.S. cheese orders have been documented. The useful answer comes with quantities and dates, and says whether affected product found another buyer. The filings don’t establish a production loss for an individual Canadian farm.
Welcome back — your last estimate was on . Clear my data
What is Section 338 costing your U.S. exports?
Calculate your farm or plant’s potential duty exposure based on the 50% tariff rate applied to Canadian cheese. Assess your border risk in under 60 seconds.
Your baseline cross-border revenue. Defaults to Gellert’s reported 2025 volume.
The percentage of your catalog hit by Proclamation 11076 or prior actions.
Estimated Annual Duty Cost
$0
Taxable Value Exposed: $0
Illustrative estimate based on your inputs and Congressional Research Service (Nov 2, 2026). Not financial advice. Bullvine calculation.
How we calculate this
Taxable Value Exposed = Total Export Value × (Percentage on List ÷ 100).
Duty Cost = Taxable Value Exposed × 50%. The 50% penalty rate is stipulated by Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, applied to Canada starting August 22, 2026.
Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.
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November 26–28 in Cremona, Italy: four breeds, the European Sale at 7 p.m. Friday and the Supreme Champion final at 7 p.m. Saturday. Here’s the day-by-day plan.
More than a dozen cows stretch across the ring in a milking class at Cremona’s 2025 Holstein and Red Holstein Show. This year’s cow classes start Saturday, Nov. 28, at 10 a.m.
Last November, Joël Lepage and Jean-Philippe Proulx judged the National Holstein Show at the Royal in Toronto. This month the Quebec pair are judge and associate judge at the Cremona International Dairy Show.
It’s a long way from Amqui, but it isn’t new ground. Before Lepage and his wife Mireille Lavoie bought their farm in 2011, he spent nearly 10 years fitting cattle at shows, “in Italy and Switzerland in particular,” he told France’s Paysan Breton in September. This time he’s picking the winners.
He’ll do it in front of an international crowd. At last year’s 80th edition, the Milan daily Il Giorno reported 103 farms in the barns, more than 200 exhibitors from 19 countries and more than 150 foreign delegates from 22 nations.
Fantasy Darsena (Dateline x Gatedancer) takes the Supreme Champion blanket at Cremona in 2025, after winning Grand Champion Holstein. She’s owned by Soc. Agr. Oitana Guido e Ezio, Gabriele Gariglio, Erica Rijneveld and VKI Singh. This year’s Supreme is named Saturday, Nov. 28, at 7 p.m.
Official opening of the 81st Fiere Zootecniche Internazionali (Pavilion 1 entrance)
Thu, Nov 26
13:30
Brown Swiss show
Fri, Nov 27
09:00
Holstein and Red Holstein heifers
Fri, Nov 27
16:00
Next Generation classes
Fri, Nov 27
19:00
European Sale @Cremona
Sat, Nov 28
08:30
Next Generation Baby
Sat, Nov 28
10:00
Holstein and Red Holstein cows, then the Next Generation final and awards
Sat, Nov 28
19:00
Supreme Champion final, followed by the breeders’ party
Picking your days: if you can only manage one, make it Saturday, with the cow classes in the morning and the Supreme final at night. If you’re looking at young pedigrees, or buying, Friday has the heifers and the sale. Jersey and Brown Swiss breeders should plan for Thursday.
Come for the cows, stay for the Supreme final. The sale and the breeders’ party are open to everyone.
Joël Lepage [left] and associate judge Jean-Philippe Proulx in the ring at the 2025 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, where they judged the National Holstein Show. The Quebec pair take the same roles at Cremona, Nov. 26–28.
The judge: Joël Lepage, Amqui, Que. Lepage and Mireille Lavoie own JM Valley Holstein. Their Idee Windbrook Lynzi EX-95 4E 5* was Supreme Champion at the 2019 Royal and Holstein Canada’s 2020 Cow of the Year. In Europe he has judged Swiss Expo, Expo Bulle and France’s Open Dairy Show at Château-Gontier, and he was named this year’s Prim’Holstein judge at Space in Rennes (Paysan Breton). His résumé also includes Belgium’s Night of the Holstein Show and Argentina’s National Holstein Show. Associate judge Jean-Philippe Proulx is from Saint-Placide, Que., and worked alongside him at the 2025 Royal.
The European Sale @Cremona starts at 7 p.m. Friday in the Arena, a few hours after the heifer classes, and it’s open to everyone. If you’re in the market, it’s your chance to look the lots over in person before the bidding. CremonaFiere’s auction page confirms the sale is back for 2026. The catalogue hadn’t been posted as of November 1. We’ll add the standout pedigrees here when it is. Until then, check lots and bidding arrangements with CremonaFiere.
Up he goes. The ring erupts after Fantasy Darsena is named 2025 Supreme Champion at Cremona. This year’s final starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, and the breeders’ party follows. It’s open to everyone.
Last year’s Supreme final went to Fantasy Darsena (Dateline x Gatedancer), who was also Grand Champion Holstein. The Brown Swiss Vani Dua Lipa (Ray x Norwin) was Supreme Champion Junior, and Austria’s Schönhof Holstein was named best multi-breed breeder and exhibitor (CremonaFiere 2025 results). Cremonaoggi reported 400 animals at that show. This year’s Supreme Champion is named at 7 p.m. on November 28. (Our 2025 ringside report: Cremona’s 80th Explodes: Darsena Supreme.)
Youth activities run all three days: the school judging contest Thursday, Next Generation classes Friday, and Next Generation Baby and the finals Saturday. Last year Cremonaoggi reported more than 70 children and teenagers in Next Generation, and 11 school teams from 5 institutes in the judging contest.
All three are in Pavilion 2. Session titles are published in Italian, and interpretation isn’t listed, so check language support with the organizer before you go.
How should a dairy prepare for climate change? Thursday, Nov. 26, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Innovation Hub. Italy’s biogas consortium, CIB, hosts “La zootecnia da latte e la sfida del cambiamento climatico: fare le scelte giuste” (dairy farming and the climate challenge: making the right choices).
What can you recover from manure and digestate, and is there a market for it? Friday, Nov. 27, 11 a.m.–1 p.m., Innovation Hub. CIB covers nutrient-recovery technologies, markets and opportunities.
What does my milk cheque have to do with world markets? Saturday, Nov. 28, 4–5 p.m., Ruminantia Area. Euro Holstein and Ruminantia launch Milksight Observatory, which links production costs, milk price and market movements, with data on a website and an app. Euro Holstein CEO Paolo Sali speaks, and Ruminantia director Alessandro Fantini moderates.
In July, CremonaFiere reported a 15% increase in exhibitors and booked space for 2026, with more than 400 brands across 50,000 square metres. If automation’s on your list, Lely Centers from Crema, Milan, Brescia and Mantua will be on hand to talk automatic milking and herd-management software. For manure and digestate, combine your walk through the stands with CIB’s Friday session above.
Cremonaoggi reports that trade delegations and buyers from abroad will attend with ITA, the Italian Trade Agency. Exhibitors who want to meet them should ask CremonaFiere how meetings are arranged.
9 a.m.–6 p.m. daily, as published on the visitor page
Outside those hours
Next Generation Baby, Sat 8:30 a.m. · European Sale, Fri 7 p.m. · Supreme final and breeders’ party, Sat 7 p.m. The sale and the party are open to everyone. Ask CremonaFiere about entrance times and re-entry
Tickets
Current prices at the official checkout, linked from the visitor page
Vanifarm di Vaninetti Riccardo, Cosio Valtellino (SO)
Grand Champion Red Holstein
Rota Doral Barbara-R (Doral Red x Jordy Red)
Soc. Agr. Rota – Maria Cerri
Grand Champion Jersey
AL.CE J Victorius Barbie-ET (Victorious x Valentino)
Soc. Agr. Cerri Pietro Rinaldo e Figli S.S.
Grand Champion Brown Swiss
BBS Tracy (Lennox x Edgard)
Soc. Agr. La Favola – Bertoletti Davide
Made in Italy
Sabbiona Tiki (Doorman x Goldfarm)
Soc. Agr. Sabbiona di Ciserani Francesco e Lorenzo Ireneo S.S., Brembio (LO)
Best multi-breed breeder & exhibitor
—
Schönhof Holstein (Austria)
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By summer 1994, just two Holsteins had sold a million doses. Mogul and Supersire later joined the club, but genomics changed how bulls earned their place and passed on their influence.
A Bull at the Royal
In November 2000, the guest of honor at Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair wasn’t a cow. It was a bull.
Madawaska Aerostar was more than 15 years old. He’d been flown thousands of kilometers from his home barn in British Columbia and given a private pen. Thousands of visitors from around the world came to see him. According to reports, he was likened to Wayne Gretzky, a comparison Canadian cattle people could appreciate. It was the first time in decades that a mature bull had visited the Royal.
Madawaska Aerostar was by Hanoverhill Starbuck out of Madawaska Shady VG-85. Allan and Doris Boese bred him near Ontario’s Madawaska River after Gordon Souter of BCAI, the western Canadian AI company, asked them to breed Shady to Starbuck.
The crowds came for the cows he had already put in their barns.
Aerostar’s career eventually accounted for 1,230,476 doses of semen sold. His sons Startmore Rudolph and Oliveholme Aeroline also became millionaires. Through his daughter Condon Aero Sharon, he was the maternal grandsire of Picston Shottle, another member of the club.
A bull earned that kind of following slowly in those days. He went to stud, sired test daughters and waited for them to calve and milk. The successful ones returned as daughter-proven sires with working cows behind their figures, and farmers could order them again for years.
Select Sires called Fisher-Place Mandingo the “Come-Back Bull” because farmers who used him came back. A Valiant son out of Wapa Bootmaker Mandy, bred at Wapakoneta, Ohio, by Alison Place and Philip Fisher, Mandingo became the first bull to pass a million doses sold. Media reports remembered him as a uniform all-rounder, positive for milk, fat and type, without many extremes in either direction.
Select Sires’ listing for 7H1236 Fisher-Place Mandingo-Twin carries his July 1986 USDA proof from 565 daughters in 326 herds: +1,084 pounds of milk, +42 pounds of fat and +1.00 PDT for type. It names his breeders as Alison Place and Philip Fisher of Wapakoneta, Ohio.
By the summer of 1994, the entire Holstein millionaire club had two members, Mandingo and the Dutch-bred Skalsumer Sunny Boy. Sunny Boy’s lifetime total, built on fresh as well as frozen semen, reached 1,767,000 doses. His semen went to North America in 1992. For decades the traffic had run the other way, with North American Holstein genetics heading to Europe.
Robert Yeoman of Oklahoma hadn’t wanted to buy Southwind Valiant Naoma. The pregnant Valiant heifer’s teat placement concerned him, and she was carrying a calf by Bell, “a bull that did not appeal to me at all,” he recalled. He was persuaded to buy her anyway.
When the bull calf arrived, Yeoman kept him while he watched Naoma develop. Once she was milking, her teat placement “was not disappointing,” in his words. She was only about two months into that lactation, and not yet classified, when ABS sire analyst Dick Smith came to see her and asked what Yeoman wanted for the calf. Yeoman named his price and, by his own account, thought he’d never hear from Smith again. The next morning Smith called with a counter-offer of less cash up front plus a share of semen sales. The deal closed quickly, Yeoman recalled, because the calf had to leave the state before bluetongue season began.
Naoma went on to score VG-88 as a two-year-old and later EX-93. Her calf, born in 1984, was Southwind Bell of Bar-Lee.
“Southwind paid for my retirement!” Yeoman later said.
ABS listed 29H5296 Southwind Bell of Bar-Lee VG-86, born September 14, 1984, as acquired from Sandy Dale Farms, Ltd., of Dover, Oklahoma. His July 1989 proof from 46 daughters in 32 herds listed teat placement among the traits he improves.
Jenny-Lou Mrshl Toystory took the count past two million. His breeder at Jenny-Lou Farms in Wisconsin named him after the favorite movie of the Breunig children. The publication recorded 2.36 million doses sold, 2.3 million conventional and 60,000 sexed. In 2010 alone he supplied approximately 386,000 doses, more than a thousand a day across the year.
By summer 2016, the publication’s millionaire book counted 53 bulls. It also forecast that probably no other bull would reach two million doses.
Genomic selection was changing the business. Young bulls could be selected and used on far more information than pedigree alone supplied, before their daughters established a conventional proof. Proven sires now faced stronger competition from younger animals, among them two calves born in 2010 to separate branches of one cow family, Mogul and Supersire.
At a Glance
In summer 1994, only two Holsteins had sold a million doses, Fisher-Place Mandingo and Skalsumer Sunny Boy. By summer 2016, there were 53.
In 2008, the Andersens bought the pick of a flush. Genomic test results in August 2009 helped them choose Shauna from three full sisters.
S-S-I Montross Jedi joined the Mogul and Supersire lines. At his August 2021 death announcement, Select credited him with more than 600,000 units and seven daughter-proven sons.
Descent from Supersire doesn’t make an animal a carrier of early-onset muscle weakness (MW), and avoiding carrier-to-carrier matings reduces the risk of affected calves.
The Pick of a Flush
At the 2008 Eastern Elite Sale, the Andersen family of Seagull Bay Dairy in American Falls, Idaho, bought a first-choice female opportunity from the Rudy Missy family.
Greg Andersen later told The Bullvine that the family genomic-tested Shauna as a calf, along with her two full sisters, to decide which of the three to take. When the results came back in August 2009, Shauna ranked fourth among heifers in the breed.
Ammon-Peachey Shauna was a Planet daughter whose maternal pedigree ran through Shottle and O-Man to Wesswood-HC Rudy Missy, a Rudolph daughter. Through Rudolph, the bull honored at the Royal stood in the pedigree of a heifer chosen by genomic test.
Farther back stood Mandingo. His daughter Wesswood Mandingo Ivy produced Wesswood Elton Mimi, the dam of Rudy Missy.
Ammon-Peachey Shauna EX-92-2E-GMD-DOM at Seagull Bay Dairy in American Falls, Idaho. The Andersens chose her from three full sisters on genomic results, and her matings to Robust produced Supersire and his full brother Headliner.
Shauna scored VG-87 as a two-year-old and later reached EX-92-2E.
“If a hot genomic bull falls out of favor when milking daughters enter his proof, then you have a hole in a previously solid pedigree,” the family told The Bullvine in April 2012.
IVF let them use several young sires on Shauna. “We used Robust on Shauna because we knew the cows behind him so well that it gave us confidence in him,” the family said.
The Robust mating produced Seagull-Bay Supersire, born December 28, 2010. By April 2012, Supersire and his full brother Headliner were both among the breed’s top five young sires for GTPI, Holstein USA’s Total Performance Index calculated with genomic information.
Alan Andersen raised a longer-term concern. “As genetic progress accelerates with genomics so will the increase in the breed’s inbreeding percentages,” he said.
Across the country, Roger and Phil Marshfield of Mountfield Farms at Marcellus, New York, were working with another Rudy Missy branch. Their cow Mountfield Marsh Maxine descended through Pine-Tree Missy Miranda, an O-Man daughter of Rudy Missy. The Marshfields later said they’d believed in Maxine’s sons before the science could prove it.
Select Sires purchased Maxine’s Dorcy son as an embryo. He entered its Aggressive Reproductive Technologies program, ART, and became Mountfield SSI DCY Mogul, born June 22, 2010.
Mountfield SSI DCY Mogul EX-93-GM, 7HO11314, was by Coyne-Farms Dorcy out of Mountfield Marsh Maxine VG-88-EX-MS-DOM. His August 2026 type evaluation included 48,963 daughters in 9,839 herds.
In December 2011, Mogul debuted as the breed’s second-ranked genomic young sire. When his daughters reached breeding age, Select’s own account recorded the complaint about “fat bred heifers.” Once those heifers calved, Select reported extraordinary udders, feet and legs, and strong milking ability. Three years after his debut, Mogul reached the top of the TPI list.
In April 2015, Supersire entered Select Sires’ daughter-proven lineup as the breed’s No. 1 GTPI sire, and he held the lead for four consecutive evaluations. Three years earlier, Alan Andersen had reminded other breeders that genomic reliabilities were “still well below daughter proven bulls with over 100 daughters.” Supersire’s first daughter proof upheld the genomic ranking that had put him among the top five young sires.
Seagull-Bay Supersire EX-90-GM. The Andersen family bred him at Seagull Bay Dairy in American Falls, Idaho, and his first daughter proof, in April 2015, made him the breed’s No. 1 GTPI sire.
Mogul exceeded a million units in September 2017, at seven years old, as Select’s tenth millionaire and its youngest at the time. Supersire followed in 2018, at seven years and ten months.
Bacon-Hill Montross was a Mogul son out of Unique-Style Bolton Money. He was bred by the Peck family of Welcome-Stock Farm and their partners in Bacon-Hill Holsteins LLC, Tom Kugler and Jim Copper, at Schuylerville, New York.
While Montross was still unproven, he was mated to S-S-I Suprsire Miri 8679, a young Supersire daughter who hadn’t freshened. The resulting calf, S-S-I Montross Jedi, joined the two branches in one pedigree. Nobody waited for Montross’s daughter proof, then waited again for Miri’s mature performance. Select’s account identified the mating as an example of ART’s aim to shorten the generation interval.
Jedi debuted as the industry’s No. 1 available GTPI young sire in August 2015. He graduated within the breed’s top ten when he entered Select’s daughter-proven lineup in August 2018.
In April 2015, Supersire entered Select Sires’ daughter-proven lineup as the breed’s No. 1 GTPI sire.
At its August 30, 2021 death announcement, Select credited Jedi with more than 600,000 units sold, more than 26,000 daughters in 18 countries, seven sons in its daughter-proven lineup and a position as maternal grandsire of more than 55 sires.
On September 9, 2020, Select announced Mogul’s passing. Later that September, Select welcomed Montross to the millionaire club as he approached his eighth birthday.
In late July 2021, Select announced Montross’s death. Holstein sire analyst Rick VerBeek called him “one of those rare bulls to sire extreme production, medium size, great strength and tremendous high, wide rear udders.” Jedi died the following month. On November 29, 2021, Select announced Supersire’s passing.
Four closely connected bulls had died in little more than fourteen months.
Supersire’s production proof already contained more than 72,000 daughters. His obituary identified influence on both sides of pedigrees, maternally behind bulls including Helix and Duke, and paternally behind others including Frazzled.
Four closely connected bulls had died in little more than fourteen months.
What Rode Along
Early-onset muscle weakness, or MW, first showed up as calves that couldn’t stand, a condition called recumbency. The affected calves traced to a common ancestor, Roylane Socra Robust, born in 2008. Working through genotypes from 5.6 million Holsteins, the team behind a Journal of Dairy Science study followed the associated haplotype, a block of DNA inherited together, four generations further back to a key ancestor born in 1984, Southwind Bell of Bar-Lee. From there it went back to Osborndale Ivanhoe, born in 1952.
Osborndale Ivanhoe, born in 1952, was the oldest genotyped Holstein in the muscle-weakness study. Researchers traced Southwind’s copy of the haplotype back to him, three generations on the paternal side and five on the maternal side. The study treats the CACNA1S mutation as a later change within that block, arising in Southwind or an ancestor between him and Ivanhoe.
Genomics didn’t create the problem. The ancestral DNA segment long predated genomic selection, and nothing in this account identifies Jedi as a carrier.
A mutation is a change in DNA sequence. This one occurred within that inherited block, in the CACNA1S gene. Southwind carried two copies of the old haplotype but one copy of the mutation, which is recessive, so a calf has to inherit it from both parents to be at risk. The paper found that the popularity of Robust and his descendants, Supersire among them, amplified its spread.
Among 46 heifers with livability records that carried two copies of the haplotype and traced on both sides through Robust, 52% died before 18 months. Those that died averaged 1.7 months of age. For noncarriers, the death rate was 2.4%. The authors cautioned that the death rate may be underestimated if only healthier calves were genotyped.
The researchers called the condition “not fully penetrant,” meaning not every calf with two copies is affected the same way. Some calves homozygous for the mutation became normal, productive adults.
Ancestry isn’t a test result. Descending from Supersire doesn’t automatically make an animal a carrier, and avoiding carrier-to-carrier matings reduces the risk of producing affected calves.
Lactanet’s August 2026 inbreeding update reported average inbreeding of 10.32% among registered Canadian Holstein heifers born in 2025, up about 0.25 percentage points a year since 2010. Alan Andersen had warned in 2012 that inbreeding would rise as genomics sped up genetic progress. The Lactanet figure describes the population, not any one bull’s contribution, and it measures something different from MW carrier status.
Still Coming Back
In May 2022, shortly before his tenth birthday, Mr OCD Epic Dragonheart exceeded a million units sold. “In the era of genomics, when no one thought a bull would reach millionaire status, DRAGONHEART has achieved that coveted milestone,” said Jonathan Lamb of Oakfield Corners Dairy.
Woodcrest King Doc EX-90, 250HO12961, was by Morningview MCC Kingboy out of WCD-ZBW Mack Daddy-ET VG-88. His August 2026 evaluation counted 68,626 production daughters in 11,943 herds and a PTA Type of +2.38.
Woodcrest King Doc came from the Cruikshank family’s Woodcrest Dairy in Lisbon, New York. Select described his dam, WCD-ZBW Mack Daddy, as a “barn favorite of the Cruikshank family.” In June 2022, at a Wisconsin auction, Doc’s daughter S-S-I Doc Have Not 8784 sold for US$1.925 million.
Select’s Kevin Jorgensen said that “within the Showcase program, DOC defined crossover for the past decade.” Doc died in June 2025. That September, Select announced he had exceeded a million units sold, the first sire in its Showcase program to do so.
Bred at Webberville, Michigan, Ri-Val-Re Rager-Red became the first Red & White sire in North America to surpass a million units sold, according to Select’s August 31, 2026 announcement. He was 13. More than half of those units had gone abroad, to approximately 50 countries.
“He had such an outcross pedigree,” Jorgensen said. He also described Rager-Red as one of the breed’s lowest bulls for Expected Future Inbreeding, a measure of how closely a sire is related to the wider population. In 2012, Alan Andersen had told The Bullvine, “Top sires with outcross pedigrees will continue to be very important as well.”
“When you see fifth- and sixth-lactation daughters still performing at high levels – that’s what helps farmers remain profitable,” said Brian Albertoni of World Wide Sires.
Holstein USA’s August 2026 influence ranking, which measures genes in common with the top 400 progeny-proven U.S. TPI bulls, placed Mogul fourth and Supersire eleventh.
From $1.5 Million to $150,000: The Dairy Genetics Shakeout and Your Next Move — Control over semen rights, female purchase options and genomic data shapes what breeders keep. This analysis follows the money beyond million-dose fame, identifying contract questions and business alternatives for your next breeding investment.
Polled Just Hit 3371 TPI. The Dehorning Iron Is Now a Choice, Not a Necessity. — See how genomic selection accelerated hornless breeding through elite cow families. Tracing Luster-P and his descendants reveals a different measure of genetic influence: changing the calf-care work required in the next generation.
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Genus’s pig arm posted a 29.3% adjusted operating margin; its cattle arm, 7.5%. One mostly bills after weaning, the other at the straw. What should a per-calf deal prove?
Key Takeaways
Genus’s pig arm posted a 29.3% adjusted operating margin excluding BCA milestones; its cattle arm posted 7.5%. That’s nearly four times ABS’s margin, by Bullvine’s math, but it’s not proof royalties caused the gap.
A per-calf payment to the dairy and a royalty to the supplier can run in opposite directions. Find out who pays whom, and whether any charge replaces part of the semen price or comes on top of it.
Judge any offer with a partial budget across every enrolled cow, against your best realistic alternative, with unsuccessful breedings and unpaid hours counted.
Genus’s pig genetics business, PIC, ran a 29.3% adjusted operating margin in the year to June 30, 2026, excluding milestone payments, according to Genus’s FY2026 results presentation. Its cattle genetics business, ABS, ran at 7.5%. By Bullvine’s math (29.3 ÷ 7.5), that’s nearly four times ABS’s margin.
The two businesses also get paid at opposite ends. PIC mostly collects on the back end, after the genetics are working in a customer’s barn. ABS mostly collects up front, when the straw is sold. Genus also says it wants to “Develop more ‘pull-through’ partnerships” in beef, though that describes deals with downstream buyers, not a royalty on dairy calves.
Genus FY2026 adjusted operating margins, excluding joint ventures. PIC reported 30.9%, or 29.3% excluding the £5.6 million in milestone payments from Chinese partner BCA (£3.7 million the year before); ABS 7.5%. Sources: Genus 2026 annual report; FY2026 results presentation.
Here’s how each one works. PIC can sell breeding animals at cost and collect royalties later, “typically a piglet being weaned from the original genetics.” ABS mostly sells straws of semen. Genus says “the majority of our bovine sales are transactional,” with a growing share on multiyear contracts.
That difference matters to any dairy weighing a per-calf genetics offer, and dairies are already changing how they use beef genetics. ABS’s beef volume rose 9% last year, and its conventional dairy volume fell 5%. Genus says dairy farmers in some markets swapped sexed genetics for beef-on-dairy to prioritize near-term beef production. So here’s the question: when genetics builds a better animal, what lets the company behind it get paid past the original sale, and would the dairy come out ahead if it did?
Three things the margins don’t prove
That royalties caused the gap. Genus says, “As their market structures are different, PIC and ABS employ different business models and have different financial profiles.” ABS’s adjusted operating profit, including joint ventures, rose 17% in actual currency to £22.9 million. Genus names its Value Acceleration Program, a restructuring of ABS, as the major driver and credits it with £9.0 million of benefit.
That the pig model can be lifted into cattle, the margin gap describes two different markets, not a template.
That anyone is offering dairies a per-calf royalty. Nothing in Genus’s disclosures describes the kind of offer this article evaluates. What follows is a way to judge one if it lands on your desk.
How the royalty actually works
In North America, 97% of PIC’s pig volume ran under royalty in fiscal 2026, Genus reports. The share was 79% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 66% in Latin America and 60% in Asia. Those shares moved: Latin America’s has eased from 84% in FY2022, and Asia’s has ranged between 57% and 71% over the same period. Genus’s slide shows the figures without explaining the changes.
PIC (pigs)
ABS (cattle)
Adjusted operating margin, excl. joint ventures
29.3% (30.9% including £5.6M BCA milestones)
7.5%
Main payment point
Back end: royalty after the genetics work in the customer’s barn, typically per weaned piglet
Front end: straw sold, “the majority of our bovine sales are transactional”
Share of volume on royalty
97% in North America (FY2026)
NOT IN FILES
Multiyear contracts
Not applicable
Growing share, including GENEadvance (1,000+ herds)
Per-calf charge to dairies disclosed?
Not applicable
No
Source: Genus FY2026 results presentation and 2026 annual report. The margin ratio (29.3 ÷ 7.5) is Bullvine’s math.
On its investor slides, Genus calls the model “Independent of commodity prices.” That means the royalty isn’t indexed to the pork price. It doesn’t mean royalty revenue can’t move: Genus says North American royalty revenue grew just 1% last year because of customer disease challenges.
The royalty settles an argument before it starts. Nobody has to fight over what share of the pork price belongs to genetics every time a pig changes hands. The contract names an event, usually a weaned piglet, and the bill follows the count. A weaned piglet doesn’t prove genetics earned every dollar it’s worth. It’s an event both sides agreed to count, and that’s the commercially useful part.
The reach is large, too: PIC genetics showed up in 249.6 million market-pig equivalents last year. That’s Genus’s standardized count of slaughter pigs carrying its genetics, with each parent’s genes counting for half.
ABS starts somewhere else. Genus’s website says its bovine genetics are priced on indices of genetic merit, so a better bull can command a higher semen price. ABS also runs two contract models:
GENEadvance. ABS is the sole genetics partner for large producers. The program now covers more than 1,000 herds, and Genus says it generated a 9.5% increase in revenue.
Pull-through contracts in beef. Genus says ABS uses “‘pull-through’ contracts”: prove the value to processors, packers and retailers, so they give their own suppliers an incentive to use ABS genetics.
The 2026 report’s business-model section doesn’t give the terms of either, and nothing in these disclosures shows either is a per-calf charge to a dairy. Pricing the expectation before breeding is a different business from billing against what happens after it. Which model serves the farmer better depends on the price, the result, and who carries the risk.
Why a $430 beef-on-dairy calf premium isn’t a royalty pool
New Holland, Pa., No. 1 bull calves, 90–95 lb class (avg. 93 lb), Oct. 26, 2026
Calf type
Head
Average (US$/cwt)
Range (US$/cwt)
Approx. US$/head
Beef-cross
33
1,530.41
1,150–1,750
1,423
Dairy
42
1,068.04
850–1,175
993
Gap
462.37
about 430
Source: USDA AMS New Holland Monday report, Oct. 26, 2026. Per-head figures and the gap row are Bullvine’s conversion of the AMS averages. One sale, one weight class, one week.
That leaves a gap of roughly US$430 per head. The per-head figures are Bullvine’s conversion of the AMS averages.
Prices ranged from US$1,150 to US$1,750/cwt for the 33 beef-cross calves and US$850 to US$1,175/cwt for the 42 dairy calves. Compared with the previous week’s sale, AMS reported beef-cross bull calves US$40–$60 lower and dairy bull calves US$60–$80 higher. The report doesn’t label the unit on that line, but every price in it is quoted per hundredweight. So treat it as a snapshot of one sale, one weight class, and one week, not a trend. It only counts calves that reached the ring as No. 1s, and it can’t see the cows that didn’t settle.
The comparison has a second limit. It sets beef-cross calves against dairy calves, not program calves against comparable beef-cross calves sold outside a program. So it can’t establish a premium for joining any particular program. Nor can it tell the dairy how much of the gap belongs to one sire, rather than the crossbreeding decision, calf quality, the buyer’s specs, or that week’s market. The premium isn’t a royalty pool waiting to be split. And the dairy’s whole beef-semen bill isn’t the cost of earning it, because the Holstein alternative needed a breeding too.
For the producer, that boils down to one question: what does the proposed breeding option leave after its costs and conditions, compared with what the dairy does now? The supplier’s question is harder: what result can it prove well enough that someone will pay for it?
A tag isn’t a contract.
Genus’s 2026 report says it wants profit “resulting from the performance of our products in customers’ systems.” In beef-on-dairy, that breaks into four separate jobs: give the calf an identity, record its parentage, measure its performance, and give somebody a reason to pay.
An ear tag provides an identity. A parentage test provides a sire. A performance record shows what the calf did. None of them gets anyone paid for the genetics. Only a contract does.
Four decisions make or break a per-calf genetics agreement:
Decision
What to define
Question to put on the table
Eligible calf
Sire, mating requirements, records needed to qualify
Which calves count, and what proof qualifies them?
Payment event
Who pays whom, then the milestone: birth, weaning, placement or slaughter
Is a buyer paying the dairy, or is a supplier billing the dairy? At which event?
Evidence
Verified parentage, production results, or participation in an approved program
What has to be shown before money moves?
Risk
Calf death, lost ID, missed spec, change of buyer
Who pays when something goes wrong?
Define the eligible calf. Specify the sire, mating requirements, and records needed to qualify.
Define the payment event. Start with who pays whom: a buyer paying the dairy for the calf, or a supplier billing the dairy for the genetics. Then set the milestone, because birth, weaning, placement, and slaughter are different commercial events.
Define the evidence. State whether payment depends on verified parentage, production results, or simply participation in an approved breeding program.
Define the risk. Decide who pays when a calf dies, loses its identification, misses a spec, or changes buyers.
A supplier could bill on a qualifying calf without guaranteeing its carcass. A buyer could pay a premium for approved genetics without sending a cent to the breeding company. Both designs work on paper, and the dairy should know which one is on the table before anyone calls it value capture.
Owning cattle isn’t required.
PIC also shows a genetics supplier can stay tied to production without owning the commercial animals. Genus says PIC “only owns proprietary assets at the top of the pyramid,” which Genus says reduces its exposure to “feed costs, disease and pork price volatility.”
So cattle genetics doesn’t have to get into cattle feeding to move past the straw. A genetics company could bill against an agreed event. A downstream buyer could reward qualifying sires, as ABS’s pull-through partnerships aim to. And a dairy could join because its numbers work. Who owns the calf matters less than who holds the information, the purchase commitment, and the contract.
What This Means for Your Operation
Genus’s 2026 report is blunt about what royalties do for PIC: the model “decreases our exposure to cyclical producer profitability and increases our revenue visibility and customer retention.” Those are supplier benefits. What any arrangement does for the dairy is a separate calculation.
Start with the price structure. Does a per-calf charge replace part of the upfront genetics price, or come on top of an unchanged semen price? Compare the total price and the total obligations under each option, not the per-calf figure alone.
If the agreement promises a market outlet, ask whether a named buyer is obligated to buy calves that meet the written specs, or whether the dairy has only qualified to offer them. Ask how the price is set, who pays for testing and recordkeeping, and what happens when pickup runs late, or a calf misses a spec. An agreement that covers only genetics may not involve a buyer at all, but it still needs a defined payment event, evidence standard, and risk split.
The breeding plan still has to work for the cow. A downstream carcass target is no excuse to override the dairy’s fertility, calving-ease and replacement targets. Ownership doesn’t settle the question either. Genus’s report notes bovine genetics has “large genetic co-ops having significant market share.” A co-op can return value through members’ calf checks, just as a private company can earn more by proving a better result.
Compare the same enrolled group over a period long enough to capture the relevant costs and receipts.
Include unsuccessful breedings and nonqualifying calves.
Count each change once.
Compare against the dairy’s best realistic alternative, not a weaker option that flatters the deal.
Divide the net change by the number of enrolled cows.
What to watch
Genus has told investors it wants ABS at a double-digit margin in the medium term. Its next results, or any separate partnership announcement, would show whether pull-through partnerships come with disclosed terms. Until a dairy can read an actual agreement in full, the useful test isn’t whether a supplier deserves a bigger share. It’s whether the whole package (price, obligations and market access together) beats the dairy’s next-best breeding and marketing plan.
Per-Calf Deal Evaluator
Run the partial budget before you sign. Compare the whole package against your best alternative.
Count every cow in the program, including those that won’t settle.
Total calf premiums/receipts.
Semen discounts or saved expenses.
Tags, testing, royalties, and holding.
Sacrificed sales or opportunity costs.
Net Impact Per Enrolled Cow
$0.00
Total Herd Impact: $0.00
Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.
Beef-on-dairy math: the $575 premium that cancels out — Dismantles the logic behind chasing immediate cash flow from every beef-cross calf. Once you factor in the $585 replacement opportunity cost on a cow worth keeping, the seemingly obvious financial win vanishes completely.
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At 2,500 paying animals, a hypothetical $250,000 annual funding gap would add $100 a head to Expo’s 2026 standard entry fee. Here’s what that calculation leaves to prove.
World Dairy Expo’s 2026 trade show closed in Madison on October 2, and dropping it for a cattle-focused event is an easy idea to float. The cattle show would still have bills to pay. In The Bullvine’s stress test, every $250,000 of recurring shortfall a cattle-focused Expo can’t otherwise fund adds $100 a head across 2,500 paying animals. That hypothetical surcharge would take the 2026 standard entry fee from $120 to $220 a head, before transaction fees and tax.
The exercise does not estimate Expo’s actual funding gap. Published 2026 fees provide context; the funding gaps, sponsorship examples, and payroll savings in the stress test are illustrative.
What a $100 surcharge looks like
Expo’s 2026 premium book lists a standard entry fee of $120 per cow or heifer, in U.S. dollars, rising to $250 for entries from September 1 through the show. The table holds the 2026 standard fee unchanged and isn’t an announced future price.
Illustration, 2026 standard fee held unchanged
Per animal
10 animals
2026 standard entry fee
$120
$1,200
Hypothetical additional charge
$100
$1,000
Combined, before transaction fees and tax
$220
$2,200
On Bullvine’s calculation, the hypothetical $100 is about 83% of the standard fee. It raises the entry charge, not the whole cost of the trip, which our earlier cost analysis walks through using 2025 fees and estimates. For an exhibitor, the test is whether $220 a head changes how many animals get entered. The model doesn’t assume the answer.
Expo’s own history shows that a strong cattle show and a sustainable budget are separate tests. Its published history, We Need a Show, says Madison’s first Expo in 1967 drew 1,182 cattle, but the event’s finances stayed weak through 1970. In 1971, a new corporation funded by industry groups and companies bought the foundation’s Expo assets. Madison’s first show and Madison’s workable business model were not the same achievement, and the account doesn’t isolate what made the difference.
What a World Dairy Expo without the trade show would still include
Commercial promotion already reaches past Expo’s trade floor. Its 2025 Cattle Show Farm Affiliate application allowed qualifying exhibitor-owned businesses to promote themselves in designated stalling areas. The 2026 premium book also provides for farm and affiliate promotion booths. Removing the conventional trade show would still leave a separate decision about barn-side commerce.
Bullvine assumes the Alliant Energy Center and the cattle-related occupancy period described in the 2026 premium book, including approved early arrivals and teardown. The modeled event retains youth contests, breed shows, cattle sales, ExpoTV streaming, and barn-side promotion. Other programming would require its own cost and revenue assumptions.
The calculation does not establish who would attend. Breeders would still need reasons to expect useful buyer contacts; non-exhibiting commercial producers would need reasons to make the trip. Sponsors would need evidence of the audience they could reach. Changes in admissions, sponsorship, and operating costs belong in the budget.
How the stress test works
The recurring gap is the redesigned event’s annual operating cost after verified savings, minus ordinary entry revenue and other continuing revenue. Any sponsorship included in that revenue must also have its delivery costs included in the operating budget.
Two things stay out of it:
One-time transition costs, such as contract exits or severance if any apply, get their own line.
Reserve money gets its own line too, because it’s a transition-year financing choice, not income.
A $500,000 recurring shortfall shows how a reserve draw can mislead:
Recurring shortfall: $500,000
Reserve draw in year one: $250,000
Year-one exhibitor bill: $250,000, or $100 a head at 2,500 paying animals
Year two, once the reserve support ends: $500,000, or $200 a head, unless something else has changed
Reserve funding can reduce the first-year bill; it does not close a recurring operating gap. Any model has to show the year the reserve support stops.
The model assumes one additional charge per unique animal subject to the surcharge. Dividing the recurring gap by those paying animals gives the extra charge per head.
Running the Numbers: Bullvine’s Cattle-Show Stress Test
Recurring gap: $250,000, $500,000, or $1,000,000. These are selected scenarios, not an estimated range, and $1 million isn’t a ceiling.
Paying animals: 3,000, 2,500, or 2,000. The model uses 2,500 as an illustrative paying-animal count.
Additional per-animal charges cover the remaining gap.
Additional charge per paying animal, U.S. dollars; illustrative scenarios (Bullvine calculation, rounded)
Recurring gap
3,000 paying animals
2,500 paying animals
2,000 paying animals
$250,000
$83
$100
$125
$500,000
$167
$200
$250
$1,000,000
$333
$400
$500
At 2,500 paying animals, the three gap scenarios add $1,000, $2,000, or $4,000 to a 10-head string’s entry bill.
Under the 2026 rules, entry fees aren’t refunded for any reason, including for animals that don’t show, and stalls are assigned for animals on grounds, not animals entered. A real proposal needs paid-entry records. It also has to say whether a surcharge falls on each unique animal, each paid entry, or only the animals that arrive. For the longer attendance picture, see the attendance decline.
Hold the $1 million gap fixed and drop from 2,500 paying animals to 2,000, and the charge rises from $400 to $500 a head. In practice, the gap may also change. Fewer paid entries also mean less ordinary entry revenue, possibly different sponsor value, and some variable costs that disappear. A full downside budget has to recalculate both the remaining gap and the number of paying animals.
Sponsor revenue needs a company-level check
Replacement sponsorship is one of the key assumptions to test. Expo’s 2026 advertising materials sell several commercial products, but separate products don’t prove separate budgets.
In this illustration, a genetics company currently pays Expo $30,000:
$20,000 for a trade show booth.
$10,000 for cattle-show sponsorship.
A proposed $25,000 cattle-focused package produces two possible outcomes:
The package is additional to the existing $10,000 sponsorship: Expo receives $35,000, an increase of $5,000.
The package replaces both existing payments: Expo receives $25,000, a decrease of $5,000.
If the second outcome is recorded while the old $10,000 sponsorship remains in the budget, projected receipts are overstated by $10,000. Across 2,500 paying animals, that understates the funding requirement by $4 a head.
The company’s budget holder settles it by stating what the package replaces and what happens to the company’s total Expo bill. Different invoice headings don’t make different dollars.
Two more checks come before any package counts:
Budget the delivery costs. Any production, hospitality or staffing required by a sponsorship package must appear in the operating budget.
The term matters too. A one-year agreement leaves the following year’s renewal risk unresolved.
For this stress test, Bullvine would separate signed commitments from conditional support and unconfirmed interest. Each proposed sponsorship needs an amount, payment schedule, conditions, and duration, with delivery costs budgeted separately. The cash schedule must show when receipts are available to meet obligations.
Bullvine proposes conditional commitments to test demand for a defined format, with a funding threshold and decision date. Agreements with unresolved conditions stay identified as conditional.
Deleting the trade-show share of a salary doesn’t delete the salary
Payroll is the first cost category Bullvine would scrutinize. That does not imply Expo is overstaffed; it tests whether the claimed savings actually reduce payroll. If the same salary remains payable after trade-show work disappears, removing its departmental allocation creates no cash saving.
Each claimed saving has to name the payment that stops, the date it stops, and any new cost of stopping it. Staff moved to sponsor sales may add capacity, but the salary is still paid. A $200,000 payroll saving that’s really a reallocated salary understates the gap by $80 a head, or $800 on a 10-head string. The model needs two columns, transition-year and recurring savings, with a staffing plan behind both.
Removing the trade show does not, by itself, establish a shorter cattle schedule. A three-day version needs its own ring schedule and operating budget before savings can be claimed.
Budget test
Illustrative inputs
Bullvine calculation / interpretation
Limitation
Reserve support ends
$500,000 recurring gap; $250,000 reserve draw in year one; 2,500 paying animals
Year one: ($500,000 − $250,000) ÷ 2,500 = $100/head. Year two: $500,000 ÷ 2,500 = $200/head without further support or other changes.
A reserve draw reduces the first-year bill, not the recurring gap. Hypothetical example.
Fewer animals pay
Fixed $1 million gap; paying animals fall from 2,500 to 2,000
$1 million ÷ 2,500 = $400/head; $1 million ÷ 2,000 = $500/head.
A full downside budget must also recalculate ordinary entry revenue, sponsorship and variable costs.
Sponsorship gets counted twice
A hypothetical $25,000 package replaces an existing $20,000 booth payment and $10,000 sponsorship
Receipts fall from $30,000 to $25,000. Retaining the old $10,000 sponsorship in projections overstates revenue by $10,000: $10,000 ÷ 2,500 = $4/head.
Illustrative company—not an actual sponsor agreement. Package delivery costs also belong in the budget.
No cash saving occurs. Understated gap: $200,000 ÷ 2,500 = $80/head, or $800 for 10 animals.
Tests a modeling assumption; does not establish Expo’s staffing needs or actual savings. S1
What this means for the next show budget
Reader
Useful action
Cattle exhibitor
Before setting the next show budget, calculate the all-in cost per head and the additional charge that would change the string.
Sponsor or breed association
Before renewing support, reconcile all Expo spending and identify what a replacement package would replace.
Anyone evaluating a format change
Before committing, require recurring and transition budgets, a cash schedule, and a recalculated lower-entry case.
These figures do not establish Expo’s actual position. Its cost, paid-entry, and commitment records would support Expo-specific scenarios, while future participation would remain uncertain.
A proposed format has to cover recurring costs without depending on a finite reserve draw. Its downside budget must recalculate both revenue and costs with fewer paying animals. The cash schedule must show that enough money is available when obligations fall due.
Test the Math: Your Expo Surcharge Simulator
Adjust the estimated funding gap and animal count below to see how a trade-show shortfall impacts your string’s entry bill.
Surcharge per Head:$200
New Entry Fee (Base $120):$320
Your Total Entry Bill:$3,200
Methodology Note
The funding gaps ($250,000, $500,000, and $1,000,000), the reserve example, the sponsor bridge, and the $200,000 payroll allocation are hypothetical. Grid results divide each gap by 3,000, 2,500, or 2,000 paying animals and are rounded to the nearest dollar. The grid compares fixed scenarios and doesn’t predict how entries respond to price. The 2026 entry fees ($120 standard, $250 late) come from Expo’s 2026 premium book. The fee comparison excludes transaction fees and tax. The illustrative surcharge does not estimate an exhibitor’s travel or other trip expenses.
Learn More
Can a Bigger Hall Fix World Dairy Expo’s Trade Floor? — Arms you with a ruthless 30-day audit to measure your trade booth’s actual return on investment. Breaks down why 112 attendees per remaining vendor demands qualified lead-capture over foot-traffic nostalgia before signing your 2028 contract.
World Dairy Expo: Reversing the 33% Attendance Drop — Seventy companies abandon the Madison trade floor annually while cattle numbers hold steady. Follow the money on Expo’s quiet exodus to see why the audience collapsed long before COVID, dictating where your marketing budget belongs next season.
What Dairy Shows Must Learn from the Booming Stock Show World — Lowering the financial barrier to the show ring demands importing tactics from the booming stock show world. Dismantles the status quo by applying jackpot circuits and skillathons to dairy, delivering a high-reward blueprint to recruit young breeders.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
Coming from a 10:90 mix, Miner’s reported 0.09-lb protein edge is worth about 24 cents a cow a day. Add 20 cents to the ration and roughly 4 cents is left. Load the mix by weight and you may not be feeding 30:70 at all.
Miner Institute’s corn silage-alfalfa ratio trial reported 3.02 lb of milk true protein per cow per day on a 30:70 alfalfa hay-to-corn silage forage mix (30% alfalfa hay, 70% corn silage, forage DM basis). That’s 0.09 lb more than the 10:90 mix. At the September 2026 Federal Order protein price of $2.6619/lb, The Bullvine’s math puts that difference at about 24 cents a cow a day in protein revenue. It pays only if a herd reproduces the difference and the full ration-cost change comes in under it.
Sarah Morrison, Rick Grant and colleagues at the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy, N.Y., published the trial in the Journal of Dairy Science on September 3, 2026. They enrolled 105 Holsteins (45 first-lactation, 60 older) in two enrollment cohorts, blocked them by parity, milk yield and days in milk, and randomly assigned them within blocks to one of five diets. Each diet was 62% forage on a DM basis, with chopped alfalfa hay making up 10% to 90% of the forage. Cows had a one-week covariate period, then four weeks on treatment.
Crossref lists USDA’s Agricultural Research Service as a funder. The researchers’ public report credits the U.S. Alfalfa Farmer Research Initiative of the National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance, which describes itself as “a voice for alfalfa farmers across the country.” Co-author David Weakley lists Forage Genetics International as his affiliation.
No intake or ECM effect, one protein exception
The abstract reports no statistically significant diet effect on:
Dry-matter intake (public report range: 58.0 to 59.1 lb DM/day)
Energy-corrected milk (103.6 to 107.4 lb/day)
energy-corrected milk (ECM) per unit of intake
Protein yield moved.
Alfalfa hay:corn silage (forage DM)
True protein, lb/cow/day
10:90
2.93
30:70
3.02
50:50
2.98
70:30
2.89
90:10
2.93
Source: Miner researchers’ public project report. The journal abstract says its statistical analysis used week-four data, adjusted for the covariate period. The public report doesn’t say which window or adjustment its displayed means use, and The Bullvine hasn’t confirmed the two match. The final journal tables weren’t in the materials reviewed.
Milk Urea Nitrogen (MUN) was lowest at 30:70 too: 8.5 mg/dL, against 9.8 to 12.0 on the other diets. The researchers read the protein and MUN pattern as “likely reflecting greater microbial protein synthesis.” That’s their interpretation; the trial didn’t measure it directly. Rumination fell linearly as alfalfa rose, from 499 to 396 min/day, which matters for the DA cases below.
The diets weren’t nutritional clones. They were formulated for similar metabolizable energy and protein, but post-study ingredient analysis put metabolizable protein (MP) supply 5 g/kg of dry-matter intake (DMI) higher on 90ALF than on 10ALF. Crude protein ran from 15.7% of DM at 10:90 to 17.6% at 90:10.
The researchers drew their own line: “the appropriate mix of alfalfa and corn silage for a specific farm will be based on nutritional and non-nutritional considerations.” Their public report put the optimum at “approximately 30:70 to 50:50.” The journal abstract narrows that to approximately 30:70.
What the cubic effect tests
The public report flags a significant cubic effect on protein yield (P ≤ 0.05). A cubic term tests the shape of the response across all five diets. It doesn’t test whether 30:70 beat 50:50, which sit only 0.04 lb apart, or whether it beat 10:90. Those are separate pairwise comparisons, and confidence intervals for them weren’t in the materials we reviewed.
Across the five diets, protein rose, fell and rose again, and the test found evidence of that pattern. That supports calling 30:70 the highest reported mean. Nothing in the reviewed material shows it beat the diets on either side of it.
Two DAs and a mid-trial diet change
Two cows, one on 70ALF and one on 90ALF, were diagnosed with displaced abomasums within the first 7 to 11 days of the first enrollment, the authors’ supplement records. They wrote that the cases were “perhaps attributed to small dietary particle size.” To reduce the risk of more, they added chopped wheat straw at 1.5% of diet DM, replacing alfalfa and corn silage equally. In the second enrollment, half the hay went into the mixer unchopped.
The supplement doesn’t establish high alfalfa as a cause of DAs. The protocol changes do mean the published diets aren’t a recipe to copy, and particle size needs checking along with the ratio.
The loader-sheet error that flips the ration
The “30” in 30:70 is a share of the forage DM. From the nominal formulation (62% forage, before the straw adjustment), 30% alfalfa is 18.6% of total diet DM and corn silage is 43.4%. Feed alfalfa at 30% of total DM instead, with total forage still at 62% and made up only of those two feeds, and the forage split runs about 48:52 (Bullvine calculations).
Moisture is the second denominator. Miner’s hay tested 89.3% DM and its corn silage 31.6%.
With forages at Miner’s tested dry matter, a feeder who loads 30% hay and 70% corn silage by weight delivers roughly a 55:45 ration on a forage-DM basis.
Loading instruction
Hay, as-fed lb
Corn silage, as-fed lb
Hay DM, lb
Corn silage DM, lb
Forage-DM split
30:70 by weight
30.0
70.0
26.8
22.1
about 55:45
Loaded for 30:70 DM
13.2
86.8
11.8
27.4
30:70
Per 100 lb of the two-forage blend, as fed. Bullvine calculations from Miner’s reported ingredient DM.
A 55:45 split is mostly alfalfa, a diet the trial didn’t feed.
Haylage adds a third problem that a moisture correction won’t fix. Penn State Extension notes digestibility shifts with plant species, maturity and storage method, and recommends checking particle distribution in the delivered TMR and watching for sorting: refusals shouldn’t differ by more than 3 to 5 percent from the TMR as fed. A haylage ration needs its own formulation and its own check.
Assumptions: the herd reproduces the reported difference; the farm is paid $2.6619 for each extra pound of protein; other components and non-ration costs stay constant.
Switching to 30:70 from…
Extra protein, lb/cow/day
Protein revenue, $/cow/day
400 cows, $/day
50:50
0.04
$0.11
$42.59
10:90
0.09
$0.24
$95.83
70:30
0.13
$0.35
$138.42
Bullvine calculation: protein revenue from switching to 30:70, US$.
A 20-cent ration increase needs 0.075 lb of extra protein to break even. Coming from 10:90, the reported 0.09 lb clears it narrowly, leaving about 4 cents a cow a day after the added feed cost, roughly $16 a day for a 400-cow herd. Coming from 50:50, the reported 0.04 lb falls about 9 cents short.
At the same ration cost, the break-even needs no extra protein. A cheaper ration needs no protein increase at all, provided other changes don’t erase the savings. At this price, a 10-cent saving could absorb up to 0.038 lb less protein, as long as other paid output and non-ration costs hold.
The trial fed each diet for four weeks, and nothing here shows the response persists, so no annual figures are shown.
What the numbers mean for a ration decision
On these numbers, a 30:70-style ration earns a costing run. The mixer sheet changes only if the farm’s own figures clear the break-even.
Before changing the ration
✅ Do: Have the nutritionist formulate a moderate-alfalfa ration from the farm’s own forage analyses, stated as % of forage DM and % of total DM, then converted to as-fed loads.
📋 Requires: Current DM and nutrient tests on every forage, the farm’s marginal protein payment (see September’s component prices) and the full ration cost of both diets.
🎯 Worth pursuing if: The extra protein the cost increase requires (table above) is well under the gain Miner reported from the farm’s starting ration.
❌ Backfires if: The farm books the 24 cents as revenue, or applies the hay result to haylage without reformulating.
During a monitored feeding change
✅ Do: Switch one group. Track protein pounds, intake, MUN, rumination and other paid components against cost.
📋 Requires: A DM-based loader sheet, regular silage DM checks, particle-separator checks on the delivered TMR and refusals, and a review point, comparison method and stop rule agreed up front.
⚠️ Act if: Change in paid component revenue is running below the full ration-cost change at the review point.
❌ Backfires if: The farm reads shifts in days in milk, season or group makeup as a ration effect. A before-and-after comparison can’t, on its own, isolate what caused the change.
Before changing acreage
✅ Do: Weigh the feeding result against what Miner’s researchers list: production cost of each crop, agronomy and water use, nutrient variability across cuttings, and the price of other protein sources and feeds.
📋 Requires: Per-ton DM production costs for alfalfa and corn silage, including shrink, plus a forage inventory plan.
❌ Backfires if: The farm rebuilds a multi-year crop rotation around a four-week, 105-cow trial before its own monitored results are in.
At the review point, the test is the change in paid component revenue against the full ration-cost change, measured the way the farm and nutritionist agreed before the switch. Farm records can show whether that target was met. They can’t show the ration alone delivered it.
Forage Ratio Margin Calculator
Test the Miner Institute 30:70 trial against your farm’s economics.
Your Daily Projections
Break-Even Target
0.075 lbs of extra protein/cow
Switching from 10:90
(Assumes +0.09 lb yield)
+$15.76 / day
Positive Margin
Switching from 50:50
(Assumes +0.04 lb yield)
-$37.44 / day
Shortfall
Powered by The Bullvine
Methodology note
Inputs.
Protein, MUN, rumination, intake, ECM, ingredient DM and crude protein come from the Miner researchers’ public project report.
Design, analysis window, directions of effect, MP drift and the quoted conclusion come from the Journal of Dairy Science abstract (DOI 10.3168/jds.2026-28496).
The protein price is the announced September 2026 component price in the USDA AMS Federal Order 30 announcement.
Protocol changes come from the authors’ Mendeley Data supplement (DOI 10.17632/rpffnk4d59.1).
Funding comes from Crossref and the public report. The NAFA description comes from NAFA’s Regeneration Nation site.
Bullvine calculations.
Protein revenue = protein difference × $2.6619/lb.
Break-even = added ration cost ÷ $2.6619/lb.
Whole-diet share = forage share × 62%.
DM = as-fed weight × DM fraction.
Figures are rounded at the end.
Not confirmed in the materials reviewed.
Whether the public-report means are the journal’s week-four, covariate-adjusted estimates.
Any animal exclusions, including the two DA cows.
Which diets the straw change applied to, and from when.
How the analysis accounts for the protocol changes beyond an enrollment term.
Pairwise comparisons and their confidence intervals.
The Bullvine will update this article if the published tables differ.
Excluded. Fat, other solids, premiums, health effects and anything beyond the four-week feeding period. The U.S. Federal Order price is an illustration; other markets should use their own component payment.
Learn More
$60 silage, $220 delivered: forage’s hidden 28% premium — Run the math on your actual delivered dry matter. Re-pricing a $60 as-fed silage with a 12% shrink loss exposes a $220/ton true cost, giving you the exact metrics to stop bleeding $0.89 per cow daily.
Your Silage Is Lying to You: The $180,000 Annual Loss Most Farms Never Calculate — Position your herd against market volatility by confronting hidden feed variation. Breaks down how a five-percent moisture drift silently strips $180,000 annually from mid-sized dairies, and proves why capping production targets at 88 pounds actually increases income-over-feed-cost.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
A camera can measure a cow consistently and still be wrong. In a hypothetical Bullvine example, three readings agree within one-tenth of an inch but miss the cow’s actual rump width by about an inch. That’s the difference Holstein USA must test before its 26-trait system goes on sale.
Three cameras, 26 targeted traits.
Holstein Association USA’s Build a Better Cow system places three time-of-flight cameras in the exit alley from the milking parlor and measures cows as they leave, AgriNews reported. “At the current time, we are measuring 26 traits, including body condition score, a few locomotion indicators and all of our linear traits,” Jeffrey Bewley said. The stationary system is aimed mainly at large dairies and is meant “to supplement, but not replace classifications.” Holstein USA hopes to sell it in 2027 or 2028.
Classification gives one expert assessment at a single visit, while automated imaging could collect repeated measurements across lactations. The public material reviewed here doesn’t yet show whether those measurements are accurate, repeatable and useful for selection, or whether getting them requires specialized depth cameras. Before the system goes on sale, it has five tests to pass, and Holstein USA should publish the results. We also correct several claims from our own earlier coverage.
Even if the cameras measure every targeted linear trait accurately, that wouldn’t show the system can reproduce a classifier’s overall judgment. Holstein USA describes Build a Better Cow as a supplement to classification, and commercial validation should be judged against that stated purpose.
From Hand-Identified Points to Automation
Bewley’s image work goes back to a 2008 study at Scottish Agricultural College’s Crichton Royal Farm (Bewley et al., Journal of Dairy Science (2008)). A camera captured images automatically as cows passed through a weigh station, and researchers identified up to 23 anatomical points on each image by hand.
Predictions came within 0.25 points of observed body condition score 92.79% of the time under the US system and 89.95% under the UK system. The authors wrote that future efforts should “explore ways to automate this process.” Nearly two decades later, Build a Better Cow pursues the broader goal of automating anatomical measurement at commercial scale.
Measurement Work Already Done
On December 1, 2024, Holstein USA revised its stature scale from 51–61 inches to 55–65 inches, based on a 2023 cow-measurement project led by Bewley. (See our analysis of what the new stature scale and the HCC mean for selection.) On August 11, 2026, it released the Holstein Conformation Composite with its genetic evaluations. The composite is designed to help breeders identify animals that combine conformation traits associated with balance, functionality and longevity, and it targets intermediate optimums for many characteristics.
The composite shows Holstein USA rethinking how existing conformation information supports selection. It doesn’t validate the measurements the new camera system is meant to generate.
Why Build a Better Cow Uses Three Views
A single overhead camera can’t see the udder, the feet and legs, or much of the rear. One Build a Better Cow camera sits above the cow, one behind her for udder traits and one at her side. The system calculates traits “using basic principles of geometry” and delivers them in spreadsheet format for herd management software, Bewley said.
Summerfield et al. (2023) mounted three depth cameras on a frame over a crush and recorded 462 Holsteins at one dairy in Rayton, near Pretoria. Combining a separate model for each camera scored body condition better than any single camera did. That supports combining depth views, but the study measured body condition rather than the full trait set, and it doesn’t validate Holstein USA’s walk-through installation.
Consistent Isn’t the Same as Accurate
In the hypothetical below, a camera reads 23.0 to 23.1 inches on a cow whose rump measures 22.0 inches.
Hypothetical Bullvine illustration, not Holstein USA test results; assumes the reference measurement is accurate.
Rump width
Independent reference measurement
22.0 in.
Camera, Monday
23.1 in.
Camera, Wednesday
23.0 in.
Camera, Friday
23.1 in.
That camera is precise but biased by about an inch. Accuracy against a reference is only one part of validation, and the reference measurement carries error too. A 2026 systematic review of vision-based body measurement in beef cattle lists uncertainty about ground truth and insufficient cross-ranch validation among the field’s open challenges. It doesn’t assess dairy conformation classification, but it strengthens the case for independent validation.
Rump width can be checked against a defined physical measurement. Locomotion indicators may need comparison with independent expert assessments or validated movement measurements. A 2025 Journal of Dairy Science invited review on sensor data in breeding notes that some variables, such as milk yield, are easier to validate than more complex ones like animal activity (Brito et al., 2025). Holstein USA should name the reference method for each trait, with its measurement uncertainty, rather than report one accuracy figure for the whole system.
Our recommendation is to validate on cows and farms kept out of model development, not on random video frames that may include animals used in training.
Udder traits are hardest because an udder looks different full than after milking. Placement in the exit alley should help standardize the timing of measurements relative to milking. The published results reviewed here don’t show how much that reduces biological variation, or whether stage of lactation produces systematic differences.
Five Tests Holstein USA Should Report Before 2027–28
Holstein USA plans to install the system on additional farms in 2026. “We hope to be ready to sell this system in 2027 or 2028,” Bewley said. That’s a target, not an announced launch.
The public material reviewed for this article does not provide the trait-by-trait accuracy, repeatability, rejection rates and independent across-farm validation needed to assess commercial performance. That does not establish that Holstein USA lacks the data internally. It means prospective buyers cannot yet evaluate those results independently from the evidence available here.
What This Means If You’re Weighing the System
Before signing, ask Holstein USA for evidence on all five tests, broken out for your herd size and barn type. Each test covers several statistics across the 26 traits, not one number. Ask, too, who controls the data the system generates (see “Data Ownership: Who Controls the Phenotypes?” below).
Test
What Holstein USA should report
Why farmers should care
1. Repeatability
Within-cow standard deviations and repeatability coefficients by trait; usable passes needed per trait
Can I trust changes in a cow’s measurements?
2. Accuracy
Error against a stated reference method for each trait, with its uncertainty; agreement and bias against classifiers on the same cows
Is the system measuring what it claims?
3. Reproducibility
Bias between installations and software versions; results from cows and farms excluded from model development
Will it work in my barn?
4. Usable-data yield
Valid traits per cow, rejected passes, reasons for rejection
How many cows actually produce useful information?
5. Cost per useful phenotype
Installed and annual costs; reliable cow-level coverage; share of previously unclassified animals that become available for genetic analysis
Is the extra information worth paying for?
Holstein USA should set acceptable performance for each trait and intended use before commercial validation, then report results against those targets. A system that performs well on some traits but not others may still have value, provided buyers know exactly which measurements are dependable and which remain experimental.
Udders, condition and locomotion change over a lactation, so a repeatability figure has to show how much of an observed change exceeds expected measurement variation.
Report both usable passes and the proportion of cows achieving reliable trait profiles. Pass-level rejection rates show how often the system fails. Cow-level coverage shows its eventual value to the farm and to genetic evaluation.
A Farm System Has to Know When It’s Wrong
Holstein USA hasn’t said whether recalibration can compensate for mounting differences, or how often it would be needed.
A fogged lens, manure on the housing, a second cow in the frame or a bumped mount can each produce a misleading reading, and even depth sensing struggles with occlusion. The system that earns trust is the one that rejects a poor image instead of reporting a confident number anyway. Buyers should ask three questions:
Can a technician recalibrate a moved camera without rebuilding the model?
Does the system detect misalignment on its own?
How does it reject unreliable observations and alert the farm?
Can Ordinary Cameras Do the Same Job for Less?
Bewley has argued the depth cameras earn their place: “Unlike conventional cameras, these provide us with more accurate information about the object we’re looking at.” A properly designed head-to-head validation study could test that claim.
Demonstrated: 3D tracking with ordinary cameras in a working barn
In a 2024 study, seven RGB cameras recorded 183 cows in a Swedish freestall barn between December 2021 and April 2022 (Kroese et al., Journal of Dairy Science (2024)). Sony Nordic’s software matched 2D poses across synchronized views to output 3D coordinates of anatomical landmarks. The authors report 88.2% sensitivity and 99.5% precision for detecting lying-to-standing transitions, figures that describe behavior detection, not conformation accuracy. They also flag limited external validity: a single cubicle design, a limited period and manually selected video sequences. Seven cameras watching freestalls is not three cameras in a walk-through alley.
Under investigation: RGB reconstruction for a body measurement
In an October 21, 2026 announcement, Charles Sturt University described using ordinary RGB cameras from multiple viewpoints and AI-based 3D reconstruction to estimate cattle weight without a conventional scale. The university says one of the researchers’ key goals is to provide “a potentially lower-cost and less intrusive alternative to methods that rely on more expensive sensors.” The team hopes to validate the project in more real-world settings. This is weight estimation, not classification-grade conformation, and it doesn’t show RGB can replace Holstein USA’s depth sensors.
Unproven: RGB reproducing the full classification trait set
2D images are low-cost but have limited expressiveness for 3D body parameters.
RGB-D and LiDAR are affected by point-cloud noise, occlusion and equipment cost.
Multi-view fusion “places high demands on calibration, registration, and system integration.”
Time-of-flight cameras
Calibrated RGB cameras + AI
Source of depth
Measured directly by sensor
Inferred by matching views
Calibration
Required
Required, with heavy registration demands
Weaknesses the review lists
Point-cloud noise, occlusion, equipment cost
Integration burden across views
Proven for 26 traits
Not shown in public evidence reviewed here
Not shown
Table note: How severe point-cloud noise is depends on the sensor, scene geometry and processing pipeline.
The decisive comparison would evaluate calibrated RGB cameras and time-of-flight sensors on the same cows during synchronized passages, using independent reference measurements. Trials would need to include cows and farms excluded from model development, different lighting and housing conditions, and repeated measurements across time. Results should be reported by trait, covering physical measurement error, usable-data yield, calibration demands and total operating cost.
Holstein USA need not run that experiment itself; a university or another developer could. Until a rigorous comparison exists, claims that ordinary cameras are either adequate replacements or inherently insufficient remain unproven.
The answer may be neither all depth cameras nor all conventional cameras. RGB imaging may eventually measure some traits adequately while others justify dedicated depth sensing, and a hybrid system could cost less than either extreme. That turns on trait-specific accuracy and the total cost of producing reliable information, not the price of individual cameras.
Do Automated Traits Actually Improve Breeding Value?
Holstein Association USA staff analyzed a dataset of more than 1 million cows, matching official linear classification records with DHIA production records. In an April 2023 release promoting a webinar on the study, titled “A Million Reasons Why Conformation Matters,” Bewley said “cows with more functionally correct physical conformation produced more lifetime energy correct milk and stayed in the herd longer.” These are associations: the analysis doesn’t establish that conformation itself caused the production differences.
Level
What must be established
Why it matters
Measurement
Trait measured consistently and accurately
A phenotype you can trust
Genetics
Useful genetic variation, reliably evaluated
Potentially better breeding values
Economics
Selection improves lifetime profit or another goal
A reason to collect the data
The biggest value may lie in how a cow’s structure changes over time rather than in reproducing today’s classification sheet. If one cow’s udder holds through three lactations while another’s declines, repeated measurements could show whether that difference is genetic.
Three milkings a day don’t create three independent cows for genetic evaluation. Repeated observations can still add information, especially about how traits change with age and lactation. Their value depends on how genetic models account for correlations between measurements and separate permanent cow effects from real change over time. Researchers also need to show that the automated traits add information beyond existing classification records, and that they make genetic evaluations more reliable in independent populations.
Data Ownership: Who Controls the Phenotypes?
The 2025 Journal of Dairy Science invited review by Brito and colleagues found that integrating sensor data into breeding programs “remains limited due to fragmentation across sensor brands, lack of standardization, and challenges related to data accessibility, data access and portability rights, business interests, and governance.” It calls for “transparent data-sharing agreements” (Brito et al., 2025). Bewley is a co-author, listed with a Holstein Association USA affiliation, so Build a Better Cow is a direct test of whether the barriers his own review identifies can be solved in a commercial system. A 2021 review by Cole and colleagues adds the genetics context: phenotypes for some newer traits “are difficult or expensive to measure,” which “is driving interest in sensor-based systems.”
The same camera could serve an individual herd and the wider genetics industry, and those aren’t necessarily the same business case. Farmers may benefit from monitoring udder structure, locomotion or body condition. Breed associations and genetic evaluation organizations could gain observations on cows that might never be formally classified.
Ownership, access, portability and permitted use are related, but they aren’t the same thing:
Concept
What farmers need to establish
Ownership
Who holds contractual rights in the generated data?
Access
Can the farmer obtain both the original and processed records?
Portability
Can the data move into other management or genetic evaluation systems?
Permitted use
Can measurements be shared, commercialized or used to train future AI models?
Permitted use matters for an imaging system. Bewley told AgriNews the system uses “artificial intelligence through techniques of machine learning to process the information from that image.” Before commercial rollout, Holstein USA should answer five questions:
Who controls the measurements?
Can they be used in genetic evaluations?
Can farmers export them to other systems?
What happens to historical records if a farm stops using the service?
Can a farm’s images or measurements be used to train future commercial models, and can the farm control that use?
Our search of public material through October 26, 2026, did not identify Build a Better Cow terms resolving these questions. That does not establish whether Holstein USA has developed policies or contractual provisions that have not yet been published.
Sidebar: What Does a Reliable Cow-Level Phenotype Actually Cost?
This is a Bullvine illustration in US dollars, not a Holstein USA price or performance result. Holstein USA hasn’t published pricing. The $20,000 total annual ownership cost (capital recovery plus ongoing costs) is a scenario we chose for illustration. It isn’t derived from Holstein USA equipment or support quotations.
Herd size
Cost per cow per year (our math)
500
$40.00
1,000
$20.00
2,000
$10.00
3,000
$6.67
This illustration holds annual system cost constant across herd sizes. Actual costs could increase if larger operations require additional camera lanes, computing capacity, software licenses or maintenance. The falling cost per cow shows fixed costs being spread over more animals, not a demonstrated economy of scale for this system.
Here we count a cow only when she has a complete annual trait profile meeting a defined reliability threshold. That’s an assumed standard for the calculation, not a Holstein USA requirement. In practice, partial profiles could also have breeding value, and usable coverage should be reported for each trait.
If only 75% of cows qualify for a reliable profile, the fixed cost is spread over fewer animals. For a 1,000-cow herd, that pushes the cost from $20.00 up to $26.67 per usable cow (750 cows; our math). That isn’t the cost per camera reading. The economic test is how much independent genetic information the system adds, by recording more cows and by revealing change over time, and whether that information improves breeding decisions.
Correction to Earlier Bullvine Reporting
On May 22, 2026, The Bullvine reported that “the estimated installed cost is around $150,000 per farm” and that “heat shutdowns occur above 105°F.” The same article described “Twenty-six linear traits measured automatically” and said camera condensation in winter milkings “shows up” across northern states and Canada. We have not established any of those as verified specifications or operating results of Build a Better Cow. Holstein USA describes the 26 traits as including body condition score and locomotion indicators as well as linear traits.
The $150,000 figure originated in our October 2025 analysis. That piece offered it as a Bullvine projection: “If system costs align with current precision agriculture pricing—potentially around $150,000.” It raised heat and condensation as general concerns for camera systems, not as documented limits of Holstein USA’s system. It also described a 2027–2028 commercial timeline as industry speculation. Holstein USA later gave that timeline as its own sales target, and it describes the system as a supplement to classification.
Readers should not treat the cost, the temperature threshold or the condensation claim as Holstein USA claims. This article corrects those statements.
Where the Value Would Come From
If Build a Better Cow succeeds commercially, it could generate repeated, objective measurements from thousands of cows across multiple lactations, covering body condition and locomotion indicators as well as linear conformation traits. Those records could help researchers identify structural characteristics associated with productive life and evaluate whether additional phenotypes improve genetic predictions.
CDCB says reliable genomic evaluations depend on a continuous flow of accurate genotypic and phenotypic data to establish and refresh the reference population. On that standard, the case for Build a Better Cow rests on its cost per reliable, genetically useful phenotype, and whether conventional video cameras and AI can lower that cost stays open until someone runs the same-cow comparison.
In Brief
A consistent camera can still be wrong. The accuracy figure that matters is each trait’s error against a stated reference method, with its uncertainty, not one number for the whole system.
Depth cameras versus ordinary video isn’t settled. A same-cow comparison, run by Holstein USA, a university or another developer, would answer it trait by trait.
Our October 26, 2026 search found no published Holstein USA terms on data ownership, access, portability or AI-training use, with the system targeted for sale in 2027 or 2028.
Automated Phenotype Cost Estimator
Adjust the variables below to calculate the true financial investment required to extract reliable, genetic-grade phenotypic data from an automated camera classification system.
Base Cost Per Cow$20.00
Cows with Reliable Profiles750
True Cost Per Usable Phenotype$26.67
Learn More
Robotic milking ROI: 13 hours freed, 12.9 must leave payroll — Dismantles the massive gap between glossy automation brochures and actual barn-floor returns. This calculation exposes exactly how many paid hours must leave your payroll to justify a million-dollar precision upgrade.
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The people who worked beside him in the auction box remember the hours he put into every catalog and how freely he passed on what he found.
Horace Backus, the Dean of Pedigrees, 1927–2024. He moved into the auction box as a pedigree man in November 1953 and worked his last sale in that role in October 2016.
Horace Backus died two years ago this week, on October 22, 2024, in Mexico, New York, at 96.
Breeders called him the Dean of Pedigrees. He started in his father’s pedigree office in 1943, at 15 and still in high school. He moved into the auction box as a pedigree man in November 1953. His last sale in that role was the Cornell University Dairy Club sale in October 2016, two months before he turned 89. People often asked him which sale was his favorite. According to his obituary, he always named the one he was working on, because every owner’s herd or consignment deserved equal attention.
Four Colors of Ink
When Dave Rama mailed Horace a sale catalog, it came back marked in red, blue, green and yellow ink. Rama said in a DairyVoice tribute that Horace had researched the pedigrees further and added sisters the printed pages had left out.
Horace Backus at work. Dave Rama said the catalogs he mailed Horace came back marked in red, blue, green and yellow ink, with sisters added that the printed pages had left out.
Rama worked with Horace for more than 30 years. Early on, he said, they might mark three cows in a sale with more than 1,000 pounds of fat. Years later, whole catalogs ran from 1,000 to 1,500.
Once a Month at Earlville
R. Austin Backus started the Earlville sale series in central New York in 1924, and it ran into the late 1960s, according to Joel Hastings in the tribute. Hastings’s family published the Holstein World. He said a small breeder in upstate New York had little chance of buying a calf at Osborndale. When Osborndale consigned to Earlville, though, every breeder had a chance to participate. Rama added that this was before artificial insemination became widespread.
Rama once saw an old Earlville register listing buyers from Canada and perhaps 20 states. Plenty of cattle there brought $300 or $500 in the late 1930s and 1940s, he said. As a college student reading the Holstein World, he’d count six Backus sales in a month. “You’re like a carnival,” he said, “pitching tents and tearing down.”
The family also ran the Garden Spot sales in Pennsylvania. More than one consignor told Hastings that the Backus December sale made Christmas better at home.
Audrey Posch came to Earlville by way of the New York State Fair, where R. Austin was superintendent. In their February 28, 1996, interview, Horace told Doug Blair that she was tied right across from his father’s office. Every time R. Austin looked up from his desk, he saw her, so he sent Ed Harrison to get her consigned.
Horace believed she sold in the 1942 Earlville sale. She went on to make 1,000 pounds of fat. By his count, she was the 400th cow in the breed to reach that mark, and he thought she was probably among the first 150 to do it on twice-a-day milking. At the time of the interview, he traced 11 generations of Excellent cows at Pinehurst Farms back to her.
The Kid on the Phone
Frances Kellogg of Osborndale ran factories and kept both Holsteins and Jerseys, yet she ordered the pedigrees for her bulls herself. Horace, then the kid in the pedigree office, told Blair he was “almost terrified to talk to her.” She turned out to be very easy to work with. Later, the family owned Montvic Lochinvar in partnership with her.
Kellogg wanted Quality Fobes Abbekerk Gay mated to Osborndale Ty Vic, Horace said. She worried that her manager, Fred Nichols, would use another bull, so she sat on a straw bale and watched the mating herself. Osborndale Ivanhoe came from it.
Paul Misner of Dunloggin wrote advertisements in the Backus office so fast, Horace said, “that it was scary.” Anyone who wanted to watch put other work aside, because Misner would be gone by noon. He made sure Horace and Charles each got turns driving him, which gave each brother time alone with him.
Early in their marriage, when Horace and Doris Anne had hardly any furniture, Misner came for supper and raved over the meal. Doris Anne had a church meeting that evening. Misner helped Horace with the dishes, washing while Horace dried. Horace’s mother, he said, thought Misner was “the most charming man who ever lived.”
Horace and Doris Anne Backus, who were married for 70 years.
A Dairyman at Heart
In 1948, Horace bought a small farm within sight of Butterfly Farms. The two places shared machinery and help. Horace said his own equipment amounted to a little Ferguson tractor, a mower and a manure spreader. He bought proven cows with 500- to 600-pound fat records on twice-a-day milking. Those cows “got old very fast,” he told Blair, and many never left a heifer.
The sale business kept him on the road, some years for 104 or 105 sales, with trips of two or three weeks. One summer morning in the early 1950s, he arrived at five o’clock to meet the tester, Kennedy. Nobody was around, and a meal was still on the table in the house. He told Kennedy to sit down on a bale of hay while he went back to change his clothes. Horace then milked the cows himself for a week until he found a replacement.
The next man, Max, did good work. Even so, Horace felt he had to get bigger or get out. “I wasn’t going to hire another guy,” he said, and in those years “you couldn’t hire anybody. Everybody was fully employed.” That November, he told Max the cattle would sell in December and offered him the farm. “We didn’t get into any arguments about it.”
The bank wouldn’t take on Max’s loan yet, so Horace carried the contract himself until Max’s down payment was big enough for the bank to take over. “We were good friends the rest of our lives,” Horace said. What he regretted was selling the cattle, especially three or four cows he would have loved to keep.
One bull he bred on that farm was Noblebar Loch Dazzler.
Into the Box
Michigan auctioneer C.B. Smith stood with the Backus brothers for their first four or five sales after Horace started in November 1953. People must have wondered, Horace said, “how these kids are going to get this done.” Having Smith there gave them “a great boost in people’s eyes.”
Smith had heavy debts of his own. Horace said he owed R. Austin $30,000. He kept working Earlville sales and told R. Austin not to send his check until the debt was paid.
The Heifers Buyers Doubted
The first big group of Osborndale Ivanhoe daughters the brothers sold went through a sale at Methodist Home. Horace called the heifers “rough and tough.” He and Charles kept telling buyers they’d make great cows if people stayed with them. After the sale, several people asked, “What are you doing trying to push a bull like that?” Horace said a lot of breeders passed on Ivanhoe for a while because of those heifers.
In 1959, Aldo Panciera of Tum-A-Lum Farm in Rhode Island took an Ivanhoe Get of Sire to Syracuse. Horace and Charles had just begun giving the show a Get trophy in memory of their uncle Jay, who had died that year, and the Ivanhoes won it. “There wasn’t a line of cows like those four,” Horace said. The group was nominated All-American Get of Sire that year. In his view, Ivanhoe udders weren’t picture udders, but they were high-quality udders that would last until a cow was 16 or 17.
The Posch-bred cattle of the 1940s, Horace said, “were not the best legged cattle in the world,” and yet they lived into their teens. “So maybe they were good legged.” He saw Old Abbie, Montvic Rag Apple Colantha Abbekerk, in her teens at Mallary Farms. Her udder had broken down, but a milker could still go on it, and “the rest of this cow had held together beautifully.”
The Last Stall on the Right
During the 1996 visit, Blair spotted Roxy among the pictures in Horace’s office and asked whether he’d had much experience with her. Horace said that after a National Convention in Illinois, he and Charles had stopped at Bob Miller’s farm. In the last stall on the right, a box stall, stood a cow with “the longest neck I think I ever saw on a cow.” Both brothers looked at her and saw a 97-point cow.
Glenridge Citation Roxy did classify EX-97. Lorne Loveridge bred her at Glenridge. According to The Bullvine’s 2014 Roxy family profile, she “caught the eye of Doug Blair and Lowell Lindsay,” the same Blair who later asked Horace about her. Miller then bought her and developed the family at Mil-R-Mor.
The same profile reports that Miller had never sold a Roxy daughter until 1977. That year, at Horace’s encouragement, he consigned her daughter by Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation to the National Convention sale in Columbus, Ohio. Charles made the selection trip and came back with Mil-R-Mor Roxette.
Twenty-One Days
The brothers managed that sale, with Horace as pedigree man. Before it, Horace told Blair, Pete Heffering said the sale was “timed just right.” Heffering had investors and could buy cattle, “but I have got to have a little time.”
“We have got 21 days before we must pay the consignors,” Horace answered. “Can you get it to us by then?” Heffering said, “Yes, we can.”
Mil-R-Mor Roxette, lot 5, at the 1977 National Convention Sale in Columbus, Ohio. Bob Miller consigned her at Horace Backus’s encouragement, and Pete Heffering bought her for Hanover Hill at $25,000.
Horace was certain Heffering would buy J-P-G Standout Kandy, and he was thinking maybe $30,000 or $40,000. A WorthPoint listing for a marked copy of the sale catalog dates the sale June 30, 1977. The seller’s description says the copy has top prices marked and that Kandy topped the sale at $41,000, sold to Hanover Hill Holsteins. Kandy, EX-96, went on to win 1977 All-American Aged Cow. The Bullvine’s 2014 Roxy profile lists Roxette at $25,000, the sale’s third-highest price, and puts Heffering’s purchases that day at 19 head for $207,600.
The individual prices came from Blair in the interview, not from Horace. “I had forgotten the amounts,” Horace said. What he remembered was Heffering telling him it was the greatest day he ever had, because he got Roxette.
People around the sale chided the brothers. “Are you going to get paid?”
As the 21st day neared, Horace had business in Connecticut. He reached Heffering in Canada and asked whether he could stop in Millbrook, New York, and pick up the check at Mabel’s. “Yeh, pick up the check.” Horace drove back through Millbrook, Mabel sat down and wrote it out, and he headed home.
“I had always felt that we could trust Pete,” Horace said, “and then I absolutely knew we could trust Pete.”
Roxette’s Line
The Bullvine’s 2014 Roxy profile reports that Bob Miller objected after Roxette was sold on investor terms, with a third down on sale day and the balance over the next two years. It adds that “rumors spread that the deal almost collapsed.”
Roxette bred at least 30 daughters at Hanoverhill. Mated to Hanoverhill Starbuck, she produced Hanoverhill Raider, born August 17, 1986, and bred by Hanover Hill Holsteins. Interbull data published August 11, 2026, lists Raider as Starbuck out of Mil-R-Mor Roxette, with Glenridge Citation Roxy as his maternal granddam. The same record credits him with 75,791 yield daughters in 23,306 herds, including 23,580 in Canada, 13,719 in Great Britain, 11,862 in Australia and 6,802 in the United States.
Horace told Blair that Starbuck’s pedigree had always fascinated him because it brought together two of his favorite cows, Round Oak Ivanhoe Eve and Quality Fobes Abbekerk Gay. He named Raider among Starbuck’s great sons.
What He Charged
“I have never told anybody what I would charge them,” Horace told Blair. Then he allowed, “Well, there might have been a couple of exceptions, but in most cases, people have been very fair.” When Heffering wanted to agree on a fee, Horace said no. “If you send me a check we will be fine.”
When the New York Holstein News asked Heffering who had most affected his Holstein career, he named three people. Horace was one, Dave Younger another, and Horace admitted he “must have blocked out the other one.”
“That tickled me as much as anything that has happened to me in a long, long time. Simple thing. Little thing.”
The Voice
Horace Backus in the box. Dave Rama said Horace gave a $600 heifer the same treatment as a $60,000 heifer.
Tim Abbott hosted the DairyVoice tribute. He remembered the arena lights going down at the World Classic sale and Horace’s voice reading the pedigree for lot one. As a young man, Abbott dreamed of owning the animal Horace would read in that spot.
Rama remembered Horace giving a $600 heifer the same treatment as a $60,000 heifer. When a pedigree excited him, his voice grew stronger. If the bidding stalled, he might throw in “soar with the eagles” at the right moment, and the bidding would start again. “When Horace talked, it was gospel.”
Rama also recalled an investor who asked the two of them before one sale what a cow was worth. They told him $12,000, with a high limit of $15,000. She sold for $35,000, and the buyer was that same investor. After that, they decided to “just tell them the pedigree, let him bid.”
Over the 30 years they worked together, Rama said, he heard Horace say something disparaging about someone “maybe once or twice.”
Hastings said that even five minutes before getting into the box, Horace would stop to listen to someone and look the person in the eye. The person felt like the only one who mattered to Horace in that conversation.
Stepping Back
Horace and Charles decided in 1982 to leave sale management, keeping the right to manage the 1983 National Convention sale in Virginia. Their father had suffered a stroke at 57, and their uncle Jay had died at 59. By the 1996 interview, two other brothers who hadn’t worked under that kind of pressure were 90 and 86 or 87, and still playing golf. “We didn’t know how long we were going to live,” Horace said, “so that is why we eased up.”
They sold the business to one of the people who had worked for them and kept working freelance. Charles called the 1987 National Convention sale in Indianapolis his last. Horace kept going and later served as pedigree man for the Cattle Exchange.
According to Hastings, the brothers could have been elected convention delegates while they ran sales, but they believed those seats belonged to active breeders. After leaving sale management, Horace served two four-year terms on the Holstein Association board. Hastings remembered him and Dave Bachman on the audit committee, asking how breeders’ money was being spent.
World Dairy Expo named Horace its Industry Person of the Year in 2010, and Holstein Association USA gave him its Distinguished Leadership Award in 2013. He was also an honorary member of the Arthur Klussendorf Memorial Association, and the New York association honored him for distinguished service to the breed. At the height of his career, Hastings said, Horace may have spoken at more local Holstein club meetings “than the next five guys.”
“David, I worked longer with you than I worked with my own brother Charlie,” Horace once told Rama. Some sale selections didn’t get them in until two in the morning. It was tough on Horace as he got older, Rama said, “but he wanted to go.”
Abbott credited Horace’s mentorship with much of the success of the cattle-sales business Dave and Mary Rama built. Rama called Horace his mentor, one of his best friends and “almost like a father in many ways.”
Doris Anne, his wife of 70 years, and their son Harry both died before him.
The Record He Kept
Horace Backus among his sale catalogs and memorabilia. His books covered herds and sales he had known, among them Dunloggin, Mount Victoria Farms and the Seed Stock series.
While researching his Dunloggin book, Horace called Maurice Prescott about criticism of Paul Misner’s judging at the 1953 Chicago International. By the accounts Horace heard, Misner took more than an hour over the aged cow class. He kept Woodyglen Queen Mazie, a former All-American, in first place most of the time, then switched the placing at the last minute. Hoard’s Dairyman criticized the decision sharply. Horace also corrected the common story that Misner never judged again, pointing to a later Maryland State Show and what became the Pennsylvania Holstein Show.
One night at dinner, Misner said out of the blue, “You know, Maizie acted up in the ring.” That was all. “Why I didn’t ask him more I don’t know,” Horace told Blair. “I might have been right not to ask him more. Maybe I was wrong.”
Rama said Horace’s other books covered herds and sales he had known, among them Mount Victoria Farms, the Seed Stock series, Scatterin’ and Milestone. Hastings said Horace never believed the old cows were better. During one of their sessions, Blair pointed out a connection in Starbuck’s pedigree. “I didn’t know that till you told me last night,” Horace said.
The Bull From the Little Farm
Md-Maple-Lawn Marquis Glamour, an All-American by Marquis, from the Allendairy herd the Backus’ sold for the Reisinger family.
In February 1996, a photograph of Md-Maple-Lawn Marquis Glamour hung on Horace’s office wall. Blair asked whether he had been in the box when she sold. “Yes, I was.” The Backus’ had sold the Allendairy herd for the Reisinger family.
Glamour’s dam’s dam, Horace told Blair, was by Noblebar Loch Dazzler, “a bull that I had bred in our herd on that little farm.” He recalled Glamour being about two months in calf to Osborndale Ivanhoe when she sold.
Allendairy Glamourous Ivy EX-3E, born October 31, 1973, the Osborndale Ivanhoe daughter of Md-Maple-Lawn Marquis Glamour. Her Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief daughter, Leadfield Glamourous Illusion, classified EX-91.
That calf was Allendairy Glamourous Ivy, whom Horace called “the first million dollar cow.” In a 1984 issue, FARM SHOW reported that the top bid on Ivy, then owned by Tom Pearson of Greenleaf, Wisconsin, reached $1,025,000 at a dispersal sale. The report named Cormdale Farms of Georgetown, Ontario, as the buyer. “I always got a big kick out of Glamour,” Horace said.
KJH Imelda, a modern descendant of Allendairy Glamourous Ivy through Ivy’s Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief daughter, Leadfield Glamourous Illusion EX-91 GMD DOM
“Keep It”
At home in Mexico, New York, Horace served 10 years on the school board and was Sunday School superintendent at the First Presbyterian Church, where he was a lifelong member.
When friends proposed raising scholarship money in Horace’s name for young dairy leaders through the Holstein Foundation, Hastings said Horace wasn’t eager to have his name attached. He agreed because the money would help educate young people. Abbott later consigned a calf at the World Classic for the fund. Afterward, Horace wrote Hastings that he never would have asked for it, but it had been “kind of fun” and “a nice ride.”
In the 1996 interview, Blair asked about the Maytag herd in Iowa. Horace called it “a wonderful job of breeding Ormsby cattle.” He had a Maytag sale catalog in the office and asked whether Blair had one.
“I would like to have you take it,” he said. “Keep it.”
Horace Austin Backus, December 26, 1927 – October 22, 2024. Funeral services were held October 29, 2024, at the First Presbyterian Church of Mexico, New York, with the Rev. Karen Green officiating. Interment was in Mexico Village Cemetery. Survivors include his son, John, and his daughter, Kim.
Keep His Stories on Your Shelf The marked catalogs. The sale-ring stories. The people behind the pedigrees. This tribute draws on Doug Blair’s interviews with Horace Backus, preserved in The Legacy of Horace Backus: Pillar of Holstein Heritage and Humanity by Ronald Francis Eustice. If Horace’s story brought back memories—or introduced you to a man you wish you’d known—continue reading in the book that helped make this tribute possible. Buy the Book on Amazon → Our thanks to Ronald Francis Eustice and Doug Blair for preserving these stories for the next generation.
Share your memories of Horace and the Backus family, in the sale ring or out of it, in the comments below.
Editor’s note: Horace Backus’s recollections come from Doug Blair’s interviews, published in The Legacy of Horace Backus: Pillar of Holstein Heritage and Humanity by Ronald Francis Eustice. Recollections from Joel Hastings, Dave Rama, and Tim Abbott come from the DairyVoice tribute episode. The June 30, 1977, sale date and Kandy’s $41,000 price come from a seller’s description of a marked catalog copy listed on WorthPoint, which The Bullvine has not inspected. Roxette’s $25,000 price, Heffering’s 19-head total, and the sale terms come from The Bullvine’s 2014 Roxy family profile. Raider’s daughter figures come from Interbull data published August 11, 2026.
Continue the Story
Hanover Hill Holsteins: Peter Heffering 1931-2012 – Heffering stood across the sale ring from Horace, building a herd around cow families, type and longevity. Follow his partnership with Ken Trevena through the breeding convictions and cross-border decisions that shaped Hanover Hill.
The Investor Era: How Section 46 Revolutionized Dairy Cattle Breeding – Behind the bids Horace read pedigrees for was a changing world of outside money, ambitious breeding programs and investor expectations. Follow the rise of Erinwood and Dreamstreet to understand the forces filling those sale barns.
Roxy, Dellia and The Mothers Who Built the Breed – The Roxette story carries beyond Columbus and Hanover Hill. Follow Roxy’s descendants alongside other foundational cow families into later generations, where the ancestry Horace spent his life explaining still gives breeders something to build on.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
Pennsylvania No. 1 beef-cross bull calves brought US$341.32 over dairy bull calves in 2025, up from US$96.78. The percentage fell from 91% to 38%. Bigger check, smaller ratio. Now run your costs.
Michigan State University Extension’s Jerad Jaborek and MSU agricultural economist Jaime Luke worked through 67 months of USDA auction prices from Smiths Grove, Kentucky, and New Holland, Pennsylvania, mid-2020 through 2025. From the first year to the last, every sale series showed the same split. Beef-cross bull calves earned bigger dollar premiums over dairy bull calves and smaller percentage premiums. By 2025, the percentage ranged from 29% to 38% across the three sales.
A smaller percentage premium doesn’t necessarily mean beef semen became less profitable. The dollar premium increased. Whether the breeding decision paid better depends on the added costs and the value of the alternative calf.
A budget built on the 2020–2021 percentage premiums, 91% and 99% at Pennsylvania No. 1, overstates the relative edge. A budget built on 2025 dollar premiums is a bet on 2025 calf prices. Luke and Jaborek published the full study, including year-by-year price details, in the August 2026 issue of Applied Animal Science (read the study).
What the Auction Data Shows
MSU built quantity-weighted average prices from three recurring USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) reports: the Farmers Regional Livestock Glasgow Dairy Auction in Smiths Grove, Kentucky, and the Monday and Thursday New Holland Livestock cattle auctions in New Holland, Pennsylvania. MSU’s Pennsylvania figures cover the Number 1 and Number 2 grades AMS assigns under the U.S. Grade Standards for Feeder Cattle. (MSU Extension article).
Bull premiums were 29% in Kentucky and 38% for both Pennsylvania grades in 2025. Source: MSU Extension, July 17, 2026, Table 1.
Year
Kentucky (US$/head)
Kentucky (%)
PA No. 1 (US$/head)
PA No. 1 (%)
PA No. 2 (US$/head)
PA No. 2 (%)
2020
141.37
282
96.78
91
71.64
92
2021
135.22
250
123.85
99
98.48
102
2022
70.36
56
154.60
103
101.00
80
2023
80.38
43
226.55
78
201.18
83
2024
138.93
32
266.56
47
277.51
57
2025
218.28
29
341.32
38
306.35
38
Beef-dairy cross bull calf premium over dairy bull calves. Source: MSU Extension, July 17, 2026, Table 1: “Mean differences between quantity-weighted average beef-dairy cross bull and dairy bull calf price by sale, grade and year.”
Pennsylvania No. 1’s percentage premium peaked at 103% in 2022, then fell three straight years to 38%. Kentucky’s percentage fell every year, from 282% to 29%. Its dollar premium dropped to US$70.36 in 2022, then finished at US$218.28, above the US$141.37 it started at. Anyone budgeting on the percentage would have read Kentucky as a collapse. By 2025, the check said otherwise.
PA No. 1’s dollar premium rose while its percentage premium fell between 2020 and 2025. Source: MSU Extension, July 17, 2026, Table 1.
Heifer premiums moved the same way. At Pennsylvania No. 1, the beef-cross heifer premium over dairy bull calves rose from US$88.92 to US$291.89 while the percentage fell from 82% to 32%. In 2025, it was 17% in Kentucky and 24% for Pennsylvania No. 2.
MSU’s explanation is that the whole market moved: “the prices garnered for all animals entering the beef supply chain are greater today than they were at the beginning of the decade.” MSU ties the climb partly to a U.S. beef cow inventory at “its lowest level since the early 1960s,” with strong beef demand on top, which made calves entering the beef supply chain “a hot commodity.” Bullvine’s New Holland beef-cross calf report tracks what the same barn paid on Oct. 5.
What the Study Can’t Measure
MSU says the extra value of beef-cross calves “could be captured by greater average daily gain and fewer days on feed” before feedlot entry, and that the calves “may achieve better carcass grades.” Those are expectations, not findings.
The authors say in the journal’s August 10 release that the reports capture breed, sex, and grade “but nothing about lot size, seller, or health status, all of which shape pricing,” and that some weeks are missing entirely. So the published data cannot isolate what buyers paid for. Unreported traits may well earn money, but this study can’t measure their effect.
MSU also warns that when beef cow inventory numbers increase, beef-dairy cross calves “could be positioned to take a larger relative drop in prices as compared to beef calves because buyers will have the ability to be more selective in the animals they purchase.” That warning measures beef-cross calves against beef calves. The tables measure them against dairy bull calves. It isn’t a forecast for the premium over dairy bull calves. The relative premium shrank from 2020 to 2025, and future markets could move calf prices and the premium in either direction.
Running the Numbers: 70 Beef-Cross Bull Calves
The 70 bull calves here are an illustration. The premiums are MSU’s Pennsylvania No. 1 figures; the totals are Bullvine’s.
The 2020 premium yields US$6,775 on 70 bulls before added costs. Bullvine calculation from MSU’s Pennsylvania No. 1 figures.
Scenario
Premium per bull calf
Gross premium on 70 bull calves
2025 historical premium
US$341.32
US$23,892
Illustrative arithmetic midpoint
US$219.05
US$15,334
2020 historical premium stress case
US$96.78
US$6,775
Bullvine calculation. Gross premium over dairy bull calf value, before added costs. The midpoint is arithmetic, not an expected outcome. 2020 is a historical stress case, not a floor.
The 2020 stress case generates about US$6,800 in gross premium before added costs. The 2025 case generates about US$17,100 more (US$17,118, calculated before rounding). A beef program that only covers its costs at the 2025 number is carrying 2025 calf prices on its back.
A breeding-program decision also needs revenue from both sexes, the calves the alternative semen strategy would produce, semen use and conception differences, survival and saleability, replacement requirements, and incremental costs.
At Pennsylvania No. 1, a 50:50 mix of beef-cross bulls and heifers works out to about US$92.85 of gross premium per beef-sired calf sold at 2020 levels and about US$316.61 at 2025 levels (Bullvine calculation from MSU Tables 1–2). Set that against your added cost per beef-sired calf sold, extra straws included if conception differs. MSU measures the heifer premium against dairy bull calves too. If the alternative to a beef-sired heifer is a dairy replacement you need, value that calf instead.
Added cost per beef-sired calf sold (illustrative)
Net at 2020 premium (US$92.85 gross)
Net at 2025 premium (US$316.61 gross)
Spread between cases
US$50
US$42.85
US$266.61
US$223.76
US$100
−US$7.15
US$216.61
US$223.76
US$150
−US$57.15
US$166.61
US$223.76
US$200
−US$107.15
US$116.61
US$223.76
What to Ask Your Calf Buyer
Auction sales and specification-based arrangements aren’t either-or; a herd can use both. Either way, put four questions to the buyer:
What do you pay for, specifically?
How is that payment calculated?
What records do you need from the dairy?
What carcass or performance feedback will you send back?
A written price mechanism shows a buyer pays for something. It isn’t the only proof that spending has value, and it isn’t enough by itself, because the payment still has to cover the cost and the rejection risk. For any extra expense, ask what evidence shows it improves your return through this buyer.
Keep essential care out of that test. Colostrum and calving management pay through calf health, survival and growth whether or not a buyer itemizes them. The test is for optional, buyer-specific items like certification, testing, documentation or a premium terminal-trait straw. Judge each on its total benefit, avoided losses included, and weigh it against what a beef straw costs you in replacement value.
Playbook
This week: gather settlements and pick a fair comparison.
Pull 12 months of calf settlements and calculate your beef-cross premium over dairy bull calves in dollars and percent, split by sex.
Compare like with like: similar sale dates and locations; comparable sex, weight, age and grade; settlement values that are consistently gross or consistently net; and your own history in the same channel.
If you sell few dairy bull calves, use a matched local benchmark, such as the same week’s market report for your sale. Setting annual beef-cross receipts against an unmatched annual dairy calf average mixes up market timing with the breeding premium.
Small samples and wide price swings limit how much any comparison can tell you.
Before the next semen order: run the scenarios.
Review incremental costs per beef-sired calf sold, conception differences and replacement needs.
Run both sexes at the 2020 and 2025 premium levels above.
Weigh calving ease. Difficult calvings can raise costs and losses.
Over the next calf-sales cycle: track what pays.
Record which sires and which buyer arrangements produced which settlements.
Check whether the extra spending improved realized returns through that buyer.
Plug in your local auction prices and herd data to calculate your actual premium over dairy bull calves.
Load MSU Scenarios:
Premium per Head
$341.00
171% of dairy calf value
Gross Herd Premium
$23,870.00
Before added costs
Net Program Advantage
$20,370.00
Total profit over dairy bulls
Methodology Note
Published inputs: MSU Extension, “Premiums for beef-dairy cross calves shrinking in percentage terms” (Luke and Jaborek), July 17, 2026, Tables 1–2. These are mean differences between quantity-weighted average prices from three USDA AMS reports, mid-2020 through 2025. The full study is Applied Animal Science 42(4), August 2026, DOI 10.15232/aas.2026-02804. Data limitations are from the journal’s August 10, 2026 release.
Bullvine calculations: Scenario totals are premium × 70 bull calves. The midpoint is the average of the 2020 and 2025 PA No. 1 bull premiums. The two-sex figure is the mean of the PA No. 1 bull and heifer premiums for the same year.
Limits: three sale series in two states. Your region, grade, buyer or channel may differ.
Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.
Learn More
Beef-on-Dairy Calf Profit: The $150 Leak Killing Your Premium — Arms you with the metrics to protect your crossbred margins. By auditing serum total protein and weaning average daily gains, you can plug management leaks that quietly erase $150 per head before the feedlot discounts your next load.
$3010 Per Heifer. 800000 Short. Your Beef-on-Dairy Bill Is Due. — Breaks down the devastating replacement deficit threatening your long-term viability. As springing heifers top $3,000, overusing beef semen wipes out auction premiums. Learn how a 35% turnover rate leaves you scrambling for expensive replacements across a two-year timeline.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
A robot can remove milking from a job description without shrinking the payroll by a single dollar. If the person who used to milk now fetches cows, responds to alarms, and reads reports, the work has just changed. A robot loan is paid in cash, and unless those freed hours completely leave your payroll, your cash flow takes the hit.
A robot can take milking off someone’s job without shrinking the payroll by a dollar. If the person who milked now fetches cows, responds to alarms, and reads reports, the farm has changed that person’s work. Whether total labor fell depends on how many hours those new tasks take. If paid hours and pay stay the same, so does the payroll. Time handed back to an unpaid owner doesn’t reduce payroll either. A robot loan is paid in cash, so cash is the test this article runs, starting with the four-robot, 240-cow University of Minnesota model.
That model is a good place to see the difference. In the Minnesota model, four robots on 240 cows cut twice-daily (2×) milking labor from 16 worker-hours a day to 3.0. That frees 13.0 hours, by our subtraction. Bullvine ran a cash comparison combining inputs from that historical model with our own assumptions:
$17/cwt milk (our assumption)
5 lb more milk per cow per day (a modeled increase in the Minnesota model)
the Minnesota model’s $1.048 million capital premium, which we assume is fully financed
no cash credit for saved management time (our default)
At USDA’s April 2025 livestock wage of $18.15 an hour, 12.9 of those 13.0 hours have to come off payroll to cover the added costs. If all 13 freed hours become avoided payroll, the scenario has about $803 a year left over (our math). That’s roughly seven worker-minutes a day, before the costs and benefits our cash comparison excludes.
None of this contradicts the paper. Salfer and colleagues found the 240-cow robot system more profitable than the double-8 parlor on net annual impact. That’s a 30-year, after-tax measure that assumes 1–3% wage inflation and discounts at a 3% cost of capital. Profitability over 30 years and the ability to make payments in years 1–10 are different questions. With the assumed five-pound milk gain, the wage and milk-price cases we ran against a 2× parlor need 7.7 to 14.6 hours a day to leave payroll.
What the Minnesota model assumes
The model, published in the Journal of Dairy Science in 2017, compares four robots with a double-8 parlor on a 240-cow North Central confinement dairy. It counts “only the factors that differed between milking systems.”
Capital: robots cost $760,000 plus a $1,640,000 barn. The parlor costs $512,000 plus an $840,000 barn. The robot premium is $1.048 million.
Labor: the parlor takes 16 worker-hours a day at 2× and 24 at three-times-daily (3×) milking, while running 8 and 12 operating hours. The robots take 3.0 worker-hours a day, covering “cleaning stalls, scraping alleys/crossovers, and fetching cows.”
Milk: the model assumes robots gain 2.27 kg (5.0 lb, our conversion) per cow per day against 2× and lose 0.91 kg (2.0 lb) against 3×.
That 3.0-hour figure is a good-barn number. It works out to 45 minutes per box (our division). That matches the paper’s unpublished Minnesota–Wisconsin survey of “well-designed (automatic manure removal, split entry pens), well-managed, free-flow AMS barns.”
Replace the depreciation-and-interest capital-recovery charge with loan principal and interest
−$8,776
−$7,385
Remove unpaid-labor savings
−$15,040
−$22,425
Iowa State treated management time the same way. Extra records time canceled out reduced labor-management time, and the authors noted that “Both management costs are also unpaid.”
The Minnesota model credits robots with half an hour a day less management time, valued at $25 an hour. Our cash comparison gives that half-hour no cash credit by default. If a paid cost actually falls, subtract the documented annual cash saving, as long as it isn’t already counted in the payroll reduction. Avoiding the full modeled half-hour at $25 an hour is worth $4,563 a year. That would lower the central requirement from 12.9 paid hours a day to 12.2.
The wage in the denominator is the employment cost the farm actually stops paying for each hour removed. USDA NASS’s $18.15 is a national gross wage for livestock workers, not a dairy or Minnesota rate. It excludes the employer’s share of payroll taxes, plus housing and meals. A fully loaded average can overstate the savings too, because many of those costs stay as long as the worker stays.
Freed workers aren’t wasted. Salfer’s paper notes that “Low-value milking labor is often replaced by more economically valuable management labor.” That value counts here only where it produces additional cash you can defend, and only if it doesn’t double count the milk response.
Running the Numbers
Bullvine calculation: annual comparison during loan years 1–10 (2×, $17 milk, full financing, no management credit)
Less extra milk margin: 4,380 cwt × $8.875 = $38,873.
Annual incremental cash gap: $85,319, or $355 per cow.
Paid hours that must leave payroll: $85,319 ÷ ($18.15 × 365) = 12.9 a day, against 13.0 freed.
This is a break-even on the incremental investment against the modeled parlor. It doesn’t tell you whether the whole farm can carry its debt.
Historical-input illustration: annual comparison during loan years 1–10, not a current installation estimate
Net paid hours a day that must leave payroll (no management cash credit):
Baseline · milk price
$16.00/h
$18.15/h
$25.00/h (illustrative)
Worker-hours freed
2× · $17.00
14.6 ✗
12.9
9.3
13.0
2× · $20.45
12.0
10.6
7.7
13.0
2× · no milk gain
21.3 ✗
18.7 ✗
13.6 ✗
13.0
3× · $17.00
23.9 ✗
21.1 ✗
15.3
21.0
3× · $20.45
25.0 ✗
22.0 ✗
16.0
21.0
✗ = exceeds the hours the Minnesota model frees up, under these assumptions. An unmarked cell meets this incremental cash test; it doesn’t make a project profitable or bankable. The central case has only about seven worker-minutes a day of headroom. The $20.45 rows use USDA ERS’s 2027 all-milk forecast, updated October 19, 2026.
Three ways the central case breaks:
Slower robot labor: at 60 minutes per box instead of 45, the robots free 12.0 hours, not 13.0, and the 12.9-hour requirement fails.
No milk gain: the requirement climbs to 18.7 hours.
More capital: each extra $100,000 financed over 20 years at 5% adds $8,024 a year in debt service, about 1.2 paid hours a day. Over 10 years, it adds $12,950, about 2.0 hours. Extra insurance and repairs come on top.
Why 3× is a harder test
Against 3×, robots lose their milk advantage, so higher milk prices make their case worse. At $20.45 milk and $18.15 an hour, they’d need to remove 22.0 paid hours a day while freeing only 21.0. The paper names underused parlor capital as “one reason” its results differ by herd size. At 240 cows, the double-8 runs only 8 hours a day at 2×.
If you can’t realistically staff three milkings a day, leave 3× out of your comparison. Keeping an existing paid-off parlor is a separate investment decision. The paper ran it separately, against “a current milking system with no debt payments.”
Decision stages
Before requesting quotes. Time paid and family milking work across several representative weeks, including normal fresh-cow and staffing variation. Avoid basing it on an unusually easy or hard week.
Before comparing bids. Price the robots and a conventional option to the same barn standards, task coverage, and financing terms. Include only options you could actually staff. Get the dealer’s labor figure in writing as minutes per box per day, and confirm whether fetching and robot-area cleaning are inside it.
Before signing.
Calculate your annual incremental cash gap. Divide it by your avoidable employment cost per hour, then by 365, to get paid hours per day.
Build a seven-day before-and-after roster. Include relief coverage and who answers alarms outside scheduled hours.
The roster should show paid hours removed (by name and shift), paid hours kept for fetching, cleaning, alarms, and coverage, and any work moving to unpaid family labor.
A shorter average task day doesn’t automatically mean fewer scheduled shifts. Neither does a payroll cut that works by shifting work onto the owner.
Re-run the gap with no milk gain, higher repairs, and slower robot labor.
Equity lowers the loan payment, but it commits money that could have gone elsewhere.
After startup. Compare actual paid labor, milk, service costs, and the net change in feed cost against the budget. Track labor savings and payroll savings separately: labor can fall while payroll doesn’t.
Pricing flexibility and physical relief
In a 2012 survey of 53 Minnesota and Wisconsin farms cited by the paper, the top reasons for installing robots were improved lifestyle, less hired labor, and growth without more hired labor. Producers also cited “long-term concerns about health of milkers’ knees, backs, hips, and shoulders.”
Those benefits belong in the overall investment decision, weighed separately from demonstrated cash savings. Suppose a farm can take only 8 paid hours a day off payroll at $18.15. In this scenario, that leaves an annual cash disadvantage of $32,321 relative to the modeled parlor alternative, or $135 per cow (Bullvine calculation). That figure reflects the assumptions chosen here, and it would change if excluded costs, excluded benefits, or different financing were included. It isn’t automatically the price of flexibility, and it isn’t proof that the farm can’t make its payments. The question is whether the documented benefits justify accepting less cash than the parlor. Then ask whether the rest of the farm’s cash flow can carry the difference.
What to take to the robot decision
The table shows a method, not your farm’s threshold. Your capital premium, borrowing terms, service costs, milk response, and avoidable payroll will differ. If the seven-day roster can’t show which paid hours end, the farm is buying flexibility, not payroll savings, and has to fund the difference.
These are U.S. North Central inputs in U.S. dollars. Canadian quota economics need a separate build.
Methodology Note
Formula (Bullvine calculation): paid hours per day = (added debt service + added repairs + added insurance − milk margin − documented management cash saving) ÷ (avoidable employment cost per hour × 365). Calculations use unrounded inputs; displayed results are rounded.
Scope: an annual comparison during loan years 1–10, with inputs held fixed. It doesn’t model year-to-year changes in repairs, wages, milk prices, taxes, or transition performance.
Item
Calculation
Financing
$248,000 equipment increment over 10 years and $800,000 barn increment over 20 years, both at 5%, annual amortizing payments
Feed: 0.65 lb of dry matter per lb of milk at $0.125/lb DM, or $8.125/cwt. We selected this from Iowa State’s 2013 budget (range 0.55–0.8), so it doesn’t reproduce the Minnesota calculation. As a simplifying assumption, the same marginal feed relationship applies to milk gains and losses, so the 3× case credits feed saved on lower milk.
Milk price: Bullvine assumes $17/cwt for this illustration. The paper’s Table 3 prints milk at “$7.71/kg,” which isn’t a plausible price. $17.00 ÷ 2.2046 = 7.71 hints at a unit-conversion error, but doesn’t prove the authors’ intent. The paper’s feed entry (“$0.05/kg of DM”) also looks implausible as printed.
Wages: $16.00 is the paper’s input, $18.15 is USDA NASS for April 2025, and $25.00 is illustrative only.
Excluded from this cash comparison, with the direction each would move the threshold:
Lowers it: the depreciation and interest tax shield (possibly material at the paper’s 40% tax rate); wage inflation in later years; health and reproduction gains, if achieved and monetized.
Raises it: robot replacement (the paper found robots needed an economic life of 13 years or more for a consistently positive net annual impact, depending on milk per cow and labor cost); extra electricity; a milk dip during transition.
Either way: the net feed-cost difference from robot pellets. A positive difference raises the threshold; a negative one lowers it.
Prices: capital is at the paper’s published figures. We haven’t priced a 2026 installation.
Not the paper’s NAI: the paper’s net annual impact uses a 30-year, after-tax annuity at a 3% weighted average cost of capital. This cash comparison is pre-tax for years 1–10, with Bullvine’s own milk and feed assumptions.
Learn More
Robot ROI Reality Check – Free Dairy Robot Calculator — Arms you with a zero-BS screening tool to stress-test dealer promises against your real-world milk check. Rebuilds the payback math using a 1.4× hidden-cost multiplier, proving exactly when those freed labor hours transition into positive cash flow.
Dairy’s Bold New Frontier: How Forward-Thinking Producers Are Redefining the Industry — Dismantles the single-commodity mindset by mapping out AI health monitors, precision feeding, and methane digesters. Connects automated efficiency to broader farm resilience, delivering a blueprint that can push production efficiency while dropping staff turnover by 40%.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
STgenetics co-founder and CEO Juan Moreno told World Dairy Expo that the most efficient 30% of animals eat 15% less feed than the least efficient 30%. Here’s what that variation means for breeding decisions, and which numbers to compare before your next sire order.
Juan F. Moreno grew up on his family’s Brown Swiss dairy in Colombia. It milked about 60 cows. When he came to Ohio State, the university barn he worked in had 60 or 70. “In both places, I knew every cow by name. I knew who her sire was,” he told the room at the geneSTream™ Experience at World Dairy Expo on October 1, 2026.
Moreno earned a dairy science degree at Ohio State in 1988 and a master’s in reproductive physiology at Texas A&M, and he co-founded Sexing Technologies with partner Maurice Rosenstein. World Dairy Expo named him its 2025 International Person of the Year, and today he’s CEO of STgenetics, which hosted the session.
His message was about getting back to the cow he knew by name. “We went from individual animal care over the last 30 years to group animal care,” he said. Genetics and sensors, in his view, bring the individual cow back. Feed efficiency is where he made the economic case.
Disclosure: STgenetics advertises on The Bullvine website and did not commission or pay for this article. All dollar figures are U.S. dollars.
The 15% Gap
Feed is “60 to 65% of all the expenses” on a dairy or in a feedlot, Moreno said. STgenetics built EcoFeed, its feed-efficiency index, on progeny testing of females for residual feed intake. Citing UC Davis work, Moreno said that in “a population of a thousand animals,” the best 30% eat 15% less feed than the worst 30%, drink 21% less water and produce 15% less methane. Bullvine hasn’t identified the published dataset behind those combined figures. “That’s the same thing as having my money in a bank at 15% interest,” he said.
That spread is what selection works on. A sire choice can shift the expected average of the next generation, so the budget question is how far a given bull moves it.
The bank line shows how big Moreno thinks the opportunity is. A feed saving isn’t interest, though, and the 15% isn’t a measured return on a semen purchase. A sire-order budget runs on five inputs:
Additional spending: any semen premium and, for herds not already doing it, genomic testing.
Expected change in daughter performance from the bulls you choose.
How many animals express that change. Rearing savings apply to the heifers those matings produce; lactation savings apply only to the replacements that enter the milking herd.
Timing and duration. STgenetics publishes EcoFeed heifer, covering “the growing or rearing phase of life,” and EcoFeed cow, covering “her lactations” (STgenetics). Savings can occur while a heifer grows and again once she calves, if the predicted difference shows up.
Other costs and trait differences that come with the bulls chosen.
What 10 EcoFeed Points Mean
“10 points of eco feed is one pound of dry matter savings,” Jocelyn Johnson, STgenetics’ Livestock Sustainability Manager, told the session (livestream, 1:46:02). A herd that improves its EcoFeed by 10 points, she said, gets “a pound saved per day per female on their farm.”
That conversion describes the animal herself. ST’s current explanation illustrates it with females: “a female with a score of 120 is expected to consume 3 pounds (DM) less per day than a female with an EcoFeed® score of 90” (STgenetics, 2022). An earlier ST explanation describes females and bulls in different terms. ST states that “EcoFeed® scores are breeding values,” and for a female, to see what she can pass on, “you can divide that number by 2.” A bull’s score is set from his daughters, with 110 meaning progeny that eat 1 lb less than expected, as-fed (STgenetics, 2020). The EcoFeed page of Cogent UK, whose parent company is STgenetics, also describes 10 bull points in terms of his offspring’s intake.
Because none of those pages shows how a current sire score and a current cow score combine into an expected daughter—or whether both sit on the exact same dry-matter scale—you can’t safely calculate across them from public sheets alone. A female’s score predicts her own intake. A sire’s score is described through what he transmits. Before pricing bulls, ask ST or your adviser for one worked example: using the current EcoFeed cow scale, what expected daughter score and daily dry-matter difference follow from a sire scored 120 and a dam scored 100? Ask for each bull’s reliability too, which neither ST page lists.
The US$58,000 Question: Gross Savings vs. Cash Flow Reality
On stage, Johnson put the herd-level result at “$50,000 a year,” pricing that saved pound at 19 cents across a 305-day lactation and a 1,000-cow herd. “I say it’s essentially money being left on the table if you’re not selecting for it,” she said.
Multiplying those exact numbers out—assuming $0.19 per pound of dry matter, since the presentation didn’t specify dry matter or as-fed—puts the figure at $57,950 (about $58,000): 1 lb × $0.19 × 305 days × 1,000 cows. Three boundaries apply:
It assumes a realized 1-lb daily difference in every one of those cows for the full lactation.
It covers 1,000 specified lactations, not a herd’s calendar year.
It’s gross feed-cost value, before semen premiums, genomic testing and any change in components or other traits.
The harder question is when that saving reaches the farm’s cash flow. A new sire order doesn’t change the appetite of a single cow at the bunk today. The timeline runs in sequence: first the pregnancy, then the daughter’s own rearing. Penn State Extension recommends Holstein heifers calve at 22 to 24 months of age, and that clock starts at her birth, not at the semen purchase. Only then does she eat a lactating ration, and lifting a whole milking herd takes years of matings.
Feed Saved: Pricing the Gap Between Two Bulls
CDCB’s Feed Saved is a separate evaluation from EcoFeed, so this example isn’t a conversion of EcoFeed points. It shows how to compare two sires in published PTA units. Feed Saved is a Holstein predicted transmitting ability (PTA) in pounds of dry matter per lactation. It combines body weight composite with residual feed intake, the gap between what a cow eats and what she’d be expected to eat for her milk energy, metabolic body weight and change in body weight (CDCB). Higher Feed Saved is better.
Two hypothetical Holstein bulls on the same basis, at the same assumed price:
Metric
Bull A
Bull B
Gap (B minus A)
Feed Saved PTA (lb DM per lactation)
+200
+500
+300
Gross feed value per daughter per lactation at $0.19/lb
$38
$95
$57
Gross value across 100 daughters, one lactation
$3,800
$9,500
$5,700
Average reliability if a young genomic bull
28%
28%
Low confidence
Average reliability if a progeny-tested bull
38%
38%
Still under 40%
Already counted in NM$?
RFI yes (since Aug 2021)
RFI yes (since Aug 2021)
Don’t double count
That $57 is an expected average across Bull B’s daughters against Bull A’s, assuming comparable matings and management, before semen cost and other traits. Check what your index already counts: CDCB keeps Feed Saved out of Net Merit $ “so as not to ‘double count’ Body Weight Composite,” and residual feed intake has been in Net Merit $ for Holsteins since August 2021. CDCB’s published expected reliabilities for Feed Saved are 28% for young genomic bulls and 38% for progeny-tested bulls.
The Evidence Behind EcoFeed
Four pieces of evidence sit behind EcoFeed. Each answers a different question, and none of them prices a semen order.
Evidence
What it reports
What this source does not establish
Moreno’s reported 15% feed comparison
As Moreno described it: best 30% vs. worst 30% in “a population of a thousand animals,” citing UC Davis work
The underlying study sample, or how far one bull shifts his daughters’ average
12.6–15.4% lower estimated methane
Modeled emissions of high- vs. low-EcoFeed heifers
Direct methane measurements on the 5,441 study heifers
2.73% / 8.2% lower lifetime feed (modeled)
Modeled scenarios of 1 and 3 standard deviations of genetic improvement, with no modeled impact on productivity
What your herd’s actual rate of genetic change will deliver
About 1.6 lb/day less intake
One high- and one low-EcoFeed pen on a 13,000-cow dairy; dry matter or as-fed, and cow or heifer score, not stated
Whether the difference came from genetics rather than pen and management effects
The methane work. The 2021 Journal of Animal Science abstract, by UC Davis’s Ermias Kebreab with STgenetics co-authors including Johnson, estimated the heifers’ methane from models “based on dietary information and feed intake.” The models were checked against “an independent dataset containing 458 individual-animal methane production measurements,” but the abstract reports no direct methane measurements on the 5,441 study heifers.
The lifetime model. The 2026 Journal of Dairy Science paper, funded by STgenetics with UC Davis and company authors, modeled specified genetic scenarios (one and three standard deviations of improvement in genomic residual feed intake breeding values), not a particular semen order. A standard deviation is roughly the typical distance of an animal from the average.
The farm test. Johnson described a 2025 comparison on a 13,000-cow dairy (livestream, 1:47:05). The farm already selected for EcoFeed but ran its own test “without our input,” she said, because the owners “wanted to see if we were full of BS or not.” From “a lot of first lactation, early lactation females,” they built two pens of 200, one high-EcoFeed and one low, averaging 108 and 94, and measured daily intake at pen level alongside daily milk production. Johnson said the pens were “identical to every other genetic trait. No difference in net merit, no difference in fat, protein, fertility.”
Johnson said the 14-point gap predicted 1.4 lb less intake a day. After 12 weeks, she said, the high pen ate about 1.6 lb less per cow per day “with no difference in milk production” (livestream, 1:50:03), which she called “essentially the exact expectation.” She also noted days when “one pen got milked later than another” (livestream, 1:50:48). The owners “felt convinced” and kept selecting for EcoFeed.
Because she didn’t state whether that 1.6-lb intake difference was dry matter or as-fed—or whether the pen averages used EcoFeed cow or heifer scores—there is no way to reconcile the field result with the 1.4-lb prediction like for like. The owners’ decision to keep selecting is their judgment, not independent confirmation. With one pen per group, the comparison can’t isolate genetics from pen and management effects without more design detail. A herd that wants its own answer should plan the comparison with its nutritionist or adviser, using replicated pens or a crossover where that’s feasible.
On pasture. Asked from the floor whether EcoFeed holds for grazing cattle, Moreno said, “There’s not a lot of data,” though the limited data show “a positive correlation” when comparing animals on TMR and on grass (livestream, 1:18:42).
Moreno’s Management Message
If feed efficiency goes into the next sire order, weigh it alongside production, health and fertility, not in place of them. Moreno put mastitis heritability at 0.03, close to CDCB’s 3.1% for resistance to clinical mastitis (CDCB), and called fertility and longevity “low heritability… 99% environment.” For a herd with a mastitis problem, his first stop is the barn: “go take care of your bedding,” then the teat dip and the milking-parlor cleaning list.
He was just as clear that genetics still matters: “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t put attention to fertility genetically speaking or locomotion.” Heritability is the share of variation associated with additive genetic differences in a given population and environment. It doesn’t divide an individual cow’s case into genetic and management percentages, and on its own it doesn’t determine how large or valuable selection gains will be. In CDCB’s example, daughters of a Holstein bull with a mastitis-resistance (MAST) PTA of −4.0 percentage points are expected to have twice as many cases as daughters of a bull at +3.0. CDCB’s current heritability for daughter pregnancy rate, revised in 2026, is 2.9%, and CDCB describes progress as “gradual but cumulative over time” (CDCB).
So management and selection run together. A farm doesn’t need to finish fixing the barn before choosing sires with healthier daughters.
Three numbers get mixed up here:
Heritability describes a trait in a population.
Reliability describes confidence in one animal’s prediction. CDCB’s published expected average for young genomic bulls is 49% for mastitis resistance.
Economic weight is the value an index assigns to a unit of improvement.
Calves and the Cows You Keep
Moreno said 3,000- to 4,000-cow U.S. herds that culled 35% a year and a half ago now cull 17%. “Only thing that changed was that black calf. It changed the management decision.” The cow with short teats or a high cell count “gets to live another day because she’s carrying a $1,500 calf in her belly.” He didn’t name the herds or show records on what caused the change.
That creates a direct tension for genetic progress on feed efficiency. In a stable-size herd that’s otherwise comparable, keeping more older cows and raising fewer dairy replacements turns over the milking string more slowly, which delays how fast EcoFeed or Feed Saved genetics reach the lactating pens. Expansion, purchased replacements and differences in replacement merit can change that. And slower genetic turnover doesn’t, by itself, make keeping a profitable cow the wrong call; the goal is whole-herd profit.
Whether to carry a given cow to calving depends on the expected calf value and time to calving, her ongoing margin, her health and pregnancy-loss risk, her cull value and the cost of a replacement. Keeping her until she calves is a different decision from keeping her another lactation.
Before Your Next Sire Order
Herd objective
Evaluation or record to consult
Question to ask
Lower feed cost
STgenetics EcoFeed heifer and cow; CDCB Feed Saved
What expected daughter difference in daily dry-matter intake separates the actual bulls I’m choosing between, on which life-stage evaluation, and how reliable is each figure?
Fewer mastitis cases
CDCB resistance to mastitis, alongside SCS
Where does this bull rank on both, and how reliable is his figure?
Better fertility
CDCB daughter pregnancy rate (2026 basis)
How much weight does my index give it?
Feed efficiency on pasture
EcoFeed
Have you seen data from grazing herds, or only TMR-based figures?
Replacement inventory
Your dairy and beef-on-dairy breeding plan
How many dairy-sired heifers does the herd need, and how soon do you want new feed-efficiency genetics in the milking pens?
Back to the Named Cow
Sensors are the other half of his route back to the individual cow. STgenetics’ Farmfit bolus, Moreno said, sits in the reticulum, logs temperature around the clock and tracks movement on six axes.
Early in the session he asked, “what if we could get back to individual animal care?” To him, that means knowing each cow the way he knew the 60 on his father’s dairy. A genetic evaluation predicts a calf’s genetic potential before she’s born. Read for what each number actually compares, it’s one more way to know her.
Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.
Learn More
$585 a Straw: What Every Beef Service Really Costs Your Next Heifer — Arms you with a barn-level Pipeline Index audit showing how $3,100 springing heifers turn extra beef matings into a $585 net replacement drain, directly pricing the heifer-turnover tension Moreno flagged.
Methane Breeding Values: NZ’s Bull-Proxy Just Failed — Exposes why methane reductions measured in growing yearlings vanished once those daughters freshened onto lactating rations, delivering a strict 30-day checklist to separate validated cow phenotypes from young-animal proxies.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
CME dry whey closed at 89.5¢ on October 19. USDA’s latest weekly survey reported 71.98¢. The monthly weighted survey—not the spot close—sets the federal-order other-solids price.
Both references cover Extra Grade dry whey, but they measure different transactions over different periods. Run both through USDA’s current Class III math and the distance is about $1.04 per hundredweight. That is Bullvine’s calculation, not a USDA price, and it is a sensitivity, not a payment. It belongs in the scenario column of the budget until the survey says otherwise.
Three markets, different pressures
The U.S. Dairy Export Council’s August trade analysis splits the protein story in two. Low-protein whey exports rose 25%. High-protein whey exports, the WPC80+ class, fell 21%, and USDEC attributed that fall to limited exportable supply.
The 25% was not dry whey alone. USDEC’s low-protein category bundles dry whey, low-protein whey protein concentrate and modified whey, and all three grew. Canada and Southeast Asia took most of the increase.
Milk protein concentrate exports rose 36% to 5,225 metric tons. USDEC’s read is that protein-fortified product makers turned to MPC because of the WPC80+ supply and price situation. That is USDEC’s interpretation, not a count of who reformulated.
Export category
Year-over-year volume change
What the category covers
USDEC’s reported context
Low-protein whey
+25%
Dry whey, low-protein whey concentrate, and modified whey
All three classifications grew; Canada and Southeast Asia drove most of the increase
High-protein whey, WPC80+
−21%
USDEC’s high-protein whey grouping
Limited exportable supply constrained shipments
Milk protein concentrate, MPC
+36%
Milk protein concentrate exports
USDEC suggested manufacturers were turning toward MPC given WPC80+ supply and pricing
Nonfat dry milk / skim milk powder
−19%
Combined NFDM and SMP exports
Elevated U.S. prices and limited exportable supply weighed on shipments
So August supports two things at once: stronger overseas demand for lower-protein whey, and tight export availability of high-protein ingredients. It does not support one shortage across everything with “protein” on the bag.
USDA counted 75.1 million pounds of dry whey production in August, up 8.2% on the year. Stocks sat at 61.3 million pounds, 21.6% above August 2025 and 10.4% below July. Heavier than last year, drawing down from last month, and neither figure measures what was uncommitted in October. A record spot close and a 21.6% stock build can both be true. What the stocks number kills is the story that the country ran short of whey.
USDA measure
August 2026 (million lb)
Change from August 2025
Change from July 2026
Total dry whey production
75.1
+8.2%
−7.4%
Total dry whey manufacturers’ stocks
61.3
+21.6%
−10.4%
Nonfat dry milk production, human use
132.2
+9.6%
−19.9%
Nonfat dry milk manufacturers’ stocks, human use
216.3
−3.6%
−7.1%
NFDM already shows resistance
Nonfat dry milk is a different tension. Production rose 9.6% to 132.2 million pounds in August while manufacturers’ stocks fell 7.1% from July and 3.6% from a year earlier, to 216.3 million pounds. Output up, inventory down: that is the tighter-market reading, and it holds.
Skim milk powder production, though, fell 33.1% on the year. USDA counts NFDM and SMP separately; USDEC’s export category combines them. Read either one without the other and you get the wrong number.
USDEC put August NFDM/SMP exports down 19%, blaming limited exportable supply and high U.S. prices. Southeast Asian buyers went to New Zealand and the EU instead. U.S. shipments to the Philippines fell 90%, Vietnam 85%, Malaysia 78%.
Tight inventory at home and lost tonnage abroad can run together for months. The 90% drop to the Philippines is the number to carry into the next export release, because it shows up in the price only after the business is already gone.
What reaches the milk check
The 71.98¢ is USDA’s October 15 National Dairy Products Sales Report, week ending October 10. The 89.50¢ is CME’s October 19 cash close. Different markets, different weeks. Neither a same-day discount nor a catch-up payment owed.
Federal-order component prices use weighted product prices from four or five weeks of USDA’s sales survey, not the latest CME close. Dry whey sets the other-solids price. The Class III protein formula uses cheddar cheese prices and a butterfat adjustment; it does not directly use whey-protein ingredient prices. A run in whey protein ingredient prices does not land on the protein line of a federal-order milk statement.
Bullvine’s whey-to-check test
USDA’s other-solids formula subtracts a 26.68-cent make allowance from the surveyed dry-whey price and applies a 1.03 yield factor. Standardized Class III carries 6.0 pounds of other solids per hundredweight of skim and a 0.965 skim-to-milk conversion.
The table below is Bullvine’s calculation on those USDA factors, with cheese and butter inputs held still. Low, central and high are reference cases, not probabilities, and none of them is an announced price.
Documented reference
Whey price (¢/lb)
Calculated other-solids price ($/lb)
Other-solids contribution to standardized Class III ($/cwt)
USDA survey: week ending Sept. 12, 2026
66.21
$0.4072
$2.36
USDA survey: week ending Oct. 3, 2026
68.14
$0.4270
$2.47
USDA survey: week ending Oct. 10, 2026
71.98
$0.4666
$2.70
CME spot illustration: Oct. 19, 2026
89.50
$0.6470
$3.75
Subtract $0.2668 from the whey reference, multiply by 1.03, then by 6.0 and 0.965.
Central to high is $1.04/cwt with everything else frozen. On an assumed 10,000 cwt a month, one-for-one exposure is about $10,448. The high case only enters the regulated calculation if prices like it show up in the monthly USDA survey. A CME close on its own does not get there.
Butter and cheese still matter
Butter output ran 6.3% above a year earlier in August; total cheese was up 1.4%. In the same October 15 sales report that moved whey and NFDM higher, surveyed butter and cheddar fell on the week.
Class III still prices protein off cheese and carries butterfat; Class IV carries nonfat solids and butterfat. With 6.3% more butter in the system, a whey rally lifts one line on the statement and leaves the others to their own markets. In the latest weekly survey, stronger whey coincided with weaker butter and cheddar prices. The overall Class III result depends on all those inputs.
What this means for your operation
Isolate spot prices in your budget. Any line built on 89.5¢ whey is a spot-reference scenario. The surveyed price is the one already in the monthly formula.
Stress-test your exposure. It is a stress test, not an expected gain. Ask the buyer how class utilization, component tests and payment terms change it at your farm, and whether their forecast already includes stronger whey. If it does, adding $1.04 counts it twice.
Check your break-even reality. If scheduled costs only clear under the high case, the operation is running on a price the survey has not recorded yet.
Date the reference points. August’s 61.3 million pounds of dry whey stocks, 216.3 million pounds of NFDM stocks and 25% low-protein whey export growth are the numbers to check against the next USDA and USDEC releases.
The full $1.04/cwt illustration requires a monthly weighted whey price of 89.5¢. Before budgeting that upside, establish how much is already in the buyer’s forecast and how any additional change would reach your check.
Whey Gap Stress-Test Calculator
Calculate your farm’s exact financial exposure to the spread between CME spot whey prices and USDA surveyed prices.
Financial Exposure Analysis
Class III CWT Impact
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Learn More
Understanding Your Milk Check: Class III vs. Class IV — Isolate the exact mechanics separating cheese from butterfat pricing on your monthly statement. Pinpoint where your revenue actually originates to adjust short-term feed rations, deliberately targeting the components paying the highest premiums on today’s grid.
FMMO Reform: What the Proposed Changes Mean for Your Bottom Line — Map your long-term margin projections against upcoming Federal Milk Marketing Order updates. Track how impending make-allowance shifts threaten to permanently restructure regional milk values, giving you time to manage debt or secure contracts before the new math takes effect.
Dairy Revenue Protection: Is It Right for Your Operation? — Secure record CME highs before the USDA survey even registers them. Deploy Dairy Revenue Protection and forward-contracting instruments to construct a concrete floor under your operation’s cash flow, completely detaching your survival from lagging federal formulas.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
From 2015 through 2025, USDA’s January all-milk forecast missed by 5.9% on average and beat a repeat of last year’s price in 6 of 10 years. Applied to USDA’s $20.45 forecast for 2027, that record gives an $18.79–$22.11 stress test. It’s an illustration, not a proven range.
USDA’s January all-milk forecast was the better bet from 2015 through 2025. It missed the year’s price by 5.9% on average; reusing last year’s price missed by 13.3%. USDA was closer in 6 of 10 years.
Closer isn’t the same as close. USDA’s January number finished $2.74/cwt below the 2022 outcome and $2.61 below 2024. A point forecast doesn’t show how wide the outcomes run, and that’s what your budget has to carry.
Forecasting milk prices is hard. The question for a 2027 budget isn’t whether USDA gets it right. It’s how wrong you plan for it to be.
How did we score USDA?
We took the all-milk forecast from each January WASDE, the release most budgets get built on, and compared it with the year’s annual price. There was no January 2019 report, which leaves 10 completed years.
The benchmark is simply the previous year’s price. It’s retrospective: we used today’s figure, not the one USDA had each January. 2026 isn’t over, so it gets its own row.
Year
Jan. forecast
Outcome
USDA miss
Last year’s price
Its miss
Closer
2015
$18.15
$17.12†
$1.03
$23.97†
$6.85
USDA
2016
$15.75†
$16.30†
$0.55
$17.12†
$0.82
USDA
2017
$18.00†
$17.65†
$0.35
$16.30†
$1.35
USDA
2018
$16.20†
$16.18†
$0.02
$17.65†
$1.47
USDA
2020
$19.25†
$18.24†
$1.01
$18.63†
$0.39
Last year
2021
$17.65†
$18.53†
$0.88
$18.24†
$0.29
Last year
2022
$22.60†
$25.34†
$2.74
$18.53†
$6.81
USDA
2023
$21.60
$20.34†
$1.26
$25.34†
$5.00
USDA
2024
$20.00
$22.61†
$2.61
$20.34†
$2.27
Last year
2025
$23.05
$21.18
$1.87
$22.61†
$1.43
Last year
2026 (provisional)
$18.25
$19.90 est.
$1.65
$21.18
$1.28
Last year
Forecasts come from each January WASDE; 2015–2018 use the midpoint of USDA’s published range. The 2025 outcome is the Oct. 9, 2026 WASDE estimate, and 2026 is provisional
Add provisional 2026 and USDA’s average miss rises to 6.1%, and last year’s price picks up a fifth win in 11. The core finding holds either way.
What does this comparison show?
USDA was too high 6 times and too low 4, and its average signed miss was 12 cents/cwt below the outcome. The direction counts came out nearly even. That doesn’t make bias negligible, because a small average can hide big misses that cancel out.
The two biggest misses, 2022 and 2024, were both too low. Two years isn’t enough to call a lean.
This comparison shows USDA is the better central estimate. It doesn’t tell you your mailbox price, your components or your basis. All-milk is a national blend across four classes, and your milk check isn’t.
Why did the 2027 forecast move?
USDA’s Oct. 9 WASDE lowered its 2027 cheese and butter price forecasts and raised nonfat dry milk and whey. In ERS’s Oct. 16 outlook, Class III came down 20 cents to $16.90/cwt, while Class IV went up $1.35 to $18.90.
All-milk rose 65 cents to $20.45. Those are USDA’s stated reasons and numbers. The split shows cheese and powders moving in opposite directions, but it doesn’t by itself explain where all-milk lands.
What range should a 2027 budget test?
We measured each January miss as a share of what USDA forecast, so you can apply it straight to a new forecast. Then we took the smallest plus-or-minus range that would have held at least 8 of the 10 completed years. That’s 8.11%.
Eighty percent is our editorial choice, not a statistical guarantee. With 10 years, one observation moves the answer. Add provisional 2026 and the range becomes 9.04%.
There’s a second limit. Our history covers January forecasts for the year already underway. USDA’s $20.45 for 2027 is an October forecast made before the year starts, working further out with less information. We haven’t measured how much that matters.
So treat the range as a stress test, not proven protection. The low case isn’t a floor, and outcomes can land outside it.
Running the Numbers
USDA forecasts 2027 all-milk at $20.45/cwt, and NASS reports 24,390 lb per cow for 2025. Our model herd is 400 cows selling about 97,140 cwt at the national marketed share, paid national all-milk.
Scenario
Price ($/cwt)
Revenue
vs. USDA case
Low stress
$18.79
about $1.83 million
about −$161,000
USDA central
$20.45
about $1.99 million
—
High stress
$22.11
about $2.15 million
about +$161,000
All revenue figures are Bullvine calculations; exact figures are in the supporting table.
Now repeat 2025’s January miss on that herd. USDA’s $23.05 came in $1.87/cwt too high, a budget hole of about $182,000.
DMC: a constant-feed-cost illustration August 2026’s national DMC margin was $9.34/cwt: $19.80 all-milk minus $10.46 feed cost. Hold that one month’s feed cost and drop all-milk to the $18.79 stress case, and the gap is $8.33.
That isn’t a payment estimate or a break-even. DMC pays monthly, at the coverage level you elect, from $4.00 to $9.50/cwt. Tier I covers up to 6 million pounds of your established production history, which is your highest marketings from 2021, 2022 or 2023, not your 2027 output. Enrollment for 2027 closes Dec. 18, 2026.
What should you decide, and when?
Timing
Action
This week
Rebuild 2027 scenarios using expected milk sales and a farm-specific price adjustment from your own milk-check history
Before finalizing the 2027 operating line
Review the downside cash-flow case and written borrowing triggers with your lender. USDA updates its forecast Nov. 10 and Dec. 10
Before applicable enrollment and contracting deadlines
Weigh available coverage and contract terms against your exposure. DMC 2027 enrollment closes Dec. 18, 2026
Monthly through 2027
Update expected revenue, feed costs, shipments and coverage after each WASDE
Use a stress-test price to start a contracting conversation, not as the contract target. National all-milk isn’t a contract you can buy. Compare actual quotes: which price components they cover (Class III, Class IV, butterfat or protein), how much volume you’re confident you’ll ship, and what cash you need each month.
The number check: does the downside case work with conservative, documented component and basis assumptions, without counting on unusual cattle-sale income?
Methodology Note
The forecast is each January WASDE’s annual U.S. all-milk projection, using the midpoint where USDA gave a range. The outcome is USDA’s annual all-milk price. 2025 uses the Oct. 9, 2026 WASDE estimate; 2026 is provisional and reported separately. There’s no 2019 entry because no January report was issued.
MAPE is the average miss as a share of the actual price, and signed error is forecast minus actual. The benchmark is the prior year’s price as revised today, so it’s retrospective.
The stress test measures each miss as a share of the forecast. It’s the smallest symmetric range that held at least 80% of completed years (8 of 10, ±8.11%). That’s an editorial choice. It isn’t validated for October forecasts, and it isn’t a floor. Sales volume uses NASS’s unrounded marketed share (230.668 ÷ 231.658 billion lb). All errors, ranges and herd figures are Bullvine calculations.
Run Your Numbers
Dairy Profit Projector — USDA’s $20.45 is a national number. This calculator works from your own herd, Class III and mailbox basis and returns your breakeven milk price and 12-month margin. Then use its sensitivity grid to see what a lower milk price does to your margin before your lender meeting.
Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.
Learn More
Same Cows, $15,000 Apart: Class III Milk Price, DRP, and Your Spring 2026 Risk Plan — Lock in your basis adjustments before buying downside protection. Breaking down the spread between national class prices and actual milk checks arms you with the exact formulas needed to execute a Dairy Revenue Protection strategy that actually pays out.
More Milk, Fewer Farms, $250K at Risk: The 2026 Numbers Every Dairy Needs to Run — Structural industry shifts demand aggressive budget testing over the next three years. Mapping consolidation trends against rising output exposes why status-quo revenue models fail, forcing operations to stress-test their long-term equity rather than just surviving month-to-month cash flow.
The High Cost of Cheap Dairy Margin Coverage — Stop treating Tier 2 DMC pounds as automatic cheap insurance. Calculating the true premium load against historical payout probabilities dismantles the assumption that maximum coverage always wins, revealing exactly when to walk away from subsidized safety nets.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
15.2%. That’s the share of genes a bull born in 1965 still has in common with the top 400 proven U.S. sires. We mapped how Elevation, Chief and 13 more link within four generations.
In early July 1966, Ronald Hope took Walter McClure to see a bull calf. The calf was tied up at Round Oak Farm near Purcellville, Virginia, being readied for show season. McClure had just left his job as Loudoun County’s Extension dairy agent to join the Virginia Animal Breeders Association (VABA).
It almost didn’t happen. The following Monday, McClure went to VABA manager George Miller. Miller already knew the calf, because he’d talked Hope into the mating. But Miller said he and Hope couldn’t make a deal, and told McClure to take it to the sire committee himself.
The seven-member committee came later that month, after the state Holstein field day at neighboring Foxlease Farm. Hope asked $3,000. VABA had never paid more than $1,000 for a young sire. The committee sent Miller back with an offer, and he came back with a deal: $2,800, with Hope keeping the bull until after the Eastern National Show.
That ten-month-old calf was Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation. Sixty years later, he’s No. 1 in this influence ranking. No. 2 was born three years earlier, in California, to a cow whose Nebraska breeder never got to see how far his bull’s influence would reach. Below, The Bullvine traces how all 15 bulls at the top of the list connect within four generations, and what the ranking can’t tell you about your next mating.
The calf, grown. Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation as a mature bull, years after VABA paid $2,800 for him in 1966, nearly three times its previous high for a young sire. Photo: Remsberg. Graphic: The Bullvine. Read more: Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation: The Bull That Changed Everything
What the 2026 Holstein Influence Ranking Measures
Holstein Association USA ranks sires by the percentage of genes they share with the top 400 progeny-proven TPI bulls in the United States. It’s an American measure built on elite proven bulls, not a census of cows. These figures should be broadly similar elsewhere, because American bulls have been used so heavily worldwide.
Source: Holstein Association USA, August 2026. Birth years are as published. NAAB codes are shown in short form (7HO58 = 007HO00058), as listed in NAAB, Select Sires, ST Genetics, Alta and ABS records; each code links to its source.
How to read the table:
Bulls appear in Holstein USA’s published order.
Equal figures are equal only at the precision shown: Planet and Robust, Valiant and Bell, and Chief Mark and No. 16, Pawnee Farm Reflection Admiral.
The percentages overlap and can’t be added together. Tidy Burke Elevation shows exactly half his son’s figure, and Reflection Admiral approximately half of Chief’s. Much of the same DNA is counted for both father and son.
This measures historical influence, not current breeding merit.
His sire, Tidy Burke Elevation, was an inbred Wis Burke Ideal son. He traced 11 times to Wisconsin Admiral Burke Lad, the foundation of the Burke bloodlines.
His dam, Round Oak Ivanhoe Eve 4E-94, was “a big, tall, open-ribbed Ivanhoe daughter.” She traced 20 times to Johanna Rag Apple Pabst, founder of the Rag Apple lines.
McClure had watched Eve since she was born, and he called her a tremendous cow in both production and type. She had two Excellent daughters, both full sisters to Elevation. Even so, McClure writes, Elevation was the only one of her offspring to make a significant contribution to the breed. Round Oak sold Eve in its first sale, on March 5, 1970, for $11,000, before Elevation was well known.
Elevation didn’t win everything. Shown as a calf at the 50th Anniversary Virginia Spring Holstein Show, he placed second in his class.
Eve’s sire, Osborndale Ivanhoe, ranks seventh today, and not just because of Elevation. Thanks to a series of influential daughters and several sons, including Fleetridge Monitor, Hilltop Apollo Ivanhoe, Provin Mtn Ivanhoe Jewel and Penstate Ivanhoe Star.
Elevation’s First Daughters: Doubt, Then a Guarantee
When Elevation went into stud, AI was moving from fresh to frozen semen. VABA was collecting semen two or three times a week, then diluting and refrigerating it and shipping it to technicians by bus or mail.
Miller didn’t wait. Elevation was at Michigan-Select Sires with a group of young sires awaiting their proofs. McClure writes that Miller persuaded the stud to start collecting him.
Miller convinced them to start collecting Elevation, “stating that he would purchase all of the semen he produced if necessary.” — Walter McClure, Virginia Holstein Association centennial feature
That gave Virginia the first Elevation daughters and a head start on the next generation. VABA’s most-used Holstein at the time was Oregon Challenger Baron. His daughters were strong, with good feet and legs, but their udders needed help. McClure says Elevation fixed those udders consistently.
After VABA joined Select Sires, McClure writes, Elevation’s daughters were bred to Chief, Valiant and the breed’s other leading bulls.
The Virginia Holstein Association centennial series and USDA give three measures of how far his genetics spread:
AI sons: He was the first Holstein sire with more than 600 sons in AI, according to the centennial series.
Descendants: By 2007, USDA was citing him for more than 80,000 daughters, 2.3 million granddaughters and 6.5 million great-granddaughters.
Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief: A Pedigree Built in Nebraska
On April 14, 1962, buyers from seven states gathered on Lester Fishler’s farm near Central City, Nebraska, as he sold his entire herd. Fishler had bred both of Chief’s parents in his own Pawnee herd. This resulted from successful imports from Canada. Illness forced the dispersal.
Chief’s dam, Pawnee Farm Glenvue Beauty, went to Wally Lindskoog in California while pregnant, and Chief was born there. “Arlinda” was Lindskoog’s prefix. Fishler wasn’t able to see the legend he’d created.
If Elevation’s story is about a stud’s bet, Chief’s is about what that Nebraska pedigree produced. Rus Shortridge, a California Holstein fieldman at the time, remembered the young bull as having “a front end like a bulldozer”.
The numbers show how heavily breeders used him. A 2016 UC Davis account credited Chief with 16,000 daughters, 500,000 granddaughters and more than 2 million great-granddaughters. It also noted that his sons were popular sires in their own right. Two of them are in the top 15: Walkway Chief Mark and S-W-D Valiant. Valiant is out of Allied Admiral Rose Vivian, by Irvington Pride Admiral.
UC Davis’s 2016 account said Chief’s chromosomes made up almost 14% of the U.S. Holstein population’s genome at that time. That’s a different measure from the 14.9% in the table, which is about the top 400 proven bulls, not the whole cow population. His sire, Reflection Admiral, is No. 16 today at 7.5%.
How the Lead Changed Hands, and Came Back
Holstein USA started publishing the list in 1988, with Chief first at 15.5% and Elevation second at 14.9%. In 1989 they swapped places, Elevation at 17.1% and Chief at 16.6%. From 1991 until around 2000, Chief led again.
Then two newer bulls overtook them both: To-Mar Blackstar and Carlin-M Ivanhoe Bell. This is a result of all the sons the pair launched into the top 400, and calls Blackstar the world’s most widely used sire of all time. It traces their lines this way:
Bell is a son of Penstate Ivanhoe Star, who ranks 23rd largely because of him.
Blackstar has fallen to 19th. His strongest link to today’s top bulls likely runs through his son Emory, several generations back in Robust’s pedigree.
The bull who outranked both. Carlin-M Ivanhoe Bell, whose sons carried him past Elevation and Chief before 2009, and whose son Elton became O-Man’s maternal grandsire. Photo: Remsberg. Graphic: The Bullvine. Read more: Bell’s Paradox: The Worst Best Bull in Holstein History
Elevation and Chief were back on top by 2009, in that order, and they’ve stayed there. Their figures are almost the same as in 1988, despite every change to the TPI formula since. The published record doesn’t explain why they returned to the top in 2009.
Valiant, Starbuck and Chief Mark: The 1970s Sires
S-W-D Valiant (1973) was third when the list began in 1988, and he’s still ninth. He sired two millionaires, one of them Hanover-Hill Inspiration (Holstein Canada), who is Shottle’s maternal great-grandsire. Shottle’s dam, Condon Aero Sharon, is by Madawaska Aerostar, No. 20 on the extended list at 6.9%. Her dam, Condon Inspiration Sally, is by Inspiration.
Hanoverhill Starbuck (1979) is one of Elevation’s most important sons. For many years he was the leading sire of All-Americans. He first appeared on this list in 1996 and is now 13th. He’s also Aerostar’s sire.
Walkway Chief Mark (1978) rounds out the top 15 at 7.5%, equal at this precision with his grandsire, Reflection Admiral.
O-Bee Manfred Justice: The Fitness Turn
O-Bee Manfred Justice was born on March 8, 1998, bred by Gary, Gaylon and Steve Obert of Dakota, Illinois. He’s a Manfred son out of Meier-Meadows EL Jezebel EX-92, with Elton as maternal grandsire.
In the May 2003 USDA/Interbull summary, he jumped from 21st to No. 1 for Net Merit at $759. He also topped Holstein USA’s TPI list at 1872.
A 2007 USDA paper by geneticist Paul VanRaden named him the best bull in the world as of August 2007, based on the international evaluation. It compared his daughters with average herdmates:
Trait
Justice daughters
Herdmates
Protein
2.82 lb/day
2.62 lb/day
Somatic cell count
231,000 cells/mL
288,000 cells/mL
Productive life
34.0 months
27.7 months
Pregnancy rate
23.9%
21.0%
Across all the traits in USDA’s 2007 comparison, an average O-Man daughter was worth $778 more over her lifetime than her herdmates.
Mountfield SSI DCY Mogul: “The Modern Day Elevation”
O-Man, Mogul and Planet have held third through fifth, in that order, since 2022. The gap between O-Man and Mogul is now 13.6% to 13.4% Mogul is edging ever closer to O-Man and may well be chasing third place.
Mogul came out of the Mountfield herd. His dam, Mountfield Marsh Maxine-ET VG-88, is a Pasen Marsh daughter out of an O-Man dam, which makes O-Man Mogul’s maternal great-grandsire. His sire, Coyne-Farms Dorcy, is on the extended list at 7.2%.
In September 2017, at seven, Mogul passed one million units in sales. Select Sires’ announcement drew the comparison to No. 1 directly.
“He is referred to as the modern day 7HO58 ELEVATION because of that consistent dominance.” — Rick VerBeek, Select Sires, September 25, 2017 release
Roylane Socra Robust: Influence Without Numbers
Roylane Socra Robust was born on December 23, 2008, bred by Gary and Bruce Roylance of Warden, Washington. He’s by Velvet-View-KJ Socrates, who’s on the extended list at 5.3%, out of the O-Man daughter Seagull-Bay Oman Mirror.
He has climbed from tenth at 9.6% in 2022 to sixth at 10.2% today. He died young and sired only a few offspring. His August 2026 Select Sires page lists 2,697 production daughters in 648 herds, which is a small figure in this company.
Counting a bull’s sons alone can undersell his reach. Miss OCD Delicious, alongside the millionaire Supersire, are key to Robust’s rise.
Planet, Shottle and Supersire: Where the Branches Meet
Ensenada Taboo Planet, born in 2003, became the eighth sire in Select Sires’ history to pass one million units, the cooperative announced in late 2013.
Picston Shottle was born on July 23, 1999, at the Pickford family’s Spot Acre Grange near Stafford, England, out of Condon Aero Sharon EX-91. ABS says he topped TPI for seven straight proof runs, January 2008 through January 2010. He sold 1,174,948 units and left more than 100,000 daughters in 20,000 herds across 22 countries. His sire, the Italian bull Carol Prelude Mtoto, is on the extended list at 5.9%.
Seagull-Bay Supersire was born on December 28, 2010, bred by Seagull-Bay Holsteins of American Falls, Idaho. His pedigree reads Robust x Planet x Shottle, so three top-15 bulls sit in his first three generations.
How the Top 15 Connect: A Bullvine Pedigree Cross-Reference
The influence table ranks each bull separately. The Bullvine compared their pedigrees using registry and AI-company pedigree records and the sources cited above. Every bull in the 2026 top 15 is linked to at least one other top-15 bull within four generations. The 15 relationships below also join all 15 into a single connected web.
Legend: Red border = top four in the August 2026 influence ranking. Numbers in parentheses = rank. Solid arrow = sire to son. Dashed arrow = through one or more intermediate ancestors, on either the paternal or maternal side. Arrows point from ancestor to descendant. Source: Bullvine cross-reference of registry and AI-company pedigree records.
Ancestor (2026 rank)
Descendant (rank)
Relationship
Tidy Burke Elevation (14)
Elevation (1)
Sire
Osborndale Ivanhoe (7)
Elevation (1)
Maternal grandsire, through Eve
Elevation (1)
Starbuck (13)
Sire
Chief (2)
Chief Mark (15)
Sire
Chief (2)
Valiant (9)
Sire
Osborndale Ivanhoe (7)
Bell (10)
Paternal grandsire, through Penstate Ivanhoe Star
Bell (10)
Elton (12)
Sire
Elton (12)
O-Man (3)
Maternal grandsire
O-Man (3)
Robust (6)
Maternal grandsire
O-Man (3)
Mogul (4)
Maternal great-grandsire
Starbuck (13)
Shottle (8)
Maternal great-grandsire, through Aerostar and Shottle’s dam
Valiant (9)
Shottle (8)
Four generations back on the maternal side: Valiant → Inspiration → Condon Inspiration Sally → Condon Aero Sharon → Shottle
Robust (6)
Supersire (11)
Sire
Planet (5)
Supersire (11)
Maternal grandsire
Shottle (8)
Supersire (11)
Maternal great-grandsire
Bullvine cross-reference. This is a selection of documented relationships, not a complete or random sample. Eight of the 15 relationships shown involve the descendant’s maternal side. That doesn’t prove how influence moves through the breed as a whole. It does show that reading sire lines alone would miss several of these connections, including the ones that link Chief and Elevation to Shottle.
The Cost of Concentration: Recessives and Inbreeding
The influence ranking shows how widely a bull’s genes run through today’s elite proven bulls. It doesn’t show what came along with them.
A haplotype is a stretch of DNA variants that’s inherited together. Haplotypes let researchers follow a section of chromosome through pedigrees before they know which variant inside it causes a problem.
Chief and APAF1. USDA researchers linked a haplotype on chromosome 5 to lower fertility and embryo loss, and traced it back to Chief. UC Davis researchers had already sequenced Chief and his carrier son, Walkway Chief Mark, in 2009. With that head start, they found a candidate nonsense mutation in the APAF1 gene in under 24 hours. Chief Mark’s August 2026 Select Sires page still lists him as HH1C, an HH1 carrier. (For the full story of how Chief Mark ended up in AI at all, see Walkway Chief Mark: The Backup Bull Behind Seven Percent of Every Holstein Cow.)
Healthy carriers, hidden losses. Chief’s HH1 and Bell’s CVM spread for decades because carriers look normal. The loss shows up only when two carriers mate.
One copy makes an animal a carrier. An embryo inheriting two copies doesn’t survive to birth. None of the 758 animals tested in the study had two copies, and neither did any of the more than 246,000 Holsteins in commercial testing.
The study’s loss figures are modeled estimates, not counted cases:
More than 100,000 lost calves in the U.S. and about half a million worldwide over a 30-year period.
About $420 million worldwide over the past 35 years. UC Davis separately puts the cost of a single midterm abortion to a dairy at about $800.
UC Davis separately reports an estimate that Chief’s genetic contribution is worth about $30 billion in increased milk production. The benefit and loss figures cover different periods and use different methods. Taken together, they show the scale on both sides, but they aren’t a complete cost-benefit analysis.
Calf muscle weakness. A 2024 Journal of Dairy Science study of 5.6 million genotyped Holsteins found a common haplotype on chromosome 16 that traces back to 1952. Southwind, born in 1984, carried two copies of that haplotype. Sequencing found a candidate missense mutation inside it, but Southwind carried only one copy of the mutation.
So the old haplotype and the newer harmful mutation aren’t interchangeable: plenty of animals carry the haplotype without the mutation. And finding the mutation in Southwind doesn’t establish that it originated with him.
The authors’ conclusion matters for anyone reading a pedigree. Because the original haplotype is so common, a new mutation inside it is hard to track even with accurate pedigrees, so direct tests are needed. Among 46 heifers with livability records that had two copies and traced only to Southwind on both sides, 52% died before 18 months. The figure for non-carriers was 2.4%.
Robust’s August 2026 Select Sires page reports him as HMWC. That’s a reported haplotype status for muscle weakness, not a direct test result for the mutation.
What This Means for Your Operation
Before your next mating, check these three things:
Relationship. A calf’s expected inbreeding depends on how closely its sire and dam are related to each other. Genomic future inbreeding (GFI) and expected future inbreeding (EFI) measure an animal against a reference population. They’re useful for comparing bulls, but they don’t predict the outcome with a particular cow.
Carrier status. Compare both parents’ results, and check whether each one is a reported haplotype status or a direct gene test. For muscle weakness (HMW), that difference matters. Descending from a famous carrier doesn’t tell you an animal’s status. A test does.
Current merit. Compare both parents’ current evaluations against your herd’s breeding goal. Where an ancestor sits in this ranking can’t establish the calf’s expected merit.
A Chain of Decisions, Still Counted
Fishler built Chief’s pedigree on Canadian imports. Lindskoog gave the calf the Arlinda name. At Round Oak, Hope and Miller mated two inbred animals. A stud committee then paid more than it ever had for a young sire, and Miller backed the bull when his first heifers raised doubts.
Every Holstein USA influence ranking since 2009 has put the results of those decisions first and second, at almost the shares recorded in 1988. Breeding and selection decisions made in Nebraska and Virginia more than six decades ago still measurably shape the breed.
Key Takeaways
Holstein USA’s August 2026 ranking puts Elevation at 15.2% and Chief at 14.9%, nearly where they stood in 1988. It measures historical influence, not what either line adds to your next mating.
The Bullvine’s pedigree cross-reference links all 15 top sires within four generations, and 8 of the 15 links shown run through the dam’s side. Read only sire lines and you’ll miss Chief and Elevation behind Shottle.
UC Davis put Chief’s APAF1 losses at about half a million calves worldwide over 30 years, and separately estimated his genetic contribution at $30 billion in milk. Different methods, same lesson: influence this deep cuts both ways.
Your Turn
Among the youngest bulls on the extended 2026 list are Genosource Captain (born 2019, 5.3%), Hurtgen-Lea Richard Charl (2016, 4.1%) and S-S-I Montross Jedi (2014, 3.4%). Which younger sire do you expect to climb furthest by 2036, and why? Share your pick in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
The Proof You Waited Three Years For Averaged a $72 Markdown uses the Hold-to-Proof Cost Simulator to estimate what it costs to hold young sires until their daughter proofs arrive. The results depend on the article’s stated assumptions about timing and maintenance costs.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
U.S. calf-health records rose 74.5% in two years. Milking Speed still reads only parlor meters. CDCB’s December data deadline is October 29, so here’s how to check which of your herd’s records count.
Executive Summary: Canada’s milk-recording herds fell 17.3% from 2020 to 2025 while recorded cows fell 8.2%, by our math from AAFC data. U.S. calf-health records rose 74.5% between 2024 and 2026, CDCB reports. The data aren’t vanishing, but public reporting doesn’t show which records survive the trip from barn to proof. CDCB’s Milking Speed evaluation still reads only parlor meters, and beef and sexed semen are thinning conventional fertility data. Health, reproductive, and lactation data for CDCB’s December 1 run are due October 29. Before then, ask your provider what your herd sent, what was accepted, and what it supported.
North American breeders still fill the rings at the Royal and World Dairy Expo. National evaluation runs on a quieter kind of participation: usable records moving from ordinary cows, through farm software, into public databases. Some of those streams are growing. Others are thin. And nothing public lets a breeder tell which is which.
In Canada, the clearest series points both ways at once. Milk-recording herds fell 17.3% from 2020 to 2025, by our calculation from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada data. Recorded cows fell only 8.2%. Fewer farms are sending records. Most of the cows behind them haven’t gone anywhere.
The 2025 National Black and White Holstein Show at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair drew a record 464 head over two days, with another 129 Red and Whites behind them, according to Holstein Canada. At World Dairy Expo’s 2025 show, 1,829 owners exhibited 2,625 cattle from 37 states, seven provinces, and one Australian state.
Those numbers say something real about breeding culture. They don’t measure genetic diversity, ownership independence, or the information feeding national evaluations. Those records get entered after a fresh-cow check, a breeding, or a treatment: into a phone, into a robot terminal, or onto paper that never leaves the office.
A breeder can stand six deep at ringside and still be absent from the phenotype stream.
The question this piece asks is narrow and measurable: which records make it from the barn, through farm software and data exchange, past identity matching and quality control, into a named evaluation? And can the farm that sent them see what happened?
The Denominators Don’t Match
The first finding wasn’t a decline. It was that the decline changed depending on which row got called “participation.”
Holstein Canada’s 2013 service summary listed 10,842 memberships, 285,449 registrations, and 266,578 animals classified. Its 2024 annual report, the most recent Holstein Canada annual report reviewed for this analysis, listed 8,124 memberships, 263,149 registrations, and 235,500 animals classified, 218,577 of them Holsteins. By our calculation, over those 11 years memberships fell 25.1%, registrations 7.8%, and total classified animals 11.7%.
All three numbers hold up. None measures the same thing. A membership is a customer relationship, not necessarily a unique milking herd. Registrations count animals or transactions. Classification totals count animals across several breeds. None identifies a herd supplying production, fertility, or health phenotypes to Lactanet.
Percentage changes are Bullvine calculations from the cited figures. The rows cover different periods and different populations, so they aren’t comparable rates of decline.
Milk recording comes closest to the evaluation pipeline, and it’s the one series where herds and cows can be compared over the same period from the same source. By our calculation, average recorded-herd size rose from about 95 cows to 106. Our Murray Hunt profile looked at where that herd trend leads.
Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Dairy Information Centre. Same source and period for both series.
So the number of cows on test held up better than the number of recording herds supplying them. That’s a structural change worth tracking. It doesn’t on its own show that evaluations are less accurate.
Enrolled Isn’t Supplying
A 2024 study in the Journal of Dairy Science shows how far enrollment and supply can drift apart. In the researchers’ 2020 data, only 4.5% of Canadian DHI herds were represented in calf respiratory-disease records and 2.7% in calf diarrhea records. Those weren’t participation rates in an official national evaluation; the team was testing whether producer-recorded management data could support future ones.
Its source data held 69,695 disease events on 62,361 calves in 1,617 herds from 2006 through 2021. The researchers removed incomplete endpoint years, events outside defined age windows, and roughly 16% of records lacking sire or dam information, and required herds to show recording continuity. After those edits, DHI-herd representation went from 4.5% to 4.3% for respiratory disease and from 2.7% to 1.8% for diarrhea.
It’s tempting to call everything missing “leakage.” The evidence doesn’t support that. Each type of finding supports something different:
Finding
What it supports
Few DHI herds represented in the historical study
Limited observed coverage in that dataset
Records excluded under documented study rules
Specific analytical exclusions, for stated reasons
A farm software field absent from a data exchange
A demonstrated transfer or scope gap
No consolidated public accounting located
A reporting gap within the material reviewed
A herd’s absence from the calf study could reflect nonrecording, nontransmission, study scope, or something else. The coverage percentages can’t rank those causes. They show limited coverage. Full stop.
Some Datasets Are Growing
Here’s the evidence that complicates any simple “data starvation” story.
CDCB’s Dr. Taylor McWhorter, presenting at the 2026 CDCB Genomic Nominator and Laboratory Workshop, reported that combined calf diarrhea and respiratory records grew from 889,343 in 2024 to 1,551,866 in 2026, up 74.5%. Respiratory records rose 87.2%, to 1,276,415. Diarrhea records rose 32.7%, to 275,451. Those totals include healthy calves; the deck counts about 186,000 respiratory cases and 37,000 diarrhea cases inside them. Counts quoted around the May launch announcements were smaller, so check which snapshot a source is using.
CDCB launched both traits for Holsteins and Jerseys in the August 2026 run, outside the lifetime merit indexes at launch (our run coverage has the trait-by-trait detail). Average Holstein reliabilities sit at 43% for diarrhea and 45% for respiratory problems in young genomic bulls, and 48% and 53% in progeny-tested bulls. Jerseys run lower: 33% and 35% for young genomic bulls. Those aren’t failure figures. They show useful evaluations emerging from a newer information base, and thinner ones where the population is smaller.
That growth doesn’t settle whether the data are adequate. Public reporting tracks growth for some traits. It rarely shows whether that growth comes from more herds or the same herds recording more, whether coverage across regions, herd sizes, and breeds is widening, or what any one herd’s records support.
The denominator that matters is accepted, contemporary, connected phenotypes linked to identified animals, reported by trait. CDCB reported 9,289 DHI herds with 3.79 million cows in 2025 and 3.07 million lactation records integrated into the National Cooperator Database that year. That’s impressive scale. It doesn’t show, trait by trait, what was submitted, accepted, or linked to genotyped animals.
Where the Record Stops
On any modern dairy, a robot logs each cow’s identity, yield, flow, and visit interval. Herd software holds calvings, breedings, pregnancy checks, treatments, and disposals. Activity systems track rumination and lying time. Calf feeders record intake.
Measurement isn’t the problem. The record has to survive a chain of handoffs before it becomes an evaluation phenotype: observation, structured entry, export, authorization, compatible identifiers and codes, a match to the right animal, a trait definition, and quality-control edits.
Canadian fertility research shows what one break in that chain looked like. In a 2022 Journal of Dairy Science studyusing Canadian Holstein data from 2007 to 2019, the researchers described how official fertility evaluations received insemination records through Lactanet’s Data Exchange System from AI organizations and accredited farms. Detailed breeding-protocol descriptions stored in DairyComp weren’t part of that stream during the study period.
The insemination traveled. The protocol stayed behind.
The source data contained 5,804 protocol descriptions from 1,192 herds: abbreviations, misspellings, and local shorthand for Ovsynch, timed AI, and heat detection. For classification, the researchers worked with 1,835 unique descriptions from 981 herds and evaluated machine-learning methods for sorting them into usable categories. That’s a historical finding. It doesn’t show that the same field is missing from today’s exchange, and that should be confirmed with Lactanet before anyone says so.
Health data carry a similar translation problem. A “scours” entry, a treatment record, and a drop in feeder visits may all relate to calf diarrhea. They aren’t automatically the same phenotype. An API can move the bytes. It can’t decide what the biology means.
The U.S. system shows the same seams. CDCB’s 2025 Activity Report says Milking Speed, released in the August 2025 evaluations, was built from in-line meter records on 121,662 cows across 11 manufacturers. But it currently uses only traditional parlor equipment, and incorporating automatic milking system data “will be explored.” The same report’s board chair column says heavier use of beef and sexed semen has cut the volume of conventional breeding data available for fertility evaluations, and CDCB has opened a review of its fertility models in response. Our Frazz Lionel breakdown shows what August’s fertility rebuild did to one bull’s numbers.
A robot herd can log every milking and still sit outside the Milking Speed proof.
Data stream
What’s captured
Documented scale
Where it stops (per source)
Milking Speed (U.S.)
In-line meter flow
121,662 cows, 11 manufacturers
Parlor meters only; robot data “will be explored”
Robot herds (Canada)
Every milking and visit
115,000 cows on DHI + 13,500 on eDHI; 950+ herds
Not in the U.S. Milking Speed evaluation
Fertility (U.S.)
Breedings
Not quantified publicly
Beef and sexed semen are thinning conventional data; CDCB model review opened
Breeding protocols (Canada, 2007–2019)
DairyComp protocol notes
5,804 descriptions, 1,192 herds
Inseminations sent, protocols not sent (historical; check with Lactanet)
Calf health (U.S.)
Diarrhea and respiratory events
1,551,866 records (2026), +74.5%
Growth reported; herd breadth not reported
Robot herds aren’t a rounding error in Canada either. In its reference note on a member resolution, Lactanet says 115,000 cows in robotic milking systems use regular DHI services, another 13,500 cows are enrolled in eDHI, and most of its 950-plus robot herds receive a specialized Robot Report.
Even after a record arrives, it doesn’t flow straight into the model. Lactanet describes plausibility checks on dates, herd information, and environmental context, and records that fail can be removed. That editing is what keeps bad data from becoming a confident breeding value. Whether a farm can see that attrition on its own records is a question for its provider.
Standards for moving the data exist. ICAR’s Animal Data Exchange framework uses APIs and JSON messages to move animal, reproduction, milking, and health records from farm systems toward central databases. Lely’s third-party API documentation lists endpoints for animals, calvings, inseminations, pregnancies, dry-offs, milk visits, feeding, activity, and rumination.
An announced API proves data can be requested from a system. It doesn’t prove any field reaches a national evaluation. That takes a nine-step survival chain:
Capture: Is the field stored?
Structure: Is it standardized?
Export: Is it exposed for transfer?
Permission: Has the farm authorized its use?
Connection: Has the receiving organization built the integration?
Mapping: Does the field match the national phenotype definition?
Acceptance: Does it pass the receiving database’s checks?
Use: Does it enter a named trait in a specific evaluation run?
Feedback: Is the farm told the record’s status and what needs fixing?
A record can pass database checks and still not enter a particular evaluation. Acceptance and use are different outcomes, and the farm deserves to know both.
Two Countries, Two Structures
Canada and the U.S. organize this differently, and the differences shape who would have to act.
Canada. Lactanet runs milk recording, national genetic evaluation, and production databases, and offers producer tools including DairyComp, Lactanet Mobile, and Ori-Automate, which moves data between automated milking systems and the milk-recording database. Policy sits with its board, which includes milk-recording organizations, Dairy Farmers of Canada, breed associations, and Semex. In December 2025, Lactanet also changed cow production evaluations so qualifying supervised and unsupervised records feed one published evaluation. That integrated structure may make coordination simpler. It doesn’t give Lactanet unilateral control over every vendor’s fields, permissions, or service agreements.
United States. CDCB manages the National Cooperator Database and calculates national evaluations, while DHI organizations and Dairy Records Processing Centers collect, standardize, and return information to farms. CDCB and National DHIA are building a Herd Portal that, according to CDCB’s 2025 Activity Report, will let a farm’s advisers check its fee code and data-use agreements. Farms pick one of three sharing codes: Code 1 keeps data between the DHI affiliate and the processing center, Code 2 sends it on to the National Cooperator Database, and Code 3 adds farm-authorized recipients. That’s step four of the survival chain, permission, written down.
The U.S. also puts a price on contribution. CDCB’s fee documentation sets genomic evaluation fees by the herd’s data contribution. A female from a herd supplying birth, yield, health, and type records evaluates for $0; birth records only, $4. Males run from $25 to $100 on the same logic. A herd genotyping 100 heifers a year saves $400 in CDCB evaluation fees by supplying full data rather than birth records alone, by our math. That’s small next to the lab and nominator bill, which these fees don’t include. CDCB recalculates fees each triannual period and doesn’t recalculate them retroactively when data arrive late.
That schedule is the freerider argument with a price tag. Any producer can use NM$, TPI, or LPI rankings and a bull evaluated partly on other herds’ health and conformation records, whether or not the farm contributes a single record. If the private return from recording looks smaller than the bill and the labor, leaving can be rational for one farm even though widespread departure could weaken the shared evaluation. That’s plausible. Whether it’s happening hasn’t been established. The public data don’t separate herds that left dairying from herds that dropped a service, how many moved to robot-only or management-only recording, why, or what phenotype volume left with them.
In 2024, the CDCB board also set up a Data Providers Incentives Task Force with a six-month mandate to review existing incentives and design a sustainable program. CDCB’s 2025 Activity Report lists it beside a Strategic Data Flow Work Session as the two 2024 initiatives aimed at phenotype supply, and records that the board approved data flow “to support upcoming trait needs” at its Denver meeting. A published incentive schedule is the next document breeders should watch for.
CDCB also documents fee lookup tools and return codes explaining nomination outcomes and fee changes. That feedback is narrower than a farm-level phenotype statement. It’s still real, and it matters.
Where the Danger Line Sits
There’s no universal herd count at which genomic evaluation fails. The threshold differs by trait, breed, and population. CDCB notes that reliable genomic evaluation needs a continuing flow of genotypes and phenotypes to refresh the reference population.
Five signals would show trouble:
Reference renewal: contemporary phenotypes and genotypes added each year, by trait.
Representation: whether data are concentrating in fewer regions, herd sizes, or management systems.
Validation: falling reliability, persistent bias, or dispersion drifting from expectation in forward testing.
Proof movement: whether later changes repeatedly exceed what published reliability implied.
By those measures, nothing reviewed here shows core North American Holstein production evaluations crossing a system-wide threshold. The U.S. still integrates millions of lactation records. Canada still records more than half a million cows. U.S. calf-health records grew sharply between 2024 and 2026.
Smaller breeds are more exposed. A 2022 U.S. multibreed study had validation groups of 3,278 Holstein and 471 Jersey bulls, against 107 Brown Swiss, 28 Guernsey, and 17 Ayrshire bulls, and the authors cautioned about the limited numbers.
The strongest finding isn’t that the system is collapsing. It’s that the public dashboard doesn’t show where the danger line sits.
The other risk isn’t that the national system disappears. It’s that the rankings farmers actually use drift away from records anyone can review. In 2021, a Journal of Dairy Science invited review by CDCB and USDA scientists described the start of that shift: companies including GENEX and Zoetis were publishing their own indices that combined CDCB evaluations with proprietary traits. The authors warned that if producers began to question the credibility of NM$, they might turn to commercial indices from AI companies or, on larger farms, build custom ranking tools of their own.
The same review noted that line-based breeding, with tighter inbreeding inside each strain, is more common in the swine and poultry sectors. That’s the end state worth avoiding: breeding records still exist, but the reference population sits inside private networks. Dairy’s protection is open evaluation, portable data, and a public reference population broad enough that no single private network can out-predict it for the average herd.
Before October 29
The show ring will keep doing its job. The harder work happens before breakfast, in records nobody photographs.
The calendar is tight. CDCB’s 2026 evaluation schedule sets October 29 as the deadline for lactation, reproductive-event, health-event, and milking-speed data for the December official evaluations. Genomic data are due November 13, and the run releases December 1. In the U.S., go through your DHI provider, processing center, or genomic nominator. In Canada, ask Lactanet directly.
Item
Detail
Producer implication
Female genomic evaluation, full data (birth, yield, health, type)
$0
Lowest CDCB fee tier
Female genomic evaluation, birth records only
$4
Highest female tier
Male genomic evaluation
$25–$100, by data contribution
Same contribution logic
100 heifers/year, full data vs. birth only
$400 saved(Bullvine math)
Lab and nominator fees not included
Lactation, reproductive, health and milking-speed data due
October 29, 2026
Late data don’t change fees retroactively
Genomic data due / December run release
November 13 / December 1, 2026
Ask your DHI provider, processing center or nominator; in Canada, Lactanet
The Five-Line Data Statement. Ask for these five answers:
What did my herd send?
What was accepted?
What was rejected, and why?
Which evaluations or benchmarks did it support?
What did my herd get back: fee code, reports, benchmarks?
If nobody can tell you, that’s the finding.
The case for the mid-size breeding herd belongs in that statement too. It has to be made with data, not sentiment: which records, from which herds, add connections the model can’t get anywhere else. The evaluation centers already hold the data to answer that.
Tech vendors: prove it end to end at the next trade show. Skip the dashboard demo. Pick one field your system says belongs in national evaluation and show the whole route: the farm’s authorization, the connector to the recording or evaluation center, the mapping to the national trait definition, and confirmation that it was used in an evaluation run.
Not every sensor reading belongs in a national model. The ones that do should be able to prove they arrive.
Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.
Learn More
Genomic Testing ROI Calculator — Eliminating the guesswork around heifer replacements pays immediate dividends. Input your herd size, cull rate, and raising costs into this interactive tool to isolate exactly what genomic testing nets your operation over a three-year financial window.
CDCB’s 2025 Genetic Base and Merit Indices Update: Everything You Need To Know — Protect your future milk checks as PTA numbers prepare to drop across all breeds. Master the revised Net Merit $ formula’s 41% higher weight on feed efficiency and 13% butterfat bump to safely recalibrate your sire selection thresholds.
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Dane County’s current work plan places Coliseum construction in 2028, the last guaranteed year in World Dairy Expo’s venue agreement. The temporary show ring meant to carry Expo through that work was still being developed when the plan went public. That puts one Expo year squarely inside the county’s timeline.
Dane County’s potential $200 million Alliant Energy Center redevelopment starts with the building World Dairy Expo can least afford to lose: Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The county’s July 20, 2026 work plan put Coliseum design in 2027, construction in 2028 and a goal of reopening in 2029.
Expo’s guaranteed venue agreement runs through December 31, 2028. Three one-year options could keep the show in Madison through 2031. Those options sit outside the guaranteed five-year term approved under Resolution 2023 RES-113 and Contract 15171.
That makes 2028 the exposure year.
Expo is scheduled for October 3–6 that year. On the county’s current calendar, exhibitors could arrive while the Coliseum is being rebuilt and the cattle show runs from a temporary structure. Nobody had designed that structure yet when the plan was presented.
What Dane County has approved
Dane County has not approved a $200 million construction package. The county and World Dairy Expo both describe the redevelopment as a potential project. Each phase still needs financing, agreements and government sign-off.
What the county has approved is Expo’s occupancy agreement. RES-113 authorized Expo to use the Alliant Energy Center from 2024 through 2028, with options through 2031. The County Board adopted it on August 17, 2023.
Contract 15171 runs from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2028. Its five-year base-space value is about $2.398 million, before parking, catering, goods and services billed at Alliant Energy Center rates.
The redevelopment itself is still a sequence of proposals. The plan presented at Expo in October starts with the Coliseum, then mixed-use development, then the Exhibition Hall expansion. County Executive Melissa Agard’s office said Exhibition Hall capital still needs County Board approval and that the county is working with the Governor’s office on financial backing.
Neither that release nor the July 20 work plan puts a dollar figure on Wisconsin’s share. The only budget item filed so far, 2026 ACT-158, is the Personnel & Finance Committee’s amendments file for the proposed 2027 capital budget. As of October 13 it was still in committee, with no text and no recorded action.
So read “$200 million” as a plan. None of that money is in hand yet.
Which Expo year takes the hit?
Bullvine laid the county’s July 20 work plan over Expo’s occupancy agreement. The result shows one year where the two collide directly, and several years where the risk depends on decisions not yet made.
Expo year
Proposed redevelopment milestone
Expo contract position described in draft
What exhibitors still need to know
2026
Coliseum developer selection and negotiations
Base term: year 3 of 5
Who sets the temporary-ring requirements?
2027
Coliseum design
Base term: year 4 of 5
When will ring specifications and campus-access plans be available?
2028
Coliseum construction
Final year of base term
Will construction affect the October show, and which facilities would replace the Coliseum?
2029
Targeted Coliseum reopening; desired start of Exhibition Hall work
First extension-option year
Will the Coliseum be operational before Expo, and has the option been exercised?
2030–2031
Desired Exhibition Hall construction period, progressing toward 2032
Second and third extension-option years
Which exhibit, meeting and freight areas would remain available?
Reading note: A construction target in the same calendar year establishes potential exposure; it does not establish that work will interrupt Expo. The county’s 2023 announcement confirms a five-year agreement plus three option years.
The strongest verb anywhere in that table is planned. The work plan sets targets, not commitments. It lists no construction start date and no completed financing package. It still tells exhibitors where they need answers first: the ring, in 2028.
The Coliseum goes first
Alliant Energy Center Executive Director Kevin Scheibler said the Coliseum historically hosted about 110 events a year and was planning for about 40 in 2026. That figure covers the Coliseum only, not the whole campus.
Scheibler also said a temporary structure to replace the Coliseum show ring during construction is still under development. The July 20 committee presentations include no design, seating count or cattle-movement plan for it.
For Expo, that temporary ring carries the whole show. It has to handle breed-show schedules, cattle marshalling, footing, seating, production crews, broadcast gear, sponsor inventory and safe movement between barns and ring.
The Alliant Energy Center’s July presentation counted World Dairy Expo as one of 18 agricultural events using the campus. It also showed Expo using every major facility during its late September–early October run.
The July 20 minutes list World Dairy Expo General Manager Laura Herschleb as a committee member. Expo’s October release goes further, calling her committee vice-chair and the only representative of those 18 agricultural events.
That seat gives Expo earlier access to design decisions than any other agricultural show on the grounds. It pays off only if the answers reach exhibitors before contracts, freight orders and travel bookings stop being refundable.
Why the campus needs space
The county’s Exhibition Hall concept adds 50,000 square feet of flexible event space, 19 meeting rooms and a 30,000-square-foot ballroom. The broader proposal also includes a 200-room hotel.
Proposed component
Announced quantity
Intended use or benefit
Question for Expo
Exhibition Hall expansion
50,000 sq. ft.
Additional exhibition and event capacity
How much existing exhibit space would remain usable during construction?
Meeting rooms
19 rooms
More capacity for meetings and associated events
What meeting space would be available during the transition?
Ballroom
30,000 sq. ft.
Additional gathering and event space
Which Expo functions could use it, and when?
New hotel
200 rooms
More lodging on the campus
When would rooms become available for Expo bookings?
Overall redevelopment
Potential $200 million project
Broader campus improvements
Which phases have approved funding and confirmed delivery dates?
Source: World Dairy Expo’s redevelopment announcement, published by DairyBusiness October 7, 2026. The release lists the Exhibition Hall expansion and ballroom separately but does not establish whether their areas should be added together.
Scheibler said 15 of the Alliant Energy Center’s top 20 events have outgrown the available space. Expo already rents three temporary tents, two for cattle and one for commercial exhibits, to stretch the permanent campus.
Space hasn’t been the trade floor’s only problem. Expo’s 2018 Show Summary counted 887 participating companies. Its 2025 Event Summary counted just 461. By The Bullvine’s math, that’s 426 fewer companies—a 48.0% drop in seven years.
The July presentation also called for a new agricultural arena, an outdoor exhibition plaza, better vehicle circulation and more than 300 extra hotel rooms across the campus. All of those are still planned improvements, not approved construction.
Trade exhibitors will care about the Exhibition Hall expansion eventually. The 2028 question comes first: does Coliseum construction eat into parking, outdoor exhibit space, freight routes or the ground Expo’s tents sit on now?
What Waterloo already taught
Bullvine’s Waterloo coverage traced how the National Dairy Cattle Congress held dairy’s October slot from 1910 to 1965 and then drifted from the exhibitors who’d built it. Two years later, Expo opened in Madison.
Madison starts this from a stronger position. Expo holds a guaranteed contract through 2028 and a seat on the county’s redevelopment committee. Both only count if they produce an operating plan before exhibitors commit money to the 2028 show.
The 2023 agreement kept Expo at the Alliant Energy Center, its home since the first show in 1967, through at least 2028.
Issue
What the accessible announcements establish
What they do not establish
Information needed next
Redevelopment funding
The project is described as potentially costing $200 million; Exhibition Hall funding needs County Board approval
That the entire project is financed—or that no funding exists for any component
Funding status and approval requirements by phase
Temporary cattle ring
Officials are working with developers on a temporary structure; timing and plans remain under development
A completed design, seating capacity, footing specification or cattle route
Temporary-ring specifications and delivery deadline
Continued occupancy
The announced agreement includes a five-year term and three option years
Option notice deadlines, current exercise status or detailed construction protections
Relevant contract clauses and current option status
Existing temporary facilities
Expo reports using three tents: two for cattle and one for the trade center
Whether construction would affect their sites or access routes
A dated construction and event-layout map
Agricultural representation
Expo’s general manager is identified as redevelopment committee vice-chair and the sole representative of 18 agricultural shows
Exclusive access to information or an approved exhibitor operating plan
A schedule for communicating decisions to affected exhibitors
Sources: Dane County’s July 2023 agreement announcement and World Dairy Expo’s October 2026 redevelopment release. These announcements support the distinctions above; detailed contractual protections require review of the agreement itself.
What this means for your operation
Nobody needs to change their 2027 Expo bookings today. The county’s plan does set three decision points before the 2028 show.
Before 2027 design closes
Cattle exhibitors and breed associations should ask Expo for the temporary ring’s proposed dimensions, footing, warm-up area, marshalling space, seating capacity and covered route from the barns.
The test is simple. If the temporary ring can’t handle the Coliseum’s class volume, crowd and production schedule, breed schedules and stalling plans need to change before 2028 entries open.
Commercial exhibitors should ask whether the 2028 construction footprint reaches outdoor displays, freight staging, parking or the three temporary-tent sites. Your booth can be inside Exhibition Hall and still get hurt by a blocked loading route outside it.
Before signing 2028 contracts
Trade-show companies should ask for a dated campus map showing construction fencing, truck access, unloading windows, temporary power, parking and pedestrian routes.
If that map doesn’t exist before freight, tent, hotel or equipment deposits go non-refundable, build in a contingency. Don’t assume the 2027 layout carries into 2028.
Breed associations should also pin down who pays if temporary facilities need different seating, audiovisual gear, flooring or hospitality setups. Expo’s venue agreement locks in the dates. It doesn’t say who absorbs each association’s construction-related costs.
Before exercising 2029 options
Expo’s 2029–2031 dates are options, not guaranteed years. Any decision to exercise them should be checked against the actual Coliseum delivery date and the Exhibition Hall schedule in force at the time.
If the Coliseum really opens in 2029, the biggest cattle-show risk goes away. But Exhibition Hall construction starting that same year would shift the pressure onto commercial exhibitors, meetings, food service and freight.
Dane County has time to solve the sequence. Exhibitors need that answer before they sign non-refundable 2028 orders.
Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.
Learn More
The Real Price of World Dairy Expo: $3800 a Cow — Your blueprint for surviving October’s hidden costs. Breaks down the $3,800 per-head reality of hauling a five-cow string to Madison, exposing how fixed fees and skilled fitters dictate your actual show ring margins before the trailer ever leaves.
World Dairy Expo’s Home Base Clears Its First Hurdle for a Major Expansion — Map out your next commercial booth footprint using this timeline of the Alliant Energy Center’s incoming overhaul. Reveals exactly how the Exhibition Hall expansion threatens to choke trade show logistics and force vendors to rewrite their multi-year contracts.
The Kids Aren’t Coming – They Already Own Dairy’s Future (World Dairy Expo Proves It) — Think the next generation is just watching the colored shavings? Think again. Shows how aggressive young breeders are already commanding elite genetics and navigating an 800,000-head heifer shortage to capitalize on $10 billion in new processing capacity.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
Carleton Bad To The Bone Wins Grand at the 2026 Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show, and Best Udder Went With the Class Win in 8 of 10 Cow Classes
Kyle Rivington sorted 197 head across 17 classes and kept rewarding the same things: balance, a level udder floor and cattle that move. Beckridge Holsteins was on the exhibitor line for six class winners. Hodglynn Holsteins took home the banner that matters most.
After tapping his final three, Kyle Rivington told the crowd what he looks for: cows with width throughout, and balance. His Grand Champion fit both. Carleton Bad To The Bone, the Mature Cow winner for Hodglynn Holsteins of Kincardine, ON, was named Grand Champion of the 2026 Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show. Rivington said the decision came quite easily, and he pointed to her mammary system and dairy quality all the way through. She also took Best Udder.
Reserve Grand went to Miss Tatoo Fern-ET, the Senior 3-Year-Old winner for Agriber Societa Agricola SRL, Beckridge Holsteins, Marcello Ladina, Oscar & Eric Dupasquier and Quality Holsteins. Honorable Mention went to Fraeland Chief Allegra of Fraeland Farms, Fergus, ON. She opened the milking classes by winning the Winter & Fall Yearling in Milk, and finished the day as Intermediate Champion. So a yearling in milk stood third in the final Grand lineup.
Balance beat size, twice
Twice, Rivington told the crowd his winner wasn’t the biggest animal in her class. Both times he left her on top.
In the Mature Cow class, he called his top two very different in makeup. He went with the moderate-sized, really balanced cow and put Bad To The Bone over the bigger cow in second, Raypien Unix Adele. His reasons were a more level udder floor and the shape at the top of her rear udder.
Earlier in the day, in the five-head Winter Heifer Calf class, he said Extondale Master Mae gives up a little size and scale to some calves below her. He loved her lines and angles anyway. She placed over Echo Glen Master Ina on rump structure, with her pin placement keeping her legs more squarely underneath her. Size alone didn’t carry a class under Rivington.
Best Udder went with the win, with one exception
Across the 10 milking classes on the official sheets, the class winner also took Best Udder in Class in eight. That’s our count from the placings. The eight were Summer Junior 2, Spring 2, Winter 2, Fall 2, Junior 3, Senior 3, 5-Year-Old and Mature Cow.
The clearest test of how Rivington weighed udder against frame came two classes apart. In the 10-head Junior 3-Year-Old class, he gave Karnview Harris Reflex Best Udder for the levelness of her udder floor. He kept her first even though he credited second-place Clovis Sidekick Madyson with more spring of rib and volume of frame. The udder won that argument.
In the 4-Year-Old Cow class, it went the other way. Harvdale Benefit Faith took Best Udder and Best Bred & Owned for Harvdale Holsteins of Stayner, ON, and Rivington called her a beautiful udder cow. Martin-View Doc Hot Shot beat her for Maplekeys Farms of Aylmer, ON, because she was a lot longer and more open through her frame and carried her pins a little lower.
That’s the only milking class where Best Udder went to a cow below the winner. The yearling-in-milk sheet listed no Best Udder award at all.
Beckridge’s day, by the numbers
Beckridge Holsteins of Keswick, ON was on the exhibitor line for six of the 17 class winners:
Extondale Master Mae, Winter Heifer Calf
Echo Glen Master Irina, Summer Yearling
Fraeland Beckridge Energy Brie, Summer Junior 2-Year-Old, with Fraeland Farms
Ulmar Lambda Dorthe, Spring 2-Year-Old
Perrinridge Master Haddie, Fall 2-Year-Old
Miss Tatoo Fern-ET, Senior 3-Year-Old
Beckridge showed two of those six alone. The last three came in ownership groups that included Agriber Societa Agricola SRL and Quality Holsteins. In the Spring 2-Year-Olds, the same group went one-two, with Dorthe ahead of Quality Master Evelynn.
The championship tally tells the same story. Beckridge cattle filled four of the nine championship slots: Junior Champion (Irina), Reserve Intermediate (Dorthe), HM Intermediate (Brie) and Reserve Grand (Fern). The one banner they didn’t get was Grand.
Karnview Farms Inc. of Woodstock, ON had the other multi-win day. It won two classes, Karnview Eye Candy Bedazzle in the Spring Yearlings and Reflex in the Junior 3s, and both also took Best Bred & Owned. Karnview also placed fourth and fifth in the Junior 3s with Karnview Chief Caramel and Karnview Lambda Amateur.
The heifer show was about legs
By our count from the placings, 125 heifers showed across seven classes, and 86 of them were calves. The Spring Heifer Calf class was the biggest of the day at 37 head, and Rivington called it rich in both numbers and quality. Canhope Energy Kennedy topped it for Canhope Holsteins of Palmerston, ON, and also took Best Bred & Owned. She placed over Echo Glen Master Camden for a little more flex in the hock as she moves.
That was the pattern all through the heifers. We captured clear reasons for six of the seven heifer class winners, and five of those six came down to legs or movement:
Kennedy: more flex in the hock.
Mae: legs set more squarely underneath her.
Irina: moves freely.
Bedazzle: stands squarer on all four legs.
Hawdale Master Trishia, for Langelands Farms of Utopia, ON: the way she handles her rear legs.
The one exception was Petitclerc Harris Alaska, who won the 27-head Fall Calf class on spring of rib. Granron Energy Luna topped the 17-head Summer Calf class and took Best Bred & Owned for Ronald Grandy of Oshawa, ON.
The Junior Championship went to Irina, who was also Champion 4-H Calf. Rivington said he and his associate, JP, loved her in her class and in the 4-H championship, and still loved her that afternoon. He credited her frame, overall length and correctness. Reserve went to Leighside Direct Calamari for Bloyce Thompson of Frenchfort, PE, the heifer Irina beat in the Summer Yearlings. HM went to Alaska, exhibited by Nate King, Carson & Keaton Phoenix of Schuylerville, NY, who was also Reserve Champion 4-H Calf. Two of the three junior banners went outside Ontario.
Around the ring
Winter 2-Year-Old: Clarkvalley Doc Roller won for Mt. Elgin Dairy Farms of Guelph, ON, and took Best Udder.
Fall 2-Year-Old: Perrinridge Master Haddie won and took both Best Udder and Best Bred & Owned.
Summer Junior 2-Year-Old: Brie won on her mammary system. Rivington said she fit the mold of his first cow class winner.
5-Year-Old Cow: Shadywillo Randall Cajun took Best Udder for Andrew Den Haan, Mount Kolb Farm and Plum Valley Holsteins of Fergus, ON. She placed over Harvdale Mooligan Maelyn for more openness through her midsection and more quality to the texture of her udder.
The exhibitor list reached well past Ontario: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Alberta and New York all had cattle in the placings. On a 197-head day, Ontario still did most of the winning. All 17 class winners we have on the sheets came from Ontario herds except one, and that heifer came from New York.
Before the Grand, Rivington spent a few minutes on his associate, JP. He said the two have known each other about 20 years, and that JP has judged Ayrshires, Jerseys, Brown Swiss and Holsteins around the world. He also said JP drove roughly 12 hours over two legs to pick him up and get him to the show.
🏆 Carleton Bad To The Bone named Grand Champion | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Carleton Bad To The Bone is named Grand Champion, and Kyle Rivington said the decision came quite easily. He told the crowd he likes cows with width throughout and admires balance, and his Mature Cow winner had the mammary system and dairy quality all the way through. He said he appreciated all her parts, and pointed to a little more advantage in her fore udder. Exhibited by Hodglynn Holsteins of Kincardine, ON, she also took Best Udder.
Reserve Grand Champion: Miss Tatoo Fern-ET – Agriber Societa Agricola SRL, Beckridge Holsteins, Marcello Ladina, Oscar & Eric Dupasquier, Quality Holsteins. She won the Senior 3-Year-Old class and took Best Udder in her class.
Honorable Mention: Fraeland Chief Allegra – Fraeland Farms, Fergus, ON. She won the Winter & Fall Yearling in Milk class and was named Intermediate Champion.
🏆 Fraeland Chief Allegra named Intermediate Champion | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Fraeland Chief Allegra is named Intermediate Champion, and Kyle Rivington pointed to the combination of her mammary system and her frame. Over Reserve Intermediate Champion Ulmar Lambda Dorthe, he gave her more mass coming at you, with more volume, width and spring of rib. Exhibited by Fraeland Farms of Fergus, ON, Allegra won the Winter & Fall Yearling in Milk class earlier in the day and went on to Honorable Mention Grand Champion.
Reserve Intermediate Champion: Ulmar Lambda Dorthe – Agriber Societa Agricola SRL, Beckridge Holsteins, Oscar & Eric Dupasquier, Pfister Dairy, Quality Holsteins. Rivington gave her the edge over honorable mention for a little advantage in fore udder, with smoother blending.
Honorable Mention: Fraeland Beckridge Energy Brie – Beckridge Holsteins, Fraeland Farms, Keswick, ON. Rivington said he loved her in the Summer Junior 2-Year-Old class, and she came back with a little more milk.
🏆 Echo Glen Master Irina named Junior Champion | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Echo Glen Master Irina is named Junior Champion, and Kyle Rivington made it clear she’d been a favourite all day. He loved her when she won the Summer Yearling class, loved her again as Champion 4-H Calf, and said he still loved her this afternoon. He pointed to her frame, her overall length and her correctness. Exhibited by Beckridge Holsteins of Keswick, ON, Irina also stood first in 4-H on her way to the banner.
Reserve Junior Champion: Leighside Direct Calamari – Bloyce Thompson, Frenchfort, PE. She finished second in the Summer Yearling class.
Honorable Mention: Petitclerc Harris Alaska – Nate King, Carson & Keaton Phoenix, Schuylerville, NY. She won the Fall Heifer Calf class and was named Reserve Champion 4-H Calf.
c
SUMMER HEIFER CALF
Born between June 1st, 2026 and August 31st, 2026
🏆 Granron Energy Luna wins the Summer Heifer Calf class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Granron Energy Luna heads a 17-calf Summer Heifer Calf class, and judge Kyle Rivington opened his reasons by saying there was no easing into this one. She’s exhibited by Ronald Grandy of Oshawa, ON, and also takes Best Bred & Owned in the class. The class drew mostly from Ontario herds, with entries coming from as far east as Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
GRANRON ENERGY LUNA, HOCANF15200666 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS RONALD GRANDY, OSHAWA, ON
ECHO GLEN HH HULU PEACHES, HOCANF15658852 ECHO GLEN FARM, HOWE HOLSTEINS INC, DORCHESTER, ON
KARNVIEW ACTIONMAN APLUM, HOCANF15659595 KARNVIEW FARMS INC, WOODSTOCK, ON
PERRINRIDGE ARMOUR AUSTRIA, HOCANF15602320 PERRINRIDGE FARMS LTD, AYR, ON
KARNVIEW JL CARAMILK, HOCANF15659591 KARNVIEW FARMS INC, WOODSTOCK, ON
QUALITY JERRY LEWIS LIZA, HOCANF15455160 QUALITY HOLSTEINS, VAUGHAN, ON
FRAELAND MAJOR LIGHTNING, HOCANF15347695 FRAELAND FARMS, FERGUS, ON
BECKRIDGE JERRY LEWIS BENZ, HOCANF15676054 BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, KESWICK, ON
ORANGEVIEW LINDT JUNGLE, HOCANF15547671 ORANGEVIEW HOLSTEINS, MONO, ON
KARNVIEW DIRECT AMHERST, HOCANF15659594 KARNVIEW FARMS INC, WOODSTOCK, ON
RICKHAVEN ARMOUR BLISS, HOCANF15248437 RICKHAVEN HOLSTEINS LTD, DRAYTON, ON
BRIDGEVIEW SIDEKICK BALBOA, HOCANF15663788 BRIDGEVIEW FARMS, BRANTFORD, ON
ROYAL LYNN CHAMPAGNE JUBE JUBE, HOCANF15504299 ROYAL LYNN HOLSTEINS, CAYUGA, ON
BELMORAL HULU LORRIE, HOCANF15584141 BELMORAL FARMS LTD, TEESWATER, ON
COBEQUID ETERNAL LOVESTRUCK, HOCANF15531057 LENSVELT HOLSTEINS, PARALLEL GENETICS, TYNE VALLEY, PE
RADOMERE BULLSEYE JETT, HOCANF15631289 RADOMERE HOLSTEINS, ELMVALE, ON
SPRING HEIFER CALF
Born March 1st, 2026 to May 31st, 2026
🏆 Canhope Energy Kennedy wins the Spring Heifer Calf class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Canhope Energy Kennedy wins the Spring Heifer Calf class on feet and legs, with Kyle Rivington placing her over second for a little more flex in the hock as she moves. Exhibited by Canhope Holsteins of Palmerston, ON, she also takes Best Bred & Owned in the class. Rivington called the 37-head class rich in both numbers and quality, and said his top two calves blend together really nicely, both with plenty of style.
CANHOPE ENERGY KENNEDY, HOCANF15588718 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS CANHOPE HOLSTEINS, PALMERSTON, ON
WILLOWLANE COURAGE FANTA, HOCANF15635522 BRIAN SLAUGHTER, WARWICK TWP, ON
LOKA FOOTPRINT LIVVY, HOCANF15470178 LOKA HOLSTEINS, MANILLA, ON
GLENBERT MAJOR LACLETTE, HOCANF15526802 GLENBERT HOLSTEINS, EMBRO, ON
SMYGWATYS MAJOR CHERRY BLAST, HOCANF15567133 KEATON PHOENIX, MCCALLUM FARMS LTD, UXBRIDGE, ON
CEDARHOLME SIDEKICK MINTY, HOCANF15523722 CEDARHOLME HOLSTEINS, MOUNT FOREST, ON
BECKHOLM HULU GOLD STRUCK, HOCANF15526525 BECKHOLM HOLSTEINS, SUNDERLAND, ON
GOLDSTAR TRITON-PP DIANA, HOCANF15338646 GOLDSTAR GENETICS, GRAND VALLEY, ON
ORANGEVIEW BRUINS SHEA, HOCANF15547664 ORANGEVIEW HOLSTEINS, MONO, ON
MARK-A-VALLEY ZEUS RIETTA, HOCANF15466980 MARK-A-VALLEY FARM, ARTHUR, ON
BECKHOLM UNSTOPABULL RED LYNX, HOCANF122137435 BECKHOLM HOLSTEINS, SUNDERLAND, ON
WINTER HEIFER CALF
Born December 2025, January or February 2026
🏆 Extondale Master Mae wins the Winter Heifer Calf class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Extondale Master Mae wins the Winter Heifer Calf class for her balance. Kyle Rivington said she gives up a little size and scale to some calves below her, but he loved her lines and angles. Exhibited by Beckridge Holsteins of Keswick, ON, she carries weight and openness and moves freely on her hind legs. She placed over second on rump structure, her pin placement (the pin bones at the rear) keeping her legs more squarely underneath.
EXTONDALE MASTER MAE, HOCANF15480794 BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, KESWICK, ON
ECHO GLEN MASTER INA, HOCANF15441706 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, ECHO GLEN FARM, QUALITY HOLSTEINS, KESWICK, ON
POPLARVALE LAMBDA LAINEY, HOCANF15321396 10th 4-H WOODHILL HOLSTEINS, CLARKSBURG, ON
CEDARHOLME REEBOK MARSHA, HOCANF15523714 CEDARHOLME HOLSTEINS, MOUNT FOREST, ON
RED-VIOLET THE LAST-RED-ET, HOUSAF3321833797 CROWNING TOUCH HOLSTEINS, KINCARDINE, ON
ORANGEVIEW ACTIONMAN MADISON, HOCANF15547644 ORANGEVIEW HOLSTEINS, MONO, ON
KINGSWAY A2P2 JIM CAREY, HOCANF15236975 J.N. MAYES, WALKHAVERN FARMS LIMITED, OTTAWA, ON
MADARD LYSANDER KENDAL, HOCANF15586553 MADARD FARMS, PHELPSTON, ON
MAPLEVUE HEAVY MACHINERY, HOCANF15589917 MAPLEVUE FARMS, LISTOWEL, ON
MADARD MASTER KNOCKER, HOCANF15586556 MADARD FARMS, PHELPSTON, ON
ROCKABERRY DIXIE LAND DELIGHT, HOCANF14694370 ELLA WARDBOULT, GLENBERT HOLSTEINS, EMBRO, ON
NORTH-POLLED BRISK MUDZILLA PP, HOCANF15466948 NORTH POLLED GENETICS, FERGUS, ON
FALL HEIFER CALF
Born September, October or November 2025
🏆 Petitclerc Harris Alaska wins the Fall Heifer Calf class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Spring of rib carries Petitclerc Harris Alaska to the top of the Fall Heifer Calf class. Kyle Rivington placed her over second for a lot more of it, meaning how wide and arched the ribs are, while noting she gives up a little depth of rear flank to that calf. She’s exhibited by Nate King, Carson & Keaton Phoenix of Schuylerville, NY, and tops a 27-head class that Rivington called extremely strong.
FAMIPAGE MACHINE LIPTON, HOCANF122136249 9th 4-H AJ MARTIN, AVELINE HOLSTEINS 2005 LTD, DRAYTON, ON
MS ACETYLENE MAKEUP-RED-ET, HO840F3299812028 10th 4-H MARK-A-VALLEY FARM, ARTHUR, ON
ECHO GLEN SALUTE ELLIOT, HOCANF15441690 JOHN W. BUCKLEY, LINDSAY, ON
KARNVIEW SALUTE ABODE, HOCANF15448765 HARVDALE HOLSTEINS, STAYNER, ON
SUMMER YEARLING
Born June, July or August 2025
🏆 Echo Glen Master Irina wins the Summer Yearling class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Style and balance put Echo Glen Master Irina at the top of the Summer Yearling class, and Kyle Rivington liked how freely she moves. Exhibited by Beckridge Holsteins of Keswick, ON, she placed over second for being a little more refined up through the head and neck. Rivington said this 18-head class had depth and quality right to the bottom, and called his top five beautiful heifers in their own right.
PARRABEL-I ALPHA OAKLEY RED, HOCANF15448746 CROWNING TOUCH HOLSTEINS, KINCARDINE, ON
BLUCRIK MAJOR POPPER, HOCANF15146511 GRAYCON HOLSTEINS, ELMVALE, ON
KARNVIEW EYE CANDY MINDY, HOCANF15199018 KARNVIEW FARMS INC, WOODSTOCK, ON
SPRING YEARLING
Born March, April or May 2025
🏆 Karnview Eye Candy Bedazzle wins the Spring Yearling class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Rear-flank depth puts Karnview Eye Candy Bedazzle at the top of the Spring Yearling class. Kyle Rivington placed her over second for a lot more of it, and said he much preferred the way she stands squarer on all four legs. Exhibited by Karnview Farms Inc. of Woodstock, ON, Bedazzle also takes Best Bred & Owned in the class and heads a 15-head lineup.
KARNVIEW EYE CANDY BEDAZZLE, HOCANF15198998 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS KARNVIEW FARMS INC, WOODSTOCK, ON
TRENT VALLEY SK ABA, HOCANF15293352 1st 4-H CARL PHOENIX & FAMILY, KAWARTHA HOLSTEINS, SUNDERLAND, ON
GRANRON MASTER ATTRACTION, HOCANF15200649 RONALD GRANDY, OSHAWA, ON
LOA-DE-MEDE EYE CANDY LULU, HOCANF15235850 LOA-DE-MEDE FARMS LTD, OSHAWA, ON
WESTCOAST SALUTE ROSELYN, HOCANF14431363 2nd 4-H MAPLEKEYS FARMS, AYLMER, ON
ECHO GLEN MASTER ELOISE, HOCANF15064028 ECHO GLEN FARM, DORCHESTER, ON
FRAELAND BECKRIDGE EN BEATRIX, HOCANF14505590 BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, FRAELAND FARMS, KESWICK, ON
KENTVILLE MASTER GRACIE MAE, HOCANF14980364 KENTVILLE HOLSTEINS, MELANCTHON, ON
HARVESTACRE MAKING IT RAIN, HOCANF122086613 3rd 4-H CARL PHOENIX & FAMILY, MCCALLUM FARMS LTD, SUNDERLAND, ON
ROYAL LYNN BULLSEYE MARY, HOCANF14788185 ROYAL LYNN HOLSTEINS, CAYUGA, ON
BUTLERVIEW HULU CARINA, 8403295320094 CALRKVALLEY HOLSTEINS
KARNVIEW MAJOR LOVESONG, HOCANF15198997 KARNVIEW FARMS INC, WOODSTOCK, ON
LEHOUX ANEESH TOPLINE, HOCANF121951846 4th 4-H CREEK EDGE FARMS, DONOVAN MARTIN, ELORA, ON
RADOMERE BULLSEYE JITTER, HOCANF15230117 RADOMERE HOLSTEINS, ELMVALE, ON
WINTER YEARLING
Born December 2024, January or February 2025
🏆 Hawdale Master Trishia wins the Winter Yearling class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Hawdale Master Trishia wins the Winter Yearling class on the way she handles her rear legs. That was Kyle Rivington’s reason for placing her over second-place Radomere Bullseye Jewel, the class’s Best Bred & Owned winner. Exhibited by Langelands Farms of Utopia, ON, Trishia tops a six-head class where Rivington’s reasons focused mostly on feet, legs and mobility.
HAWDALE MASTER TRISHIA, HOCANF15151714 LANGELANDS FARMS, UTOPIA, ON
RADOMERE BULLSEYE JEWEL, HOCANF15230112 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS RADOMERE HOLSTEINS, ELMVALE, ON
WEEKSDALE HAPPY HOUR, HOCANF15066421 BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, QUALITY HOLSTEINS, KESWICK, ON
BUTLERVIEW HULU CLARITY, HO840F3295320086 BARRVALLEY HOLSTEINS, KEATON PHOENIX, DOUGLAS, ON
PRETTYRIVER HARRIS GIDGET, HOCANF15177060 PRETTY RIVER HOLSTEINS, NOTTAWA, ON
CENTURY STAR JERRY LEWIS GIFT, HOCANF15238798 MT. ELGIN DAIRY FARMS, GUELPH, ON
JUNIOR HERD
Three animals carrying the same prefix.
ECHO GLEN Echo Glen, Dorchester, ON
Beckridge Holsteins, BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS Beckridge Holsteins, Keswick, ON
Canhope, CANHOPE JR Ron Canning, Palmerston, ON
Karnview Farms, KARNVIEW FARMS JR Dean Karn, Woodstock, ON
Radomere, RADOMERE JR Trevor Klein Gebbinck, Elmvale, ON
CEDARHOLME CEDARHOLME HOLSTEINS
WINTER & FALL YEARLING IN MILK
Born September, October or November, December, January or February 2025 – IN MILK.
Fraeland Chief Allegra wins the Winter & Fall Yearling in Milk class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Complete and extremely balanced, Fraeland Chief Allegra wins the Winter & Fall Yearling in Milk class. Kyle Rivington placed her over second for more height at the top of the rear udder. Exhibited by Fraeland Farms of Fergus, ON, Allegra heads a seven-head opening cow class, where Rivington said the udders were impressive right down the line. He called her a really complete cow and set the tone for the milking classes with her.
FRAELAND CHIEF ALLEGRA, HOCANF14505561 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS BEST UDDER IN CLASS INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION HM GRAND CHAMPION FRAELAND FARMS, FERGUS, ON
GLEN ISLAY FLASH BAMBOOM, HOCANF14778095 ANDREW DEN HAAN, MOUNT KOLB FARM, PLUM VALLEY HOLSTEINS, FERGUS, ON
GOLDENFLO BULLSEYE EWING, HOCANF15116303 BECKHOLM HOLSTEINS, SUNDERLAND, ON
SUMMER JUNIOR 2 YEAR OLD
Born between June 1st, 2024 and August 31st, 2024
Fraeland Beckridge Energy Brie wins the Summer Junior 2-Year-Old class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Her mammary system carries Fraeland Beckridge Energy Brie to the Summer Junior 2-Year-Old win, and she takes Best Udder in Class along with it. Kyle Rivington placed her over second on that mammary advantage, with teats more centrally placed under the quarters. Exhibited by Beckridge Holsteins and Fraeland Farms of Keswick, ON, she’s also Best Bred & Owned. Rivington said she fits the mold of his first cow class, with balance through her frame.
FRAELAND BECKRIDGE ENERGY BRIE, HOCANF14505539 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS BEST UDDER IN CLASS HM INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, FRAELAND FARMS, KESWICK, ON
RICKHAVEN ILLUSTRATOR BLINK, HOCANF14608863 RICKHAVEN HOLSTEINS LTD, DRAYTON, ON
SPRING 2 YEAR OLD
Born between March 1st, 2024 and May 31st, 2024
Ulmar Lambda Dorthe wins the Spring 2-Year-Old class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Ulmar Lambda Dorthe wins the Spring 2-Year-Old class on extension and quality, and Kyle Rivington said she has plenty of both. She also takes Best Udder in Class and Best Bred & Owned. Exhibited by Agriber Societa Agricola SRL, Beckridge Holsteins, Oscar & Eric Dupasquier, Pfister Dairy and Quality Holsteins, she leads a one-two finish for the same group, with Quality Master Evelynn second. Rivington noted some cows in the class had been milking a lot longer than others.
ULMAR LAMBDA DORTHE, HOCANF14503013 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS BEST UDDER IN CLASS RESERVE INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION AGRIBER SOCIETA AGRICOLA SRL, BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, OSCAR & ERIC DUPASQUIER, PFISTER DAIRY, QUALITY HOLSTEINS
QUALITY MASTER EVELYNN, HOCANF14627415 AGRIBER SOCIETA AGRICOLA SRL, BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, OSCAR & ERIC DUPASQUIER, PFISTER DAIRY, QUALITY HOLSTEINS
PEACE&PLENTY ENERGY JUB271, HOUSAF145692984 BILL GIBSON, RADOMERE HOLSTEINS, ROSIEVIEW HOLSTEINS, STAYNER, ON
BLONDIN SALUTE TEARFUL, HOCANF121589142 MAPLEKEYS FARMS, AYLMER, ON
EXCELERANT REAL HOT-RED-ET, HO840F3213061648 ALLARWAY HOLSTEINS, MT. ELGIN DAIRY FARMS, SUNNY TERRACE HOLSTEINS, BRANTFORD, ON
QUALITY PERENNIAL APRIL, HOCANF14627422 QUALITY HOLSTEINS, VAUGHAN, ON
LEIGHSIDE GOLDENFLO GRETA, HOCANF14861047 BECKHOLM HOLSTEINS, SUNDERLAND, ON
HIDDENVIEW MASTER BRADY, HOCANF14958426 DONOVAN MARTIN, JASON MARTIN, MASON BUCKLEY, ELMIRA, ON
SUNNYBLOOM DR PERFECT BRIT, HOCANF14985729 BLOOMFIELD FARMS LTD, ILDERTON, ON
WINTER 2 YEAR OLD
Born between December 1st, 2023 and February 29th, 2024
🏆 Clarkvalley Doc Roller wins the Winter 2-Year-Old class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Clarkvalley Doc Roller wins the Winter 2-Year-Old class and takes Best Udder in Class with it. Exhibited by Mt. Elgin Dairy Farms of Guelph, ON, she heads a seven-head class that Kyle Rivington called another beautiful group of cows. Clear-I Eyecandy Flan stands second for Beckridge Holsteins and Quality Holsteins, and Bridgeview Sidekick Adrianna earns Best Bred & Owned for Bridgeview Farms of Brantford.
CLARKVALLEY DOC ROLLER, HOCANF14641922 BEST UDDER IN CLASS MT. ELGIN DAIRY FARMS, GUELPH, ON
CLEAR-I EYECANDY FLAN, HO840F3268715039 BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, QUALITY HOLSTEINS, KESWICK, ON
HODGLYNN MAXIMUM AURORA, HOCANF14971450 MCCALLUM FARMS LTD, MICHAEL & JESSICA PHOENIX, BRADFORD, ON, NL
BUDJON-MB DL FRANNY-ET, HO840F3267547823 KENTVILLE HOLSTEINS, MELANCTHON, ON
CADDEDALE MASTER A-OK, HOCANF14861003 FRANKHAVEN HOLSTEINS, INGERSOLL, ON
MS TANG EC A THOUSAND-ET, HO840F3269425894 BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, JENNA MASTERSON, KESWICK, ON
BRIDGEVIEW SIDEKICK ADRIANNA, HOCANF14927143 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS BRIDGEVIEW FARMS, BRANTFORD, ON
FALL 2 YEAR OLD
Born between September 1st, 2023 and November 30th, 2023
🏆 Perrinridge Master Haddie wins the Fall 2-Year-Old class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Perrinridge Master Haddie wins the Fall 2-Year-Old class and takes both Best Udder in Class and Best Bred & Owned. She’s exhibited by Agriber Societa Agricola SRL, Beckridge Holsteins, Perrinridge Farms Ltd. and Quality Holsteins, and heads an eight-head class under Kyle Rivington. Karnview Harris Jagr stands second for Impact Farms and Karnview Farms Inc. of Stratford, ON.
PERRINRIDGE MASTER HADDIE, HOCANF14804360 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS BEST UDDER IN CLASS AGRIBER SOCIETA AGRICOLA SRL, BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, PERRINRIDGE FARMS LTD, QUALITY HOLSTEINS
ROSEVINE LAMBDA PHILLIE, HOCANF14894228 MT. ELGIN DAIRY FARMS, GUELPH, ON
BENBIE DETECTIVE CAMDEN, HOCANF14845621 MT. ELGIN DAIRY FARMS, GUELPH, ON
JUNIOR 3 YEAR OLD
Born between March 1st, 2023 and August 31st, 2023
🏆 Karnview Harris Reflex wins the Junior 3-Year-Old class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Karnview Harris Reflex wins the Junior 3-Year-Old class, and Kyle Rivington named her Best Udder in Class for the levelness of her udder floor. He said he tried his top two a couple of different ways, and credited second with more spring of rib and volume of frame. Exhibited by Karnview Farms Inc. of Woodstock, ON, Reflex also takes Best Bred & Owned in a 10-head class that Rivington called deep.
KARNVIEW HARRIS REFLEX, HOCANF14767390 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS BEST UDDER IN CLASS KARNVIEW FARMS INC, WOODSTOCK, ON
CLOVIS SIDEKICK MADYSON, HOCANF121065938 FRANKHAVEN HOLSTEINS, MARTHAVEN HOLSTEINS, MOBILE HOLSTEINS, INGERSOLL, ON
MAPLEKEYS ADMIRE OOH LALA, HOCANF14632410 MAPLEKEYS FARMS, AYLMER, ON
KARNVIEW CHIEF CARAMEL, HOCANF14767391 KARNVIEW FARMS INC, WOODSTOCK, ON
KARNVIEW LAMBDA AMATEUR, HOCANF14510140 KARNVIEW FARMS INC, WOODSTOCK, ON
CARLDOT DELTA LAMBDA LILAH, HOCANF14688798 ANDREW DEN HAAN, MOUNT KOLB FARM, PLUM VALLEY HOLSTEINS, FERGUS, ON
KARNVIEW CHIEF LOVESTORY, HOCANF14510145 KARNVIEW FARMS INC, WOODSTOCK, ON
MIKELHOLM TSTRUCK ARUBA-ET, HO840F3211443317 FRANKHAVEN HOLSTEINS, FRASER DOAN, INGERSOLL, ON
DUCKETT LAMBDA NOLA-ET, HO840F3272442016 ROYAL LYNN HOLSTEINS, CAYUGA, ON
Born between September 1st, 2022 and February 28th, 2023
🏆 Miss Tatoo Fern-ET wins the Senior 3-Year-Old class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Frame length and mobility put Miss Tatoo Fern-ET at the top of the Senior 3-Year-Old class, and she takes Best Udder in Class as well. Kyle Rivington liked her teat size and shape, and placed her over second on rear teat placement. She’s exhibited by Agriber Societa Agricola SRL, Beckridge Holsteins, Marcello Ladina, Oscar & Eric Dupasquier and Quality Holsteins, and went on to be named Reserve Grand Champion.
MISS TATOO FERN-ET, HO840F3260842975 BEST UDDER IN CLASS RESERVE GRAND CHAMPION AGRIBER SOCIETA AGRICOLA SRL, BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, MARCELLO LADINA, OSCAR & ERIC DUPASQUIER, QUALITY HOLSTEINS
MAPLETIER ALONGSIDE SIERRA, HOCANF13878117 ALLARWAY HOLSTEINS, FRANKHAVEN HOLSTEINS, KENNETH R. EMPEY, MARTHAVEN HOLSTEINS, BRANTFORD, ON
HODGLYNN ALPHA ASPEN, HOCANF14476542 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS HODGLYNN HOLSTEINS, KINCARDINE, ON
EIXDALE REDEYE POWERPUFF, HOCANF14486059 ANDREW DEN HAAN, MOUNT KOLB FARM, PLUM VALLEY HOLSTEINS, FERGUS, ON
KNONAUDALE MORGAN WALLEN, HOCANF14593953 MT. ELGIN DAIRY FARMS, GUELPH, ON
4 YEAR OLD COW
Born between September 1st, 2021 and August 31st, 2022
🏆 Martin-View Doc Hot Shot wins the 4-Year-Old Cow class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Frame carried Martin-View Doc Hot Shot to the top of the 4-Year-Old Cow class. Kyle Rivington called her a frame cow with a great udder, and placed her over second for being a lot longer and more open through her frame. He also gave her the edge in rump structure, carrying her pins a little lower. Exhibited by Maplekeys Farms of Aylmer, ON, she tops what Rivington called an extremely impressive group of 4-year-olds.
MARTIN-VIEW DOC HOT SHOT, HOCANF14391409 MAPLEKEYS FARMS, AYLMER, ON
HARVDALE BENEFIT FAITH, HOCANF14346275 BEST UDDER IN CLASS BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS HARVDALE HOLSTEINS, STAYNER, ON
GENDARRA LAMBDA TREMCLAD, HOCANF13920441 ANDREW DEN HAAN, MOUNT KOLB FARM, PLUM VALLEY HOLSTEINS, FERGUS, ON
KENTVILLE CHIEF BETTY, HOCANF14293971 JOEL PHOENIX, KENTVILLE HOLSTEINS, WERRHURST HOLSTEINS, CANNINGTON, ON
LILYKING R LAMBDA JAZLYN, HOCANF13597059 AGRIBER SOCIETA AGRICOLA SRL, BECKRIDGE HOLSTEINS, BONNECHERE HOLSTEINS, LILYKING FARM, OSCAR & ERIC DUPASQUIER, QUALITY HOLSTEINS, RIPPLEBROOK FARM
5 YEAR OLD COW
Born between September 1st, 2020 and August 31st, 2021
🏆 Shadywillo Randall Cajun wins the 5-Year-Old Cow class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Shadywillo Randall Cajun wins the 5-Year-Old Cow class on balance and udder, and Kyle Rivington named her Best Udder in Class. He placed her over second for more openness through her midsection and rib cage, plus the advantage in her mammary system, with more quality to the texture of her udder. Exhibited by Andrew Den Haan, Mount Kolb Farm and Plum Valley Holsteins of Fergus, ON, she heads four 5-year-olds that Rivington called really nice.
SHADYWILLO RANDALL CAJUN, HOCANF13660347 BEST UDDER IN CLASS ANDREW DEN HAAN, MOUNT KOLB FARM, PLUM VALLEY HOLSTEINS, FERGUS, ON
HARVDALE MOOLIGAN MAELYN, HOCANF13739584 BEST BRED & OWNED IN CLASS HARVDALE HOLSTEINS, STAYNER, ON
HYDEN LAMBDA DUCHESS, HOCANF13847026 FRANKHAVEN HOLSTEINS, INGERSOLL, ON
INTENSE DEVOUR GIGGLE, HOCANF120551206 HARVDALE HOLSTEINS, STAYNER, ON
MATURE COW
Born before September 1st, 2020
🏆 Carleton Bad To The Bone wins the Mature Cow class | Autumn Opportunity Holstein Show Judge: Kyle Rivington, ON
Balance and udder won it for Carleton Bad To The Bone in the Mature Cow class. Kyle Rivington called his top two very different in makeup and went with the moderate-sized, really balanced cow. He placed her over second for a more level udder floor and the shape at the top of her rear udder. Exhibited by Hodglynn Holsteins of Kincardine, ON, she takes Best Udder and went on to be named Grand Champion.
CARLETON BAD TO THE BONE, HOCANF13097129 GRAND CHAMPION BEST UDDER HODGLYNN HOLSTEINS, KINCARDINE, ON
From shaping 20-generation genetics to bringing healthcare-level analytics to farm strategy, eight women show how they built careers in modern dairy. Plus: a practical starting point for outsiders weighing a career in ag, and blunt lessons for the farm owners trying to hire them.
Margaret Johnson grew up on a dairy where her family milked 27 cows, and she assumed her career would take her somewhere else. She studied agricultural communications, completed an internship, and started picturing a life off the farm. But throughout college she’d also worked on a much larger dairy, and she loved it. She realized she missed farming. Today she farms with her husband, Michael, and father-in-law, Jon, at Trailside Holsteins in Fountain, Minnesota, and holds a master’s degree in agronomy.
“I think one of the things I wish people understood more is that dairy farmers have educations, and many of us had other options and opportunities,” she told U.S. Dairy. “We chose to be dairy farmers.”
The women in dairy profiled here chose it too, and their work varies widely. One helps steer a herd’s breeding program. One brought a healthcare-administration career to farm business strategy. Others read cow data before breakfast, manage land over fragile groundwater, run their own business, or help manage a herd of about 1,600 cows without having grown up on a farm. Here’s how each of them got there, what she does, and what keeps her in it.
About the campaign: Seven of these women are featured in Portraits of Modern Dairy, which Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), the dairy checkoff organization funded by U.S. dairy farmers and dairy importers, launched on October 12, 2026. Good Morning America carried a segmenton the campaign the same morning; ABC News identifies Dairy Does More as a sponsor of “GMA.” The seven women’s profiles and quotes come from the campaign’s farm pages. The eighth, Courtney Banach, is The Bullvine’s additional example, drawn from a separately published profile. Census figures are USDA’s. The analysis and career routes are The Bullvine’s.
The Women, and the Work They Chose
Lolly Lesher – Way-Har Farms, Bernville, PA
Lolly Lesher and her husband, William, took over Way-Har Farms, a dairy of about 350 cows with a farm market the family opened in 1970. She’s co-owner of Way-Har Farms and Farm Market, has spent decades connecting people directly to the farm through that market, and chairs the National Dairy Board, according to the DMI launch release. Part of what she values is the community around the farm: former teenage employees have come back years later to work there again, the farm’s profile notes. “I think it speaks volumes that people want to come back and work for us – or that now their grandchildren are working for us,” she says.
“It’s a lifestyle, but it’s also our career. It’s what we chose to do professionally.” — Lolly Lesher
Jaylene Lesher – Way-Har Farms, Bernville, PA
Jaylene grew up milking cows, raising calves and showing cattle through 4-H. She didn’t come straight home after school. She went to college and spent several years working on another dairy before returning with, in her profile’s words, “new experiences and a fresh perspective.” Today she helps guide Way-Har’s genetics and breeding program, per the farm’s profile. Every cow carries an identification number, and the family can trace some maternal lines back nearly 20 generations. Those records inform today’s breeding decisions. It’s long-term work: the matings she helps choose can influence which cow families the herd builds on for generations.
Alice Crothers – Long Green Farms, Rising Sun, MD
Alice Crothers didn’t grow up on a dairy. She built her skills in business strategy and operations in healthcare administration. In 2015, she and her husband, Caleb, moved their young family more than 600 miles to his family’s eighth-generation farm. When she talks about the 160-cow farm, she starts with financial decisions and technology. Since 2015, the family has added a methane digester that produces renewable electricity, recycled more than 90% of its sand bedding, and expanded cover cropping. DMI’s release describes Alice applying business strategy to decisions from finances to that digester. She frames those projects as long-term investments, not side projects: “If it benefits the land, soil and water, it ultimately benefits our business.”
“You can’t run a business on feelings, emotion or tradition. Each decision has to be strategic, analytical and a sound business decision.” — Alice Crothers
Kyndra Brown – Moo-View Dairy, Dublin, TX
Kyndra Brown is a fourth-generation dairy farmer who spent years after high school moving cows and cleaning pens without knowing why. “I was just doing it,” she says. She stepped away and found she missed being outside, the physical work and, most of all, the animals, her profile says. She came back more curious. Now she describes her job in one word, monitoring: learning what’s normal for each cow and spotting the one that isn’t. She finds it hard to leave at the end of the day. On a last drive around the dairy, she’ll notice a flush tank that needs attention or a mister that needs fixing to keep cows cool in the Texas heat. And the early mornings she once just pushed through are now some of her favorite hours.
“There’s something about being up when it’s still dark, before the rest of the world’s awake and before the world gets busy.” — Kyndra Brown
Emily Schaapman – Schaapman Holsteins, Abbeville, GA
Emily Schaapman studied Agricultural Business Management at Penn State, then moved to Georgia, where her now-husband, Ruben, grew up on his family’s dairy. The couple later worked around dairy farms in Florida, and she admits, “I felt a little lost in what I was trying to do.” So she built something of her own. In 2018, she launched Dairy Girl Fitness, which grew from an Instagram page into a coaching business through which she has helped hundreds of women in dairy and agriculture with fitness and nutrition, her profile says. In 2025, she and Ruben, a dairy nutritionist, returned to his family’s farm, which milks about 1,200 cows, where she works across the operation and tells its story publicly. Her profile doesn’t gloss over the hard parts: early mornings, late nights, missed events. What makes it worth it for her is working alongside her family.
“We get to do this with our family. That’s also not something that many people get to do.” — Emily Schaapman
Margaret Johnson – Trailside Holsteins, Fountain, MN
Margaret brings her knowledge of soil, crops and water to the farm, as DMI’s release puts it, and Trailside needs it. The farm sits on karst ground in southeast Minnesota, where sinkholes can connect directly to groundwater, her profile explains. The family grows its own crops, raises its own heifers and returns manure to the land, and every cow wears a monitoring tag she calls “kind of like a Fitbit for the cow.” She and Michael are working through succession planning now. For Margaret, part of the satisfaction is seeing the whole system work together: “We get to see everything come full circle on our farm.”
Meagan Hempfling is the sixth generation on her family’s farm and works alongside her grandfather, father and brother. She starts each morning with the calves, a job she especially enjoys because she sees each calf as part of the herd’s future. Four robotic milking systems serve about 250 Holsteins and record information such as milk production and milking speed at every visit, per her profile. She checks that data several times a day, because a change can point to a health problem sooner. The robots also gave the family flexibility: they can shift milking times around fieldwork or family events. What she’s proudest of, though, is the people beside her.
“What makes me proud of farming with my family is being with them throughout the day and being able to lean on each other during the good and hard times.” — Meagan Hempfling
Courtney Banach – Kayhart Brothers Dairy, Addison, VT
Courtney Banach didn’t grow up on a farm. She first got involved in Vermont agriculture through a camp at Shelburne Farms while growing up in South Burlington, the Addison Independent reported. She joined Kayhart Brothers Dairy in January 2018 with one semester of college left and worked there through 2020, then spent four and a half years managing a herd at Daona Farm in Shoreham. In June 2026, she returned to Kayhart, where she oversees the health, breeding and well-being of a herd of about 1,600 cows, according to a profile published by Phoenix Feeds & Nutrition, the farm’s feed supplier. The Addison Independent describes her as a co-herdsman there. She’s one of the Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame’s 2026 inductees, recognized as Emerging Leader. At Daona, she hosted more than 700 elementary students on a farm tour. She’s candid about starting as an outsider: “Trying to get into ag, I felt like I kind of had to prove myself.” Now, she says, “We’re not quite seen as an outsider anymore.”
Where Women in Dairy Stand Today
Women made up 30% of producers on specialized U.S. dairy farms in both the 2017 and 2022Census of Agriculture highlights. Across all U.S. agriculture, the 2022 figure was 36%. Total dairy producers fell about 34% over those years, from 74,988 to 49,468, as the number of specialized dairy farms fell from 37,750 to 23,153. Applying the 30% share, Bullvine estimates roughly 22,500 women dairy producers in 2017 and roughly 14,800 in 2022. Because the share held, that estimated drop simply mirrors the decline in producers overall. The census can’t show who left, who started, or why. It also counts people involved in running specialized dairy farms, not every woman who works in dairy.
There’s a bright spot for anyone thinking about getting in: 17% of all dairy producers were under 35 in 2022, nearly twice the 9% for agriculture overall.
If You Didn’t Grow Up on a Dairy
All seven campaign women farm within family operations. Courtney didn’t, and her path shows that a woman without a family farm can reach herd management. These routes are U.S.-based, and placements depend on location and availability.
Pennsylvania’s apprenticeship is open to existing employees as well as new hires. Ask your employer about it.
Returning to a family farm
Annie’s Project for farm business and succession education. Agree on pay, authority and long-term plans up front.
Bringing another profession
Transferable skills plus farm training: business, finance, analytics and agronomy carry over, as Alice’s and Margaret’s careers show, alongside hands-on learning about cows and crops.
Aiming for ownership
Build experience and a business plan first. The Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship describes itself as a guided pathway to independent farm ownership.
Program requirements at a glance:
Pennsylvania Dairy Herd Manager Apprenticeship: registered with the state Department of Labor and Industry. Applicants must be 18 or older and hold a high school diploma or GED; farm experience is preferred but not required. The program requires at least 3,000 hours of paid on-the-job training plus 216 hours of unpaid related technical instruction. Ask how that instruction is scheduled and whether it carries costs. The Bullvine covered the program’s first two graduates in April.
Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship: paid and registered with the U.S. Department of Labor. It runs for two years with a mentor on a managed-grazing dairy and lists more than 200 mentors in 16 states.
To meet women across all of these routes, contact Dairy Girl Network or ask about mentoring and local events. If travel and coverage allow, its Forward TogetHER national conference runs October 27–29, 2026, in Lexington, Kentucky.
What to Ask Before You Take a Dairy Job
Passion gets you in the door. The terms of the job decide whether you stay.
Cash wage and hours. What’s the hourly wage or salary, and what weekly hours and shift pattern come with it, including weekends?
Raises and benefits. How do raises work, and what benefits come with the job? Which are guaranteed in writing, and which are informal? A benefit only counts if you’ll use it and understand its conditions.
Housing, if offered. What are the terms, are any deductions taken, and what happens to the housing when the job ends?
Training and reviews. Who teaches you, and how is your progress reviewed?
Time off and coverage. Who covers absences, days off and family events? Robots gave Hemsteads flexibility. Clear staffing plans and shared responsibilities can create flexibility too, without the capital cost.
Safety and respect. What safety training comes first, and how do you raise a concern about safety or treatment?
Advancement. What does the next role look like? An apprentice “took over a lot of the reproduction work and excelled” and took charge of evening milking, Katie Sattazahn of Zahncroft Dairy, one of the program’s employer farms, told the Center for Dairy Excellence.
Buying a farm isn’t the first step for a beginner. When ownership comes into view, USDA’s Farm Service Agency offers a Down Payment Loan program for beginning farmers. Confirm current eligibility and terms with your local FSA office and a lender.
For Farm Owners: Earn the Talent
If you want skilled women managing your robots or leading your genetics program, a vague promise of “experience” won’t cut it. Several of the women in this story arrived with degrees or outside careers. Alice came from healthcare administration, and Margaret holds a master’s in agronomy. Strong candidates have options. Your offer has to give them a reason to choose your dairy.
Define responsibilities and authority. Spell out what she manages, what she decides on her own, and what goes to the owners. At Schaapman Holsteins, herd health, calves, maintenance, nutrition and daily operations each have a named family member responsible.
Share the numbers her job needs. Future managers need the financial information relevant to their decisions. The Pennsylvania apprenticeship expects host farms to expose apprentices to “financial information and management team meetings” as part of their training, per the Center for Dairy Excellence.
Pay competitively, in writing. Spell out the wage, raise schedule, benefits and any housing terms.
Show the path forward. That might mean more responsibility, better pay, more autonomy or, for some, a route to equity. People stay for different reasons. Advancement, fair pay and meaningful work matter as much as ownership.
Cover the time. Training, conferences and days off only happen when someone covers the chores.
The farm that does this has a recruiting edge. The farm that doesn’t runs a greater risk of losing the people it trained.
Your First Step Into Dairy
Margaret had other options and chose dairy anyway. Here’s how to find out whether it could be your choice, too.
Pick the work that pulls you: breeding, calves, herd health, crops, data, business or communications.
Talk to a woman who does it. Dairy Girl Network, Annie’s Project or your extension office can connect you.
Look for a paid role or a training program, such as an apprenticeship or a paid entry job with structured training.
Ask how the job grows: what would you manage in a year, and decide in three?
Eight women found their way into dairy careers through different doors. Pick one route to explore, ask good questions, and you’ll be making the choice on your own terms.
Key Takeaways
Leadership in dairy runs at every level. Lolly Lesher chairs the National Dairy Board, while her daughter Jaylene helps guide breeding decisions on the same Pennsylvania farm.
You don’t need a family farm to start. Courtney Banach never grew up on one and now helps manage about 1,600 cows. Pennsylvania’s herd manager apprenticeship prefers farm experience but doesn’t require it.
Women made up 30% of producers on specialized U.S. dairy farms in both 2017 and 2022, roughly 14,800 women by Bullvine’s estimate. The share has held; moving it is the work.
Ask what keeps someone in dairy, not just what it pays. For Meagan Hempfling, it’s leaning on family through good and hard times; for Kyndra Brown, the hours before the world gets busy.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
Learn More
5 Hard Truths About Labor and Robotic Milking ROI Under 500 Cows — Equip your management team to evaluate automation quotes by calculating true hourly labor costs against hybrid alternatives. This breakdown arms you with the math to achieve robotic efficiency using activity monitors, avoiding a million-dollar debt.
Mastering Dairy Farm Succession Planning: A Step-By-Step Guide — Beating the seventy-percent failure rate for second-generation farms demands formalizing land titles, establishing equity pathways, and building conflict resolution protocols. This strategic framework dismantles the communication barriers that destroy family operations during ownership handoffs.
AI for AI: Why Your Breeding Program Might Be Stuck in the Dark Ages — Artificial intelligence systems currently identify optimal matings and predict subclinical health issues forty-eight hours before physical symptoms appear. This disruptor analysis reveals how algorithmic semen selection cuts days open and injects twenty-three thousand dollars into annual herd margins.
Select Sires calls Luster-P the highest-selling polled sire in Holstein history. His grandson Logic-PP debuted third on Canada’s proven LPI list at 3909, and two of Logic’s PP sons come from a maternal half-sibling mating.
Nearly one million units. That’s the semen-sales total Select Sires put on Cherry-Lily Zip Luster-P when it announced his death on October 27, 2025, weeks short of his ninth birthday. The stud calls him the highest-selling polled sire in the history of the Holstein breed. Rick VerBeek, Select’s senior Holstein sire analyst, said the mating was meant to produce a breed-leading homozygous polled bull: “While we were not lucky enough to get a homozygous Polled bull, we succeeded in creating one of the breed’s most influential, all-around sires of recent times.”
Luster-P doesn’t prove that every polled bull is elite. He proves the best polled options now compete near the top of the rankings.
The more interesting story is what came after. Drewholme Logic-PP, a Luster-P grandson in Ontario, came out at 3909 LPI on his first daughter proof in August 2026, with 173 daughters in 87 herds behind it. That put him third on Lactanet’s August 2026 domestic proven LPI list. He already has 10 homozygous polled sons in AI. Two of them come from a mating between maternal half-siblings, out of a daughter of Logic’s own dam.
A Bull With a Thin Paper Trail
Cherry-Lily Zip Luster-P (Zipit-P x Kingboy) came from a sire who saw little use and a second dam who was never scored. Select Sires calls him the highest-selling polled sire in Holstein history. He died in October 2025.
Luster-P was born in November 2016, bred by Hembury Farms and Marshman Farms of Muncy, Pennsylvania. He spent his career at Select Sires in Ohio.
His pedigree came with limited information. His sire, OCD Eraser Zipit-P, saw very little use because he was a poor semen producer. His dam, Cherry-Lor KBoy Loma-ET, was a VG-85 Kingboy. His second dam, a Supersire, was flushed as a heifer, never got pregnant and was never scored. That’s a gap in the record, not evidence she was weak. The proven depth sat one generation further back, in Tiger-Lily Lawnboy Lulu-Red, dam of Tiger-Lily Ladd-P-Red.
On farms, he dominated his matings. Across very different dams, his daughters kept showing balance, strong mammary systems and a habit of standing out in heifer pens. He could add teat length, put more set in the leg and lower the pins. That helps the cows that need it, and only those cows. Breeder Jorden Siemers described him as a balancer: use him on production cows to add type, or on type cows to add production.
OConnors Luster Love-P VG-87-VG-MS (Luster-P x Light My Fire), owned by Silvercap Holsteins and Vector Genetics, Puslinch, Ont. Balance and a strong mammary system, across very different dams, are what kept breeders coming back to Luster.
Daughters and Sons Who Carried It Forward
His best-known daughter, Siemers Lstr Hanan 33317-ET EX-91, was the 2024 Global Cow of the Year. She’s the dam of Hanx-P, Holy-P and Hulu-RC. Another daughter, Penn-England Candy 15944-P VG-87, is the dam of Penn-England Chew-P.
Two Canadian sons took the line further. Stantons Remover-PP is now #1 on Lactanet’s August 2026 proven LPI list at 3945. Vogue A2P2-PP EX-97 is Logic’s sire and the link to the next generation.
The Lambda Cow at Drewholme
Brian Carscadden of Blondin Sires was on the road in western Ontario when he saw a young Lambda cow at Andrew Martin’s Drewholme herd near Listowel. Her dam and granddam were both Excellent. Carscadden asked a price, and Blondin bought her in partnership with Quality Farms as a genetic cow. That fall, in 2021, she placed second in the summer two-year-old class at the National Holstein Show.
Drewholme Lambda Leysure P EX-92-5YR (Delta-Lambda x Zipit-P), the Drewholme cow Blondin bought with Quality Farms. Her second A2P2-PP son, Logic, ranked #3 on Lactanet’s August 2026 proven LPI list. His proof follows.
She was Drewholme Lambda Leysure P, a Delta-Lambda daughter of Drewholme Zipit Leysure P EX-90. She comes from the Ravenswell Lydia family behind Idee Lustre EX-95, the same family that produced Rockymountain Talent Licorice EX-95 and Winterbay Goldwyn Lotto EX-95. She’s now EX-92-5YR. She had two A2P2-PP bull calves. The first, Leyhigh, went to Semex. The second tested slightly higher. That was Logic.
Logic-PP’s August 2026 Canadian proof
Measure
Logic-PP (CDN, August 2026)
LPI
3909, 91% reliability
Milk
−18 kg
Fat
+124 kg, +1.05%
Protein
+43 kg, +0.34%
Conformation
+16
Production daughters / herds
173 / 87
Herd life
105 (92% rel.)
Daughter fertility
95 (GPA, 83% rel.)
Hoof health
96 (GPA, 77% rel.)
Rear legs side view
−11 (toward straight)
Bone quality
0
Milking speed
103 (92% rel.)
Source: Blondin Sires, CDN-202608, accessed October 12, 2026. Canadian scale; don’t compare directly with U.S. values. GPA = genomic parent average, which Lactanet describes as a blend of parent average and the animal’s direct genomic value.
Canadian measure
August 2026 value
What the value establishes
Selection consideration
Milk
−18 kg
Near-neutral yield relative to the Canadian base
Limited predicted volume improvement
Fat
+124 kg; +1.05 percentage points
Positive yield and concentration breeding values
Assess against the milk-payment system
Protein
+43 kg; +0.34 percentage points
Positive yield and concentration breeding values
Assess alongside fertility and health
Conformation
+16
Positive overall type evaluation
Overall type does not eliminate individual weaknesses
Source: Blondin Sires, CDN-202608. Production evaluation: 173 daughters in 87 herds; LPI 3909 at 91% reliability.
With Remover-PP at #1 and Logic-PP at #3 on Lactanet’s August list, two of Canada’s top three proven bulls are homozygous polled. The bull between them, Siemers Rengd Parfect-ET at 3932, isn’t polled.
The numbers explain what “extreme components” means here. At −18 kg, Logic offers little predicted milk-volume improvement over the Canadian genetic base. His strengths are fat, protein and conformation at +16.
Drewholme Logic Sparkle-P VG-2YR, a polled Logic daughter. One cow isn’t a proof: Logic’s +16 for conformation comes from his August 2026 daughter evaluation, and the cautions on legs and bone follow.
Carscadden says he’d protect Logic for slightly straight legs, bone quality and milk yield. The −11 for rear legs side view supports the straight-leg caution. Bone quality at 0 is a neutral value on that scale, so the bone caution is his assessment rather than something the number proves.
Daughter fertility (95) and hoof health (96) are below 100 and still reported as GPA, so they may move as more information enters the evaluation. His 103 for milking speed fits Carscadden’s view that daughters milk out faster than average.
None of that makes Logic an automatic choice for every herd paid on components. Fertility, feet, legs, relationship to your cows, semen price and the alternatives all still count.
Drewholme Supershot Leisure EX-92-5E 5*, Logic-PP’s great-granddam, with more than 100,000 kg lifetime by 2024. Her Zipit-P daughter, Drewholme Zipit Leysure P, is Logic’s maternal granddam. That’s how Zipit-P ends up on both sides of his pedigree.
His pedigree adds one more detail: Logic is already line-bred. OCD Eraser Zipit-P, Luster’s sire, also sired Logic’s maternal granddam, Drewholme Zipit Leysure P. That puts Zipit-P on both sides of Logic’s pedigree (Bullvine analysis of the Blondin, Select Sires and Holstein Canada records).
The Half-Sibling Mating
Unleash-PP and Spare Time-PP were bred under the Drewholme prefix and are marketed by Semex. Semex’s sire sheet for Drewholme Unleash-PP, with evaluations dated August 2026, lists his parents:
Sire: Logic-PP.
Dam:Drewholme Conway Spare Time P VG-85-2YR, a Sandy-Valley R Conway daughter.
Maternal granddam: Drewholme Lambda Leysure P EX-92.
Lambda Leysure P is also Logic’s dam, so Unleash’s parents are maternal half-siblings. Herd records published in October 2026 list a second son from the same mating, Drewholme Spare Time-PP, also at Semex. Semex’s April 2026 Holstein Highlights describes him the same way: a Logic son out of a VG-2YR Conway maternal sister to Leyhigh-PP.
That puts Lambda Leysure P two generations back on both sides of Unleash-PP. She’s his paternal granddam through Logic and his maternal granddam through Conway Spare Time P.
Same cow, both sides: Lambda Leysure P is Unleash-PP’s paternal and maternal granddam.
Pedigree loops: what 12.5% does and doesn’t mean
This is an illustration, not a measurement (Bullvine calculation from the published pedigree). A mating between maternal half-siblings creates one shared-dam loop. If the shared dam isn’t inbred herself, that loop alone contributes 12.5% to the offspring’s pedigree inbreeding coefficient. That isn’t a measured genomic coefficient, and it isn’t a complete pedigree calculation. Other shared ancestors further back can raise the total, and a full calculation has to count each valid path once without double-counting overlapping ancestry.
Close matings concentrate whatever a family carries, desirable and undesirable alike. The published pedigree establishes the relationship. It doesn’t tell us the breeder’s reasoning, or whether this mating’s gains outweighed its tradeoffs.
U.S. sire data put Unleash-PP’s expected future inbreeding at 12.1% and Spare Time-PP’s at 12.0%, against 9.9% for Luster-P. That’s the predicted inbreeding of their daughters across the breed, not the 12.5% loop in their own pedigree.
The breeding decision downstream is a separate question. A bull’s own inbreeding doesn’t tell you the predicted inbreeding of his calves out of a particular cow. That depends on how related he is to her.
Logic’s Sons and the Ancestors They Share
Logic has 10 PP sons in AI, all with extreme components and double-digit conformation. Here’s what the best-known of them carry, and what to look for in your own cows before you use them.
Son(s)
Dam side
Shared ancestors to check in your cows
Unleash-PP, Spare Time-PP (Semex)
Conway Spare Time P, Logic’s maternal half-sister
Lambda Leysure P (on both sides), Zipit-P, Luster-P, Vogue
Loaded-PP, Leverage-PP (Stantons full brothers)
A Remover-PP daughter
Luster-P twice (through Vogue and Remover), Zipit-P, Lambda Leysure P
Luster-P, Vogue, Zipit-P and Lambda Leysure P through Logic; dam side not traced here
Bullvine analysis of the Semex, Blondin and Holstein Canada pedigree records and the published herd history credited below.
This is one family’s route through North American polled breeding, and it isn’t the only one. In the Netherlands, CRV’s Delta Launch-PP-Red spread his influence mostly through daughters: about 16,000 milking by mid-2026, and a growing list of CRV bulls with him as maternal grandsire. In Germany, RUW’s Simon-P spread his through sons. He has 18 progeny-proven sons, 11 of them homozygous polled, plus descendants in France, Italy and Scandinavia. Some of those descendants, such as Rise Up, aren’t even polled. Launch and Simon deserve their own breakdown, and we’re working on one. For this mating decision the point is simpler. Polled progress isn’t running through a single sire, so the alternatives to a Logic son are real.
The question breeders need to ask has changed. “Is there a polled bull good enough?” now has an answer at the top of the rankings. The breed-wide question is genetic diversity, and this piece doesn’t measure the available pool. For a given herd, the decision is narrower: do you have enough suitable polled alternatives with low relationships to your own females?
What the Hot Iron Is Worth
A 2017 Journal of Dairy Science paper by Thompson and colleagues at Purdue, USDA-ARS and Michigan State put a price on dehorning. Under the study’s assumptions, producers could pay up to US$11.90 a head more for homozygous polled genetics, or US$4.17 a straw at a 35% conception rate. That’s measured against hot-iron disbudding without pain relief, the cheapest conventional method in the study. Heterozygous genetics came out at about half that, US$2.08 a straw, because half a heterozygous sire’s calves out of horned dams are expected to grow horns. Pain relief barely moved the math: the study priced it at US$11.90 a head.
Those are 2017 dollars. USDA NASS put U.S. livestock workers at US$18.15 an hour for the April 2025 reference week, up 4% from a year earlier. Our read: where disbudding labor is a real expense, the avoided cost is likely higher now. We haven’t re-run the model, though, so we won’t put a 2026 number on it.
As an illustration only (Bullvine math): 500 straws × US$4.17 = US$2,085, in 2017 dollars. Your farm’s number will differ. Beyond the avoided cost, a premium buys some mix of the bull’s genetic merit and the welfare and management value of not disbudding. Know which one you’re paying for. Our break-even analysis walks through the full method.
What This Means for Your Breeding Program
Check the genotype before you pay for it. P and PP aren’t the same product. Only PP sires guarantee every calf is polled. With horned dams, a heterozygous bull’s break-even in the 2017 study was about half as large.
Use Logic where he fits. He suits herds that need fat, protein and udders more than milk volume. Watch rear legs side view, the bone caution, fertility and hoof health, and expect the GPA traits to move.
Run the relationship check son by son. If your cows carry Luster, Vogue, Zipit-P or the Leysure family, pull predicted offspring inbreeding for each Logic son before you pick one. Use the table above as your list.
Judge descendants on their own proofs. Ancestry points you to candidates; the proof decides. That goes for Launch and Simon descendants too.
Keep proof systems separate. Canadian LPI, Dutch NVI and German RZG use different bases, so compare bulls within one system.
Price the premium against your own costs. Use your conception rate, straw count, wage rates and disbudding protocol, not the study’s 2017 assumptions.
Back to Nearly a Million
Nearly a million units is the number Select Sires put on Luster-P’s career. It was never the full measure of him.
A better measure is the Lambda cow Carscadden saw in the Drewholme barn. Blondin asked a price and bought her with Quality Farms as a genetic cow, and she finished second at the 2021 National that fall. Her son Logic now sits third on Canada’s proven LPI list, and his PP sons out of her Conway daughter are already at Semex.
At the top of the rankings, polled has caught up. What matters for the next mating is narrower: the bull’s own proof, and the predicted inbreeding of his calves out of the cow you’re breeding. For more on how polled sires reached the top, see Polled Just Hit 3371 TPI and our polled dairy cattle archive.
Key Takeaways
Logic-PP debuted #3 on Lactanet’s August 2026 proven LPI list at 3909 on his first daughter proof. That’s +124 kg fat and +43 kg protein against −18 kg milk, with fertility and hoof health still GPA.
Lambda Leysure P EX-92 is both paternal and maternal granddam of Unleash-PP. By our math, that one shared-dam loop alone adds 12.5% to his pedigree inbreeding before any older shared ancestors are counted.
With Remover-PP #1 and Logic-PP #3 in August 2026, polled isn’t the limit at the top of Canada’s proven list anymore. The thing to manage now is how closely a polled bull is related to your cows.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
Learn More
The Hot Iron’s Last Stand: Why Canada’s #1 Proven Bull Just Changed Everything — Calculate the true $22–$35 per-head cost of dehorning using a realistic three-year transition plan. By bypassing standard genetic proofs, this operational breakdown shows exactly when flipping your herd to 100% polled stops draining cash and starts generating immediate returns.
Gene Editing in Dairy: When the Revolution Makes Sense-And When It’s Just Expensive Hype — Separating guaranteed single-gene wins from complex traits that struggle to perform, this analysis exposes the financial reality behind the CRISPR buzz. Navigate regulatory hurdles and hidden costs to find exactly where edited genetics justify their hefty premium.
From Saving a Baby’s Life to Transforming Your Dairy Herd: The Gene Editing Revolution Is Here — The commercial pipeline for tomorrow’s engineered traits moves rapidly, projecting a three-year horizon on the POLLED locus and imminent mastitis resistance breakthroughs. Concrete projections detail how these targeted genetic shifts aim to eliminate a $2 billion industry problem.
At World Dairy Expo, 294 of the 339 kids in the showmanship ring went home without a ribbon. The senior judge’s closing message explains why that isn’t the same as losing.
You know the walk.
Your heifer is set up square. Your whites are still spotless after hours of waiting. The judge has looked your way twice, maybe three times. Then the pulls work their way down the line and stop one kid short of you.
You smile. You shake a hand. You lead her out past the family who drove you there. You keep it together all the way back to the barn, and then, sitting on a tack box where nobody can see, you don’t.
On Saturday, September 26, 294 young people left the colored shavings at World Dairy Expo without a neck ribbon. When the contest closed, the senior showmanship judge, Elizabeth Hall, took the microphone and said the line that has since traveled far beyond the Coliseum:
Her sister, Lana Beckard, wrote the speech down, called it “Winners Work,” and posted it. By September 29, it had been reshared hundreds of times.
If you’ve ever sat on that tack box, it was written for you.
339 Kids Did the Work. 45 Got a Ribbon.
Expo drew 339 competitors to the Youth Showmanship Contest: 101 juniors, 112 intermediates and 126 seniors. Hall’s seniors came through in seven heats, about 18 kids per heat.
Most kids reach those shavings after months of halter-breaking, washing, clipping and walking, plus the long drive to Madison. The math of a national show is unforgiving. Here is how the recognition split.
Six kids shared the $11,750 in cash, or 1.8% of the ring. Justin Brandel of Lake Mills, Wis., won the intermediate division and then Supreme Showman. Logan Harbaugh of Marion, Wis., won Hall’s senior division and then Reserve Supreme. Raegan Bossard of Fabius, N.Y., topped 101 juniors. They earned every bit of it, and you can read the full rundown in our World Dairy Expo 2026 champions report.
If banners are the only scoreboard, nearly nine out of 10 kids in that Coliseum failed on Saturday. Hall’s speech hands you a different scoreboard, one where all 339 had a chance.
She grew up as Elizabeth Olson on Raylore Farm, a registered Holstein farm in Hutchinson, Minn., that showed at county and state fairs, the same kind of rings where most of you started.
Then she kept going. According to her 2024 Minnesota State Fair judge biography, she made the collegiate judging team at the University of Minnesota and earned degrees in animal science and applied economics. Next came a move halfway across the country to Vermont, where the biography lists her as a senior sales representative for Elanco Animal Health and a marketing specialist at Fairmont Farm, an East Montpelier operation of roughly 1,500 Holsteins. By 2024, she had judged in 12 states.
Beckard also grew up on the family’s registered Holstein farm in Minnesota and now works in agricultural communications. Two sisters from one Minnesota dairy family made this moment. One said the words, and the other made sure they outlasted the day.
Winners Work on Themselves
Hall opened by admitting the obvious: “Of course, we all like to win.” Then she named the medals, banners, checks, and applause, called them nice, and put work above all of it. “The real win in life is to work. Winners work.”
The first kind of work happens in the mirror:
“They say, ‘How can I get better for next year? How can I get better tomorrow?’
“They ask for feedback, for coaching. They look inward at how they can get better. Losers will point outward.”
That’s the hardest walk at any show. It’s harder than the walk out of the ring. It’s the walk back across the barn to the judge, a fitter, or the herdsman two stalls down, eyes still red, to ask: “What would you have done differently with her?”
Winners Work No Matter What
“They work after a good show, a bad show, in the dead of winter, in the heat of summer.
“They show up and make it happen. Losers will wait for it to happen.”
Nobody sees most of it. You halter-break in February, rinse in July, and walk a calf on frozen gravel while your friends are inside. Those few minutes in the ring are built on months of unseen work.
The work never checks the results first. Whether your heifer was pulled first or last, the calves still need feeding Monday morning. The breeders, herd managers, vets, classifiers, and techs this industry will lean on in 20 years are sitting in that 294 right now. They’re the ones who’ll show up on every kind of Monday.
Winners Work When Things Don’t Feel Right
This is where the speech grew bigger than the youth ring, and you can hear the farmer in it:
“We all know our heifers sometimes don’t fill right, or cows don’t fill with milk right, or a cow drops in milk, or heifers don’t look right, or milk prices aren’t good. The list goes on.
“But winners stay neutral to things they can’t control, and losers will dwell on negativity.”
Look at that list. It runs from your show heifer to your fresh cow to your family’s milk check. Read it at 17 and here’s what it says: the sinking feeling of a bad fill on show day is the same feeling your parents carry through a bad price. Learning to stay steady through the first one is how you survive the second.
Staying neutral means deciding where your heart goes: away from what you can’t change and into what you can.
Winners Work at Being a Good Person
“They are humble when they get the recognition. They are hungry when they’re defeated.
“They’re team players. They’re happy when they see someone else win.
“And they give back. They serve others, and losers wait to be served.”
Humble when they win, hungry when they lose. Those two phrases cover both ends of that table. They give the six kids with checks a job, and they give the 294 kids without ribbons one too.
“Happy when they see someone else win” is the hardest one on the list. It means walking over to the kid who got pulled ahead of you and meaning the handshake. It means kneeling beside a nervous 9-year-old to help set her calf’s feet before her first big class.
Somebody did that for you once. Maybe a neighbor, a 4-H leader, an older kid from the next county. You probably still remember their name. Hall is asking you to be that name for somebody else.
Redefining the ‘L’ Word
In the version Beckard posted, the word shows up four times. It can sting, especially in a ring where most kids had just come up short.
Listen again, though. In her speech, losers point outward, wait for it to happen, dwell on negativity, and wait to be served. Every one of those is a choice a kid makes after the class, whatever the placing. By Hall’s definition, the kid sent out in the first cut of the seventh senior heat can walk out a winner. A champion who stops working loses, banner or no banner.
Karen Hunt made part of this case in these pages a decade ago, in “Learning how to handle failure builds character.” Hall went one step further. She gave a definition of winning any kid can meet on their worst day.
What to Do With It Before Next Season
A speech that gets reshared hundreds of times can be forgotten just as fast. Here’s how to keep this one:
Ask one question before you load out. Find a judge, a fitter, or a breeder you respect and ask what they’d change. Write the answer down that night.
Pick your February job. Choose one piece of work you’ll do every week this winter whether or not anyone sees it, like walking calves, clipping practice, or learning to read a pedigree.
Make the two-column list. On one side, the things you can’t control: the judge, the fill, the milk price. On the other, the things you can: your preparation, your attitude, your next ask for help. Spend your energy on the second column.
Shake the hand that beat you. Mean it.
Find your 9-year-old. At your next show, help one younger kid in the barn.
If you’re the parent, 4-H leader, or coach behind the wheel after a tough class, this part is yours.
Change one question. Swap “Where’d you place?” for Hall’s: “Did you work?” Then tell them you saw it. Name the early mornings, the extra rinse, the walk back across the barn to ask the judge a question.
Karen Hunt wrote to parents in her 2016 Bullvine piece: “When our children lose, as they inevitably will, they will learn to accept encouragement for the next time. The goal is to take the emphasis off winning and put it on mastery.” The ride home is where that encouragement starts.
And remember how this speech survived the day. Hall’s sister, Lana Beckard, wrote it down and shared it. You can do the same for the kid in your passenger seat by noticing the moment worth keeping and saying it out loud.
The Next Season of Life
Hall ended on what comes after the ring:
“So with that, as you leave this ring and enter the next season of life, ask yourself: did you work?
“All of you in this ring, you worked today, and for that I applaud you.”
Think about who said that: a woman who grew up on a Minnesota farm that showed at county fairs, standing in the middle of the Coliseum because young people like the ones in front of her asked her to be there.
Not all of you will stay in the show ring, and you don’t have to. Some of you will run the family herd. Some of you will breed cattle, or treat them, or classify them, or sell to the people who milk them. The ring is where you practice being the kind of person this industry needs, wherever you end up.
One of this year’s 294 could be holding that microphone someday. It could be the one who walked back to ask the judge a question, or the one who knelt down to help a 9-year-old. Maybe it’s you.
Whether you got pulled first, last, or not at all on September 26, the 2026 placings are written. Your next season isn’t.
So, did you work?
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2026 Dairy Show Guide: Judging, Type and Ring Craft — Arms you with updated PDCA scorecards and transition protocols to keep your projects competitive on the shavings. Breaks down how specific feed adjustments and modern ringcraft choices dictate whether an animal thrives or washes out.
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The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
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Bailey made it two. Peter Vail, 87, turned up in five breeds’ results. An 18-cow New Hampshire herd won Milking Shorthorn Grand again. Here’s the whole week in one read, with links to every report.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Supreme: Stoney Point Joel Bailey EX-97 won her second Supreme in three years.
The pattern: six of the week’s headline results came from cows repeating, improving on or reversing a 2025 placing.
The names behind the halters: Peter Vail’s ran through five breeds. Milk Source Genetics sat at or near the top in four.
The counterweight: small herds took Grand in Milking Shorthorn and Guernsey.
The breeding lesson: the Ayrshire show, where one sire took the top three senior cows and one cow family stood behind the Grand Champion.
Nathan Thomas reacts as Stoney Point Joel Bailey EX-97 is named Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo 2026, her second Supreme in three years, for Vierra Dairy Farms of Hilmar, Calif.
Friday afternoon in the Coliseum, both cows at the top of the Supreme lineup had been there before. Stoney Point Joel Bailey EX-97 was named Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo 2026, her second Supreme after 2024. In between, Vierra Dairy Farms’ Jersey was Grand Champion Jersey in 2025 and Supreme at the Royal that fall. Reserve Supreme went to Eixdale Pwrup Alongside, Milk Source Genetics’ Holstein Grand Champion and last year’s Honorable Mention Grand.
Madison 2026 rewarded cows that came back, the people who keep bringing them, and a few small barns that refused to be crowded out.
Every champion, on one page
Show
Grand Champion
Owner / Exhibitor
Reserve Grand
Judge
Supreme Champion
Stoney Point Joel Bailey EX-97 (Jersey)
Vierra Dairy Farms, Hilmar, Calif.
Eixdale Pwrup Alongside (Holstein)
—
Supreme Champion Heifer
Butlerview Glitter Girl-ET (Holstein)
Clarkvalley, K. Doeberiener, P. Conroy & Butlerview
Alyson Doiron of Cap-Santé, Que., wipes away tears as Arolene Dempsey Ella is named Supreme Champion of the World Dairy Expo 2026 Junior Show. Doiron led her own cow on the colored shavings for the first time.
Arolene Dempsey Ella was also Supreme Champion of the Junior Show.
Six cows built on last year, and that’s the lesson
Bailey: three straight years at the top of the Jersey breed in Madison. Mike Berry told the Coliseum he didn’t know if there had ever been a cow quite like her.
Dixie: GMBV Joel Dixie-ET stood Reserve to her for the second year running.
Alongside: went from Honorable Mention Grand to Grand. Her leadsman, John Vosters, had never led an Expo Grand Champion before.
Stevie: finished Reserve Grand behind Kadence Fames Lovely in 2025. This year, as a four-year-old, she swept Grand and Senior in both the open and Junior Guernsey shows.
Fired Up: won Milking Shorthorn Grand for the second straight year, now as an aged cow.
Cinderella: finished second to Coppenbarger Kingsire Trinity as a senior three-year-old in 2025, then beat her for Grand.
A cow that holds her udder and mobility from one lactation to the next is the same cow a commercial breeder is trying to make. Madison is just where she gets judged in public.
Judge Aaron Eaton shakes hands with the leadsman as Luck-E Devour Akooza-Red-ET is named Grand Champion of the 2026 International Red & White Show for Golden Oaks Farm of Wauconda, Ill. The five-year-old didn’t show last year. Eaton called her the best-uddered cow of the show.
Not every Grand had a history. Luck-E Devour Akooza-Red-ET didn’t show last year. Aaron Eaton made her Red & White Grand anyway, calling her the best-uddered cow of the show and “about as perfect as a picture as she stands there.”
Peter Vail, 87, watches from ringside at World Dairy Expo 2026. The week the Klussendorf Association made him an honorary member, Vail owned or co-owned placings in at least five breeds.
Peter Vail’s name ran through five breeds
The week the Klussendorf Association made him an honorary member, Peter Vail owned or co-owned placings in at least five breeds:
Jersey: Budjon-Vail Joel Starstruck-ET, Junior Champion and Reserve Supreme Heifer.
Ayrshire: Premier Exhibitor of the open show, plus Reserve Grand Trinity, Junior Champion Ullmstar-SV R Money Maker and Honorable Mention Senior B-Wil Kingsire Willow.
Brown Swiss: Hilltop Acres H Damara, four-year-old winner and Honorable Mention Grand.
Milking Shorthorn: Premier Exhibitor of the overall show, with five-year-old winner Lazy M Petrone Equisitely.
“At 87 years old, my goal is to stay alive and do whatever I choose to do,” Vail said. He counted three Supreme Junior Champion contenders of his own in the ring Thursday night: in Jersey, Brown Swiss and Ayrshire.
The other honorees told the same story of staying power:
Erbacres Holsteins of Lanark, Ill., took the Robert “Whitey” McKown Master Breeder Award. The Erbsen family raises about 100 head and milks 42 cows. Since 1957 the prefix has produced 245 Excellent cows, 21 Gold Medal Dams and 25 Dams of Merit, plus Erbacres Snapple Shakira-ET EX-97 4E, Supreme in 2021 and 2023.
Hank Van Exel of Lodi, Calif., who has judged in 15 countries, received the Arthur B. Klussendorf Award.
Joe Price, whose career includes about 16 years managing Butlerview Farm, took the Klussendorf-MacKenzie. That was the same week a Butlerview co-owned heifer, Glitter Girl, was named Supreme Champion Heifer.
Milk Source finished at or near the top in four breeds
Holstein: Grand Champion Alongside, and Honorable Mention Senior Jacobs Chief Dina, co-owned with Ransom-Rail.
Jersey: Reserve Grand Dixie.
Ayrshire: Grand Champion Cinderella, co-owned with J&S Fairbanks and K&M Wolf.
Red & White: Junior Champion Dridge Dc Hot Tamale-Red-ET, co-owned through Milk Source LLC.
Twice, they finished right behind Bailey: in the Supreme lineup with Alongside and in the Jersey show with Dixie.
Bricker-Farms King Cinderella, Grand Champion of the 2026 International Ayrshire Show, for Milk Source Genetics, J&S Fairbanks and K&M Wolf of Kaukauna, Wis. The Kingsire daughter turned around her 2025 result against Coppenbarger Kingsire Trinity. Her 11-year-old dam, Bricker-Farms Gibbs Carvella EX-95, won Senior Champion of the Junior Show.
Big strings winning in Madison isn’t news. How they get built is. Jim Ostrom described how the Cinderella partnership started: “They came to us and they said, ‘We’d like you to consider buying part of her, take her to your place, and help her develop.'” A breeder with a great young cow and no show budget can use that model too.
Small barns still won Grand
Fired Up came out of a tie-stall corner of Barn 2. Emily and Randi Fisher run an 18-cow operation in Pittsfield, N.H. Their aged cow won Grand for the second straight year at a Milking Shorthorn show of roughly 270 head. Emily’s reaction: “I had no idea.”
Stevie is homebred. Laylaa Schuler spent the day worrying whether she would lead. By Thursday night the cow had Grand and Senior in both shows, Best Bred & Owned, Best Udder and Total Performance Winner.
Alyson Doiron led her own cow on the colored shavings for the first time and won the International Junior Holstein Show. “I wanted to do the junior show and just have some fun,” she said. “And I didn’t expect to win, but now I’m really happy.”
The Master Breeder milks 42 cows. Breeding depth has never required a big herd. It requires decades of decisions made the same way.
The Ayrshire show was the week’s breeding lesson
Judge David Hanson and associate Eric Houdek sorted 191 heifers and 115 cows. Their top three senior cows were all daughters of Bear-Ayr Distinct Kingsire.
The maternal story ran deeper. Cinderella’s 11-year-old dam, Bricker-Farms Gibbs Carvella, won Senior Champion of the Junior Show. She was the first living Ayrshire scored EX-95. The Bricker family took Premier Breeder and Senior Best Three Females.
Sires stacked up elsewhere too:
Innisfail Mega Lottery-ET kept its grip on the Milking Shorthorn Premier Sire banner.
Indian Acres American Pie was Premier Sire in the Guernsey show.
In Brown Swiss, Daredevil had nine daughters in cow-class top tens and Diego had 11.
When one bull’s daughters fill the top of a class, that’s genetic strength on display. It’s also the cue to check your own herd before the next round of matings leans on the same bull.
Here’s what the judges said they were paying for
Ryan Krohlow, Holstein: “One of the easiest things I did today was make this cow grand champion. One of the tougher things I did all week… was name a reserve grand champion.” He put Zuriniah over the eight-year-old, six-calf Altona Lea Unix Herminie.
Rick “RT” Thompson, Brown Swiss: “Dairy strength and the ability to milk are what I wanted to recognize in the breed today.” His Grand, Pit-Crew O Malley Patty, went from senior three-year-old class winner to Intermediate and then Grand over the mature cows.
Aaron Eaton, Red & White: put Akooza over Hurcroft Awe Lillyann-Red on mammary. Lillyann has seven calves and won the 150,000 lb. Production Cow class.
Ben Wallace, Junior Holstein: kept returning to udder quality, open ribs, rear flank, and feet and legs. He called the 17-head winter yearling class the best of the day. It produced his Junior Champion, Walk-Era Aint She Fancy-ET.
Read together, the brief is consistent: udder, dairy strength that holds up, and mobility. None of it is show-only. It’s the cow that lasts in a commercial pen.
Fantasy Exhibitor paid off on points, not reputation
In Fantasy Exhibitor 2026, just over half the field spent $309,000 of a fantasy budget on Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane, last year’s Grand Champion. Austin Yoder spent $92,000 on Herminie instead, and she outscored Kandy Cane 34 points to 20. He won with 246 points, didn’t have the Grand Champion, and left $115,000 of his $1.2 million budget unspent. The dollars are fantasy dollars. The lesson about paying for what scores, not what’s famous, is real.
The next generation kept it close
Intercollegiate: Minnesota won its fourth straight National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest, the 105th. It scored 2,496 points, 41 ahead of Iowa State among 18 schools. Jacob Harbaugh took high individual 843 to 842 over Penn State’s Ainsley Sellers.
4-H: California won the 104th National 4-H contest, 2,046 to Wisconsin’s 2,029. Wisconsin’s Braeden Bechel was top individual.
Showmanship: out of 339 showmanship exhibitors, Justin Brandel of Lake Mills, Wis., was Supreme Showman and Logan Harbaugh of Marion, Wis., was Reserve.
A one-point margin at the national level shows how deep the judging pipeline runs. These are the people who will place these classes, and buy into these cow families, 20 years from now.
What this means for your breeding program
Breed for the cow that comes back. Before your next matings, pull your second- and third-lactation cows. Rank them on whose udders and mobility held. Those are the families to flush or retain.
Buy the maternal line, not just the banner. Cinderella’s value was visible in her 11-year-old EX-95 dam. Before you buy into a cow, look three generations deep.
Check your hot sire. Kingsire filling the top of the Ayrshire senior cows is a strength story. At home, check relationship and inbreeding on any bull you’ve used heavily before you lean on him again.
Consider a partnership if you have the cow but not the budget. The Cinderella and Vail strings show breeders and developers sharing cost and credit.
Treat a banner as proof, not profit. Show wins build marketing value for genetics and sales. They don’t pay a feed bill by themselves.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
A year after Honorable Mention Grand, Milk Source’s five-year-old is Ryan Krohlow’s Grand Champion. She’s also the first Expo Grand her leadsman has ever led.
Eixdale Pwrup Alongside has been close before. A year ago she was Reserve Senior and Honorable Mention Grand Champion at World Dairy Expo. In April she stood Reserve Grand at the Midwest Spring National.
On Friday, Ryan Krohlow made it simple.
“One of the easiest things I did today was make this cow grand champion,” Krohlow told the crowd at the International Holstein Show. “One of the tougher things I did all week… was name a reserve grand champion.”
The easy call went to Alongside, the Five-Year-Old winner for Milk Source Genetics of Kaukauna, WI. Krohlow and associate Kelly Barbee said she was exactly what they’d been looking for over two days and more than 400 head.
The tough call went to Md-Locustcrest P Zuriniah, the Intermediate Champion for Chip, Chase, Connor Savage & Tom Mercuro of Union Bridge, MD. Krohlow said she and the aged cow behind her, Altona Lea Unix Herminie, were “absolute clones of each other.”
The udder that finally won
Alongside built her case one step at a time:
Five-Year-Old class: Krohlow said she overwhelmed the rest on her mammary system. She carried width from top to bottom, and her fore udder was longer and more extended. She was named best udder of the class.
Senior Champion: he called her the most on the money of the day. Over Herminie, she was a little steeper in the heel and deeper through the seam up the back of her udder.
Afterward, Krohlow told interviewers what impressed him most. Her udder is so wide, yet she still has a deep crease and walks around comfortably.
For co-owner and leadsman John Vosters, it was a long time coming. He told interviewers that it’s the first Grand Champion he has led at Expo, after a cow that had been close a couple of times finally “rung the bell.” He gave the credit to the Milk Source crew. He named Eddie as the person who found and developed her, and said the team puts in 18-hour days for a week straight.
She’s already breeding on. Vosters said one of her calves did well at this show.
Milk Source’s other class-winning cow, Jacobs Chief Dina, won the Four-Year-Old class and finished Honorable Mention Senior Champion behind Alongside.
The cow who stood out ten deep
Zuriniah was Honorable Mention Intermediate Champion at Expo in 2025 as a fall two-year-old. This year she turned the Senior Three-Year-Old class into one of the stories of the show.
At the microphone, Krohlow said he’d never seen anything quite like that class:
He named her best udder of the class.
He said she came at you like a Mack truck.
In the intermediate championship, he said she ran away with it, a cow that “spells quality.”
Afterward, he told interviewers that she stood out even from ten cows down the line. He said placing her Reserve Grand over an aged cow as good as Herminie was hard, but the two were that close.
For Chip Savage, it was personal. He told interviewers that she’s the first cow his sons bought with him, and admitted he was in tears in the ring at 51. He described her as a cow who doesn’t need special treatment. She’ll lie in a sand-bedded free stall as happily as a box stall. Golden Oaks owns her dam.
Reserve Intermediate went to Walk-Era Eye Candy Rebel, the Summer Junior Two-Year-Old winner, for Budjon Farms, Genosource, Farnear, Peter Vail, Regan Demmer & Heartland Dairy. Krohlow later called that class one of the deepest of the day.
Glitter Girl finishes undefeated
Butlerview Glitter Girl-ET came to Madison having been named Junior Champion at three shows this year:
Northeast Spring National
Midwest Spring National, where she was also Champion Bred & Owned
Ontario Summer Show
She left Madison with two more titles:
Junior Champion of the International Holstein Show. Krohlow called her the most complete and most balanced heifer in her class, and the right size and right balance in the championship.
Supreme Junior Champion of World Dairy Expo 2026.
She’s bred and owned by Clarkvalley, K. Doeberiener, P. Conroy & Butlerview of Beaverton, ON. She’s by Bruins.
Jeff Butler told interviewers that her bred-and-owned status is what made it special. Her dam, Goldie, is a 95-point, two-time Expo class winner who is still being flushed. Glitter Girl’s path wasn’t a straight line:
Butler sold her as a December calf in a spring sale.
He bought her back after she stood 15th or 16th at the Wisconsin Championship Show.
She placed 10th at Expo last year.
By this spring, he said, she’d caught the calves that used to beat her.
Reserve Junior Champion went to Monoak Master Precious, the Winter Heifer Calf winner for Mike Deaver of Marshall, WI. Krohlow said she blew him away the moment she walked into the ring.
Last year’s Grand comes back for production
The 2025 Grand Champion, Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane, came back to win the Lifetime Milk Production class for Alicia & Jonathan Lamb of Oakfield, NY. She was the class’s best udder and production award winner. In the ring, Krohlow said she carries her milk so much higher above her hock. He later told in an interview that her udder is still so snug and tight that it changed the whole class.
What Krohlow was looking for
Krohlow’s reasons stayed consistent from Thursday’s calves to Friday’s aged cows:
Balanced, proportionate frames
Width of chest
Cattle that walk out free on both front and rear legs
In the cow classes, udder quality and texture
Afterward, he told in an interview that he and Barbee set reputations aside: “today was the day.” He called Barbee the next man up. Krohlow lives about 30 minutes from Madison, and he called this the greatest day of his professional life.
At the microphone, he made the same point a different way: “Every one of these cows in this class are exactly what we’re all breeding for.” And on the assignment: “There ain’t two guys on this fairground that would have rather been in the hot seat than me and KB.”
Breeders worth noting
Currie Holsteins: won the Spring Junior Two-Year-Old class with the bred-and-owned Curr-Vale All The Beauty-ET. Krohlow called her udder unbelievably attached.
Dalton J. Faris: won the Six-Year-Old & Older class with Herminie, an eight-year-old with six calves. She was best udder of the class and Honorable Mention Grand Champion.
Elmvue Farm: won the Junior Three-Year-Old class with Millen Lambda Amelia-ET.
Butlerview Farm: won the Yearling Heifer in Milk class with Ladys Ll Dbx Louisiana-ET, Krohlow’s best udder of the class.
Class-by-class results, reasons and photos follow below.
Grand Champion
Krohlow said naming Eixdale Pwrup Alongside grand champion was one of the easiest things he did all day. Exhibited by Milk Source Genetics of Kaukauna, WI, the five-year-old was exactly what he and Kelly Barbee had been looking for over two days. She won her class, overwhelming the rest on her mammary system, then took Senior Champion, where Krohlow called her the most on the money, with so much width, power, spring and openness.
Reserve Grand Champion: Md-Locustcrest P Zuriniah – Chip, Chase, Connor Savage & Tom Mercuro, Union Bridge, MD – The Intermediate Champion won an extremely close call over the aged cow for honorable mention, with a little more seam up the back of her udder and teats set ever so slightly better under the quarters.
c
Senior Champion
Krohlow said Eixdale Pwrup Alongside was the most on the money for him and Kelly Barbee today, with so much width, power, spring and openness all the way through. Exhibited by Milk Source Genetics of Kaukauna, WI, the Five-Year-Old winner placed over the aged cow. She’s a little steeper in the heel and deeper through the seam up the back of her udder, with teats placed ever so slightly more under the quarters. In her class, Krohlow said she overwhelmed the rest on her mammary system.
c
Intermediate Champion
Krohlow said the senior three-year-old ran away with the intermediate title. Md-Locustcrest P Zuriniah is everything he and Kelly Barbee were looking for all morning: so balanced, so wide all the way throughout, and a cow that spells quality. Exhibited by Chip, Chase, Connor Savage & Tom Mercuro of Union Bridge, MD, she came into the championship as the Senior Three-Year-Old winner. In that class, Krohlow gave her best udder and said she comes at you like a Mack truck.
Reserve Intermediate Champion: Walk-Era Eye Candy Rebel – Budjon Farms, Genosource, Farnear, Peter Vail, Regan Demmer & Heartland Dairy, Lomira, WI – Krohlow said the Summer Junior Two-Year-Old winner is wide, square and balanced. She placed over the honorable mention on more quality and texture in her udder.
c
Junior Champion
Krohlow said the winter yearling is the right size and the right balance, and Butlerview Glitter Girl-ET took the banner. Bred and owned by Clarkvalley, K. Doeberiener, P. Conroy & Butlerview of Beaverton, ON, she’s so long in her head and neck. Over the December calf for reserve, she has a little added width and a little more explosion through her barrel. She came into the championship as the first-place Winter Yearling, a class Krohlow said she won handily.
Reserve Junior Champion: Monoak Master Precious – Mike Deaver, Marshall, WI – Krohlow said the Winter Heifer Calf winner blew him away when she came in the ring. She placed over the spring yearling on cleaner bone down through the hock and freer movement on her rear feet and legs.
Ms Venmo Junie-ET wins the Spring Heifer Calf | International Holstein Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Ryan Krohlow | Associate: Kelly Barbee
Extreme length through her head and neck gave Ms Venmo Junie-ET the edge, and Krohlow said the longer she was in the ring, the easier she won. Exhibited by Darlington Ridge Farms and Luke Hopkins of Darlington, WI, she’s so complete and so balanced. Over second, she blends a little nicer up into the shoulder and shows a little more drop at the fore rib.
Granron A2p2 Full House – Ronald Grandy, Beaverton, ON
Genosource Dl Catch Up-ET – Reyncrest Farm, Corfu, NY
Cornerest Altitud Magpie-ET – Cornerest Farm and Pope Hill Cattle Company, Argyle, NY
Winter Heifer Calf
Monoak Master Precious won the class handily for Krohlow, on completeness and balance. Exhibited by Mike Deaver of Marshall, WI, she placed over second as a crisper heifer, harder over her top and smoother from her neck into her shoulder, with more quality of bone in her front and rear feet and legs. Krohlow also liked her through the head, neck, brisket and chest floor.
Rounding out the top 5:
Blacklilly Direct Lala-ET – Evelyn Eaton, Marietta, NY Kingsway Lqdcourage Alkaline – Makenzie & Callen Ferris, Gervais, OR Genosource Mjr Heartatak-ET – Chris & Jen Hill and Blake & Billie Jo Rhodes, Thurmont, MD Heritage Crazy Drama-ET – Madison & Melanie Sarbacker, Whitewater, WI
Fall Heifer Calf
Length won it for Overlake Master Dylan, and Krohlow said she blows you away on parade. Exhibited by Legendholm Holsteins & Scott R Culbertson of Kaukauna, WI, she brings extension through her head and neck, cleanliness, dairyness and silkiness, with width back through her hips, pins and thurls. Over the high-style, well-balanced second, she’s longer through the head and neck and longer through her barrel and midsection.
Rounding out the top 5:
Martin-View Major Satisfied-ET – Caught A Break Partners, Dyersville, IA Nehls-Donk Best Giddy Up – Weeksdale, Scott Culbertson and T & L Cattle, Pleasant Valley, PE Milksource Pony Up-ET – Ferem Duhibou and Ferme Cerpolait, St-Lambert-De-Lauzon, QC Ms Major Carma-ET – Maple-Leigh, T Haeft, Arizona, and Grai-Rose, Delavan, WI
Summer Yearling Heifer
Depth of rear flank put Ladys Lov Hulu Lovee-ET on top, in a pair Krohlow said came to the top handily. Exhibited by Clarkvalley Holsteins & Dalton Faris of Woodville, ON, she’s a little different type from the long-framed, high-style heifer in second. Side by side, she’s so much deeper in the rear flank, and from behind she’s a little wider through her hips, pins and thurls.
Cleanliness won it for Marfloacres Major Marino, and Krohlow called her the heifer most on the money today. Exhibited by Clarkvalley of Beaverton, ON, she has great character through her head and front end and is crisp, clean and open throughout. Over the well-balanced, hard-topped second, she’s cleaner all the way through, especially up through the head and neck and back through the thigh.
Rounding out the top 5:
KCCK Candy Apple-ET – Vierra Dairy & Triple-T Holsteins, North Lewisburg, OH Beslea Eyecandy C Electra-ET – R&S Allyn, D Hovden, J Lepage, Ferme Blondin, Blondin Sires, Ferme Sicard, Canaan, CT Budjon-MB Dazl Snazl-ET – Max Miles, Mclane Mormann, Dyersville, IA Eastriver Dl Carrera 118-ET – Westcoast Holsteins, Chilliwack, BC
Winter Yearling Heifer
Krohlow called Butlerview Glitter Girl-ET the most complete and most balanced heifer in the class, and a handy winner. Bred and owned by Clarkvalley, K. Doeberiener, P. Conroy & Butlerview of Beaverton, ON, she has sweep and openness of rib and walks out free. Over second, she blends nicer from her neck into her shoulder and is wider, flatter and more level at her pins. It’s another yearling class win for Clarkvalley after the Spring Yearling.
Fall Yearling Heifer
A fuller loin decided a close top pair, and Ms Crave Belive Tiffany-ET got the nod. Krohlow said she’s the kind they’ve been picking all day. Exhibited by Parallel Genetics, Do N Joy & Regancrest of Mildmay, ON, she’s so hard on top, crisp and well balanced, and she blends all her parts. Over the deep, silky, open-ribbed second, she’s a little fuller through the loin and holds it a little nicer in line.
Rounding out the top 5:
Ms Blackjack Sk Exotic – Kaleb, Cole & Carter Kruse, Glamourview-Iager and Walton, Dyersville, IA Hans-Gen Master Roku – Makayla, Kaleb, Katie, Kylie, & Jaclyn Osinga, Watertown, WI Ridgedale-W Max Overdrive – Ridgedale Farm & Richard Witter, Sharon Springs, NY Redcarpet Tatoed Firecracker – Maelee Heinsohn, Kirkland, IL
Yearling Heifer in Milk
Krohlow said Ladys Ll Dbx Louisiana-ET wears the best udder in the class, and she was a handy winner. Exhibited by Butlerview Farm of Chebanse, IL, the winter yearling is just 30 days fresh, with no holes, a hard top, a long neck, and venation (the visible milk veins) and texture all through her udder. Over the square-framed, tight-uddered second, she’s more dairy, a little longer and cleaner through the head and neck, and silkier throughout.
Rounding out the top 5:
Ms Milksource Sunday-ET – Vierra Dairy Farms, Hilmar, CA Dorsland Tatoo Etchasketch – Duckett Holsteins, Rudolph, WI Lysem Direct Yoda – Ferme Blondin, Ferme Yvon Sicard, Ferme Lysem, St-Placide, QC Ladys Lambda Lynx-ET – Butlerview Farm, Chebanse, IL
Summer Junior Two-Year-Old Cow
Krohlow said Walk-Era Eye Candy Rebel handily walks away with the class, with a little more of everything than second. Exhibited by Budjon Farms, Genosource, Farnear, Peter Vail, Regan Demmer & Heartland Dairy of Lomira, WI, she’s a little longer and wider throughout than the similar high-style, balanced runner-up. From behind, she carries her rear udder width squarer from the top down to the rear quarters. She also earned the class’s top udder award.
Rounding out the top 5:
Winright Lambda Eclipse – T&K Kohls and R&K Mackinson, Arlington, MN Showline Animation Lila B – Butlerview Farm, Chebanse, IL Blondin Drax Lakai – Arizona Dairy, Grai-Rose Cattle & J Lungwitz, Delavan, WI Clovis Revelation Brazil – Ferme Jacobs & Crackholm Holsteins, Cap-Santé, QC
Spring Junior Two-Year-Old Cow
Her udder won it. Krohlow said Curr-Vale All The Beauty-ET has an unbelievable udder attachment: snug, wide and tight, with a big crease and cut. Bred and owned by Currie Holsteins of Tully, NY, she placed over the high-style second on added rear udder width, plus more width through her chest floor and brisket and more spring and openness through her barrel. She also earned the class’s top udder award.
Rounding out the top 5:
Hatee Detective Lonely – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH Altona Lea Chief Atlas – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH Valrick Delta Lambda Pamela – Westcoast, Clarkvalley & Pierre Boulet, Beaverton, ON Mer-James Alpha Atlas – Emma J England and Tyler Leuch, Pulaski, WI
Winter Senior Two-Year-Old Cow
Krohlow said Axel Havenofear Camy runs away with the class as the perfect balance of dairyness and strength. Exhibited by Arizona Dairy, Grai-Rose Cattle Co., J Lungwitz and Maple-Leigh Futures of Riverdale, CA, she’s clean, open-ribbed and silky, with a beautiful udder. Over the high-style second, the big edge came from the front: more width through the chest floor and brisket, and straighter tracking on her front feet. She also earned the class’s top udder award.
Rounding out the top 5:
Genosource Lets Dance-ET – Genosource and Farnear, Blairstown, IA Butlerview Amzn All Amor-ET – Butlerview & Westcoast Holsteins, Chebanse, IL Genosource Boombox-ET – Genosource, Jeremiah Lungwitz & Bella Holsteins, Blairstown, IA Winright Sidekick Champagne – Butlerview Farm, Chebanse, IL
Fall Senior Two-Year-Old Cow
More snap and bloom at the top of her rear udder gave Mosnang Grinch U R A Mean One the edge in a top pair Krohlow called his kind. Exhibited by Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley of East Liberty, OH, the two-calf cow is square, balanced and hard-topped, with style, a long neck and a wide rump. Over the first-calf second, she has one more lactation and more quality throughout. She also earned the class’s top udder award.
Rounding out the top 5:
Hill View Randall Praline – Milksource Genetics, Bob Sabu and Cy Letter, Kaukauna, WI Genosource Jawdropper-ET – Genosource and Farnear, Blairstown, IA Jacobs Ambrose Bonbon – Ferme Jacobs Inc., Cap-Sante, QC Blondin Detective Bacardi – Butlerview Farm, Chebanse, IL
Junior Three-Year-Old Cow
Width carried Millen Lambda Amelia-ET to the win, and Krohlow said she overwhelms the class in her overall frame. Exhibited by Elmvue Farm of Johnstown, NY, she has more spring and openness than the next pair and more width all the way through. At the business end, her mammary system is a little tighter and wider. She placed over the no-holes, well-balanced second on that added width. She also earned the class’s top udder award.
Rounding out the top 5:
Rickhaven Sidekick Eclipse – Clarkvalley, Beaverton, ON Gleann Lambda Qualify – Andrew Den Haan,plum Valley Holsteins, Mount Kolb Farm, Hodglynn Holsteins, Fergus, ON Crisdhome Tstruck Abudhabi – Elmvue Farm, Johnstown, NY Cranehill Lambda Astroid – Blackjack Holsteins and Cranehill Genetics, Wykoff, MN
Senior Three-Year-Old Cow
Krohlow said Md-Locustcrest P Zuriniah is exactly what he’d been looking for all day, and he gave her best udder in the class. Exhibited by Chip, Chase, Connor Savage & Tom Mercuro of Union Bridge, MD, she comes at you like a Mack truck, with width of chest, breed character and free, straight tracking. In a close placing over the veiny-uddered second, she’s a touch leveler on her udder floor, with her front teats placed a little squarer.
Rounding out the top 5:
Micheret South Believe – Butlerview Farm, Chebanse, IL
Oakfield Awe Horseshoe-ET – Alicia & Jonathan Lamb, Oakfield, NY
Miley Challenger Beth – Doeberiener, Bowen, Conroy, Lund, R&f Livestock and Walker Dairy, West Salem, OH
Sandpiper Sidekick Disco – Weeksdale Holsteins Inc., Joel Phoenix and T & L Cattle Ltd, Pleasant Valley, PE
Four-Year-Old Cow
Width won the top pair for Jacobs Chief Dina. Exhibited by Milk Source and Ransom-Rail of Kaukauna, WI, she placed over the silky, dairy second with more width throughout and more spring to her barrel. From behind, she’s wider through her hips, pins and thurls and wider at the top of her rear udder attachment. Krohlow said this class could go 10 or 12 deep with cows that have won grand at nearly every show. She also took top udder.
Rounding out the top 5:
Famipage Legend Barabas – Ronald Grandy and Butlerview Farm, Beaverton, ON
Smygwatys Lambda Erica – Showbox Sires, Rudolph, WI
Donacin Delta-Lambda Rain – South-Pointe Show Cattle, Montezuma, GA
Fricosons Sidekick Lasenza – Elmvue Farm, Johnstown, NY
Five-Year-Old Cow
Krohlow said Eixdale Pwrup Alongside overwhelms the rest of the class on her mammary system. Exhibited by Milk Source Genetics of Kaukauna, WI, she carries width in her udder from top to bottom, with added width all the way through it. Over the balanced second, she’s also a little longer and more extended through her fore udder. She took the class’s top udder award in a lineup Krohlow said was unbelievable through the first 10 cows.
Rounding out the top 5:
Arolene Dempsey Ella – Alyson Doiron, Cap-Santé, QC
Jacobs Lambda Baz-ET – Elmvue & Showbox Sires, Rudolph, WI
JM Valley Sidekick Jacuzzi – Elmvue Farm, Johnstown, NY
Cashells Side Limoncello – Camryn and Maci Crothers, Evelyn Getty, Argyle, NY
Six-Year-Old & Older Cow
Milk carried higher at the top of her rear udder gave Altona Lea Unix Herminie the win. Exhibited by Dalton J. Faris of Beaverton, ON, the eight-year-old with six calves is a little more angular, more dairy and cleaner throughout than the balanced, stylish second. Krohlow said she also has more silkiness and bloom right at the top of her udder attachment. She took the class’s top udder award too.
Rounding out the top 5:
Lo-Pine-Va Lady Crush – Butlerview Farm, Chebanse, IL Pierstein Dempsey Lexi – Pierre Boulet & Butlerview Farm, Montmagny, QC Havenvalley Light Bobbyhoe – Duckett Holsteins, Rudolph, WI Wargo-Acres Counsell 3449 – Gavin Carncross, Lodi, WI
Lifetime Milk Production Cow | International Holstein Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Ryan Krohlow | Associate: Kelly Barbee
Udder carriage won it for Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane, who carries her milk so much higher above her hock than the big, open-ribbed second. Exhibited by Alicia & Jonathan Lamb of Oakfield, NY, the fifth-lactation cow is hard on top with so much breed character. She also earned the class’s top production and top udder awards.
Rounding out the top 5:
Jeffrey-Way Hard Rock Twigs – Doeberiener & Bowen, Conroy, R & F Livestock, Walker Dairy, West Salem, OH Peace&Plenty Doc Jubie16-ET – Showbox Sires and Milk Source Genetics, Rudolph, WI Lindenright Devour Movember – Butlerview Farm, Chebanse, IL Macland-Hf Yoder Rachel – Kyle Reid and Adam Liddle, Argyle, NY
Akooza Delivers: Golden Oaks’ Five-Year-Old Claims Grand at the International Red & White Show
Judge Aaron Eaton names Luck-E Devour Akooza-Red-ET the best-uddered cow of the show as Golden Oaks Farm takes Grand and Reserve Intermediate.
Luck-E Devour Akooza-Red-ET didn’t show last year. At World Dairy Expo 2026, she won it all.
Golden Oaks Farm’s five-year-old was named Grand Champion of the International Red & White Show by judge Aaron Eaton and associate Anthony Liddle. At the microphone, Eaton called her the best-uddered cow of the show and “about as perfect as a picture as she stands there.” He praised her balance, openness and dairy strength. He said her mammary system put her over Reserve Grand Champion Hurcroft Awe Lillyann-Red. That seven-calf cow won the 150,000 lb. Production Cow class for Oakfield Corners Dairy of Oakfield, NY.
He summed up the senior lineup in one line. When cows have calved as many times as these and carry udders like theirs, he told the crowd, “there’s just no denying them.”
A barn favorite’s return
Golden Oaks bought Akooza at the Luck-E sale in 2023. Since then she’s been a regular at the top of the class:
As a two-year-old, she was nominated All-American.
As a three-year-old, she was named Reserve All-American.
Last year, she stayed home.
Jacob of Golden Oaks told interviewers she’s been a barn favorite since the day the farm got her.
Akooza is by Devour and out of a 94-point dam. She’s bred back and will represent the breed in the Supreme Champion selection.
It was a big show for Golden Oaks overall:
Akooza won the Five-Year-Old class. Eaton said she was his kind of cow, with width from her nostrils back through her hips, pins and thurls.
Kampy Alt Attitude-Red-ET won the Senior Three-Year-Old class with what Eaton called the best udder in that class. She’d been milking nearly 11 months.
Kampy Alt Attitude-Red-ET also took Reserve Intermediate Champion.
The judge’s pattern
Eaton’s reasons kept coming back to the same few things, from the calves through the cows:
Balance
Openness of rib
Width carried all the way through
Cattle that move with ease
He said the young cows in his intermediate lineup were extremely balanced, open, dairy and athletic, with tremendous legs and mammary systems. He said the heifers he kept for the junior championship were balanced, wide and open, walked out on exceptional feet and legs, and had added style and length.
In a later interview he tied the whole show together. He said his junior champions looked like future intermediate champions, and his intermediates looked like the young cows who become mature champions.
Intermediate: a two-year-old and her handler
Ms Alpha Mystery-Red-ET won the Spring Junior Two-Year-Old class, then the Intermediate Champion banner, for Coltan J. & Eastan E. Brown of Strum, WI. Eaton said she was exactly what they look for in a young cow: balanced, wide and angular, with a tremendous mammary system. He placed her over Kampy Alt Attitude-Red-ET because she was a little cleaner and silkier in her hide.
Her handler got noticed too. Eaton joked from the microphone that anyone looking for a high-powered leadsman for the big shows should keep the young man in mind.
Juniors: a summer yearling runs away with it
Dridge Dc Hot Tamale-Red-ET was named Junior Champion for La Femme Fatale, Milk Source LLC & Eric Olstad of Kaukauna, WI. Eaton said she ran away with her class. In the championship, he praised her openness, dairyness, spring of rib and femininity throughout. Reserve went to the Spring Yearling winner, Butlerview Alpha Luv-Red-ET, for Clarkvalley Holsteins & Butlerview Farm of Beaverton, ON.
In the junior show, Kiefland Shinedown-Red was named Junior Champion for Memphis Mossner of Lancaster, WI. Eaton chose her over the winter calf on a little more openness and spring of rib.
Breeders worth noting
Bred-and-owned cattle did well at the top of the show:
Oakfield Corners Dairy: Reserve Grand, plus the bred-and-owned Fall Senior Two-Year-Old winner, Oakfield A Lets Roll-Red-ET, and the Production Cow class.
Jay Ackley and Donald E Simpson: the Aged Cow class with Glaustar Calif All Out-Red-ET, a bred-and-owned nine-year-old with seven calves.
Class-by-class results, reasons and photos follow below.
Meet the Official Judge: Aaron Eaton
Aaron Eaton runs Eaton Holsteins in Marietta, New York, with his wife Caitlin and daughters Avery and Evelyn. He is also herd manager for Currie Holsteins. The Eatons develop, show, and market cattle, and their program has produced more than 150 All-American and All-Canadian nominations across Holsteins, Jerseys, and Red & Whites. Standouts include Highcroft Absolute Lily EX-97 and Rach Len Dundee Lilly EX-97.
Before judging on the big stage, Aaron spent more than a decade as a professional fitter with top herds and international sales. Along with the 2024 and 2025 International Holstein Shows, he has judged the 2023 Canadian National Holstein Show and Agroleite in Brazil.
Meet the Associate Judge: Anthony Liddle
Anthony Liddle owns Liddleholme Holsteins in Argyle, New York, with his parents Adam and Nicole, his wife Kennedy, and their children Layton and Mac. The 60-cow registered herd runs an active IVF program and has bred more than 180 Excellent cows, including one EX-97, three EX-96, and five EX-95.
Its best-known cow is Liddleholme Resur Lu-ET EX-97, All-American and All-Canadian Production Cow. The herd has also had multiple World Dairy Expo class winners. Anthony spent eight years in cattle sales and on the show circuit, and he has judged state fairs and championship shows in California, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
Follow Bullvine Coverage Both Days
This page will be updated as each class is placed. We’ll post:
Class winners and top placings, checked against the official World Dairy Expo results
Original Bullvine photography, including a photo of every animal in the Facebook album
The key points from Judge Eaton’s reasons, class by class
Video of the Junior, Intermediate, Senior, and Grand Champion selections
Complete official placings when the show wraps up
🏆 Luck-E Devour Akooza-Red-ET named Grand Champion | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
The udder settled it. Eaton said Luck-E Devour Akooza-Red-ET is the best-uddered cow of the show, and her mammary system put her over the reserve. Exhibited by Golden Oaks Farm of Wauconda, IL, the Five-Year-Old winner is about as perfect as a picture as she stands there, Eaton said, with balance, openness and dairy strength. He told the crowd that when senior cows have calved as many times as these and carry mammary systems like theirs, there’s no denying them. Golden Oaks also took Reserve Intermediate Champion with Kampy Alt Attitude-Red-ET.
Reserve Grand Champion: Hurcroft Awe Lillyann-Red – Oakfield Corners Dairy, Oakfield, NY – The seven-calf 150,000 lb. Production Cow winner placed over the four-year-old for honorable mention on maturity through her frame, depth and openness, and a little more power.
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Ms Alpha Mystery-Red-ET named Intermediate Champion of the Open and Junior Show | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
Balance and a tremendous mammary system put Ms Alpha Mystery-Red-ET on top. The Spring Junior Two-Year-Old winner, exhibited by Coltan J. & Eastan E. Brown of Strum, WI, is exactly what Eaton said they’re looking for in a young cow, with width and angularity, and she looks like she milks. Over the senior three-year-old reserve, she’s a little cleaner and silkier in her hide. Eaton also joked that anyone hunting for a high-powered leadsman at the big shows should keep her young handler in mind.
Reserve Intermediate Champion: Kampy Alt Attitude-Red-ET – Golden Oaks Farm, Wauconda, IL – Eaton said the Senior Three-Year-Old winner is so straight in her lines and a little more ready, since she’s had more time.
Junior Champion: Dridge Dc Hot Tamale-Red-ET – La Femme Fatale, Milk Source LLC & Eric Olstad, Kaukauna, WI Reserve Junior Champion: Butlerview Alpha Luv-Red-ET – Clarkvalley Holsteins & Butlerview Farm, Beaverton, ON
Eaton said you could spin the top three however you like, but the summer yearling got the nod. Dridge Dc Hot Tamale-Red-ET is so open and dairy, with a tremendous spring of rib and femininity throughout. Over the straight-lined reserve, she has a little more balance through the midsection and more openness about the cage, meaning her rib cage.
Butlerview Alpha Luv-Red-ET, the spring yearling winner, took reserve. Eaton placed her over the fall calf for honorable mention as a little longer from end to end and a little more precise on her feet and legs.
Before his final look, Eaton said every heifer he kept had balance, width and openness, exceptional feet and legs, and added style and length.
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🏆 Spring Heifer Calf
JM Valley Alpha Mia – MB Luckylady Farm & JM Valley Holstein, Amqui, QC
Maiden-Kine Jinglebells-Red – John & Molly Scoville, Lowville, NY
Kamps-Rx-DB Am Dream-Red-ET – Demi Kamps, Darlington, WI
Reeds-Creek Pra Java-Red-TW – Sara Haag, Annville, PA
Fam-Lane Hulu Teagan-Red-ET – Brian Coyne and Patrick Crave, Waterloo, WI
Eaton called his winner the epitome of what he’d be looking for, and her walk sealed it. JM Valley Alpha Mia strides freer on an exceptional set of feet and legs, with dairyness, length of frame, an open midsection and a hard top. He gave the second-place calf credit for her balance, openness and front-end width.
Maiden-Kine Jinglebells-Red wins the 2-3 pair on added width through the front end and more spring of fore rib. Third over fourth came down to rear legs. Kamps-Rx-DB Am Dream-Red-ET tracks more precisely behind, with better quality of bone down through the hock. Fourth placed over fifth on more width through the chest floor.
🏆 Winter Heifer Calf
Cabaret Hvzda Mistletoe-Red – Jillian L. Anderson, Centre Hall, PA
Ocean-View Heavensentme-Red – Jason and Jared Pareo, Deerfield, WI
Ack-Pf All The Rage-Red-ET – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH
Kress-Hill Shotgun-Red-ET – Benjamin and Blaize Donnay, Baldwin, WI
Width won it. Eaton said Cabaret Hvzda Mistletoe-Red may not be the biggest heifer in the ring, but she’s balanced from front to end with no holes. She’s wider through the chest, the spring of fore rib and the thurls, and tracks with plenty of width between her hocks.
Ocean-View Heavensentme-Red wins a close 2-3 pair on nicer bone quality down through the hock, straighter tracking behind and added style. Third placed over fourth on more width through the chest floor, and Eaton also liked her strength, openness and circumference of barrel. He liked fourth’s hard top and the angle and openness of her rib.
🏆 Fall Heifer Calf
Sco-Lo-Lm Dice Adra-Red-ET – Matthew Joseph Amelia and Frank Lawrence, Dyersville, IA
Kiefland Shinedown-Red – Memphis Mossner, Lancaster, WI
Hilrose Ac Attababy-Red-ET – Justine Kelsey, Canastota, NY
Oakfield Ace Foxy-Red-ET – Emma J England and Tyler Leuch, Pulaski, WI
Oakfield Acetyl Lila-Red-ET – Kyra & Griffin Lamb, Oakfield, NY
Length won it. Eaton put Sco-Lo-Lm Dice Adra-Red-ET over second on added length through her frame. She’s longer through the front end and head and neck, a rib longer all the way through, and he preferred how her head and neck come out of her shoulder.
He praised Kiefland Shinedown-Red for her overall balance, square frame, openness and depth of fore and rear rib, and a hard top line. Third placed over fourth on tracking a bit nicer as she settled in. Oakfield Ace Foxy-Red-ET wins the 4-5 pair on added width, a deeper fore and rear rib, and more turn and openness through the midsection.
Summer Yearling Heifer
Dridge Dc Hot Tamale-Red-ET – La Femme Fatale, Milk Source LLC & Eric Olstad, Kaukauna, WI
Mead-Manor U Annebel-Red-ET – Aubrey Daul & Kailey Guilette, Algoma, WI
Rivercross A Domingo-Red – David and Denise Lloyd, Edmeston, NY
McGarr-Farms E Roo-Red-ET – Eoghan Daniel McGarr, King Ferry, NY
Ms Blackjack Asia-Red-ET – Blackjack Holsteins, Wykoff, MN
Eaton said Dridge Dc Hot Tamale-Red-ET runs away with the class. He loved her dairyness and openness, width through the chest and rear flank, and an open, deep midsection. Over second, she’s cleaner throughout, silkier in her hide, longer and cleaner through the head and neck, and cleaner down through the thigh.
Mead-Manor U Annebel-Red-ET wins the 2-3 pair on more openness of rib and more dairyness. Rivercross A Domingo-Red placed over fourth on overall length of frame, rib, and head and neck. Fourth strides a bit nicer than fifth, with a preferred set to her leg and more comfort through the loin on the move.
Sco-Lo Lightning-Red-Et Po – Clayton, Cashton, and Sadie Jones, Homestead, IA
Betley Unstop Laua-Red-ET – Claire & Jacob Betley, Pulaski, WI
Oakfield Ace Lion-Red-ET – Chris & Jen Hill and Blake & Billie Jo Rhodes, Thurmont, MD
Oakfield Ace Lexicon-Red-ET – Ford Getty, Hudson Falls, NY
Eaton said two heifers came to the top handily, and cleanliness split them. Butlerview Alpha Luv-Red-ET is cleaner all the way through, from her bone to her head and neck, and tracks straighter behind on a nearly perfect set of feet and legs. He liked her balance, straightness of line and hard top.
Sco-Lo Lightning-Red-Et Po wins the 2-3 pair as more heifer from end to end, with added width and straighter tracking behind. Third placed over fourth on more openness of rib, a fuller midsection and a harder top. Fourth gets the nod over fifth on feet and legs, with preferred bone through the hock.
🏆 Winter Yearling Heifer
Dridge Dice Hottie-Red-ET – Darlington Ridge Farms and Reggie & Krysty Kamps, Darlington, WI
Ms Hastoric Ava-Red-ET – Jared & Jared Pareo, Adelyn Ford & Aria Pechal, Veguita, NM
Betley Latitude-Red-ET – Rylan Pike, Hardyville, KY
Synergy Sundrop Slushie-Red Po – Aubrey Daul & Kailey Guilette, New Franken, WI
Ms Synergy Soren-Red-ET – Kailey M Guilette & Jamison Jauquet, New Franken, WI
Dridge Dice Hottie-Red-ET came to the top handily. Eaton said she may carry a little extra condition, but she should at this stage, with calving ahead. He loved her balance, width and openness, and exceptional feet and legs. Over second, she tracks straighter, is cleaner in the bone of her hock and shows more dairyness through the head and neck.
Ms Hastoric Ava-Red-ET wins the 2-3 pair on overall balance, a deeper fore and rear rib, and more width front and rear. Third placed over fourth on feet and legs, with flatter, cleaner bone through the hock. Fourth’s dairyness and set to the leg gave her the nod over fifth.
Fall Yearling Heifer
Marah-Delight Raelyn-Red-ET – Heartland Dairy and Betley Farms LLC, Pulaski, WI
Andrews Alt Firefly-Red-ET – Jazmyn & Chase Heeg, Colby, WI
Lepak Hulu Hawaii-Red – Isaac Kruger, Marshfield, WI
Canary Analyst Nala-Red – Ava Canary, Fort Plain, NY
Cleanliness won it. Eaton said Marah-Delight Raelyn-Red-ET came to the top handily, cleaner through her bone, more open in her rib and tracking a bit nicer than second. He loved her openness, balance, depth of fore and rear rib, and silky quality, plus how she tracks on her hind legs for a big, long, strong-framed heifer.
Flower-Brook Helene-Red-ET wins the 2-3 pair on power, with added width through the chest floor, barrel and flank. Third placed over fourth on a cleaner hide and bone and more dairy quality. Fourth gets the nod over fifth on power, more chest-floor width and straighter tracking behind.
🏆 Andrews Hulu Stella-Red-ET wins the Yearling Heifer in Milk | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
Width and udder sent Andrews Hulu Stella-Red-ET to the top of the class handily. Exhibited by Showbox Sires of Rudolph, WI, the winter yearling is about three weeks fresh, and Eaton said she has a huge future. He loved her natural width, from a wide muzzle all the way back, and her symmetrical mammary system. Over second, she strides freer, is more comfortable on her pasterns, and shows more height and width right to the top of her rear udder.
Rounding out the top 5:
Ms Be Tempted-Red-ET – Milk Source, Fischer, Steinhagen & Crescentmead, Kaukauna, WI
Oakfield Ace Regalia-Red-ET – Chloe & Claire Lamb, Oakfield, NY
Stolhaven Alligent-Red-ET – G Alpheus Stoltzfus, Gap, PA
Luck-E Hastoric Avee-Red-ET – Showbox Sires, Rudolph, WI
🏆 Oconnors Eveready Mudpie wins the Summer Junior Two-Year-Old Cow
A bloomed mammary system won Oconnors Eveready Mudpie the class. That means an udder filled out and at its best. Exhibited by Crackholm of Richmond, QC, she’s high and wide in her rear udder and a little fuller in all four quarters. Eaton also liked that she’s a little cleaner with more openness of rib. Over the balanced second-place heifer, she shows more bloom and more levelness to her forequarters.
Rounding out the top 5:
Ms Heatwave Ana-Red-ET – Jason & Jared Pareo, Adelyn Ford, Aria Pechal, Reece & Tatum Chupp, Inola, OK
Stranshome Alt Jodee-Red – Jerome Stransky, Owatonnna, MN
Quad-R Altituda Stella-Red – Derek R. Schwartzlow, Monroe, WI
🏆 Ms Alpha Mystery-Red-ET wins the Spring Junior Two-Year-Old Cow | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
Freedom of movement gave Ms Alpha Mystery-Red-ET the edge in the top pair. Exhibited by Coltan J. & Eastan E. Brown of Strum, WI, she moves so freely and stands a little more comfortably on her hind legs. Eaton said she wins the pair over a similarly made second with more quality in her mammary system and an udder floor that’s more level from front to rear.
Rounding out the top 5:
Danhof Journey Sassy-Red – Zachary Danhof, Waukon, IA
Betley Loveshack-Red-ET – Jacob Betley, Pulaski, WI
Curr-Vale Ooh Barracuda-Red – Golden Oaks Farm, Wauconda, IL
🏆 Boxelder-Bend R Romance-Red wins the Winter Senior Two-Year-Old Cow | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
Boxelder-Bend R Romance-Red came to the top handily on dairy strength and the kind of two-year-old udder Eaton and Anthony Liddle like, snug in its attachments. Exhibited by Blackjack Holsteins and Sunkist Acres of Wykoff, MN, she’s been milking 10 months since freshening in December. Eaton loved her openness, balance and dairy quality through the rib. Over second, she moves freer on her rear legs and is more dairy through the front end.
Rounding out the top 5:
Ms S&s-Crest Symphny-Red-ET – L, H & B Smith and E Gunst, Watertown, WI
Ronleen Alpha Leah – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH
Clovis Altitude Magie-Red – Oakfield Corners Dairy, Oakfield, NY
Ms Rompen Mustang-Red-ET – Mount Elgin Dairy Farms, Guelph, ON
🏆 Oakfield A Lets Roll-Red-ET wins the Fall Senior Two-Year-Old Cow | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
Oakfield A Lets Roll-Red-ET tops the Fall Senior Two-Year-Old class for Oakfield Corners Dairy of Oakfield, NY. She’s bred and owned by Oakfield Corners Dairy and was the class’s top bred-and-owned entry. She also earned the best udder award in the class. Kress-Hill Coral-Red placed fourth overall and was the top junior entry, owned by Owen & Kendyll Kress of Newton, WI.
Luck-E Arc Alleluia-Red-ET – Hope & Blake Engel, Hampshire, IL
Kress-Hill Coral-Red – Owen & Kendyll Kress, Newton, WI
Hodglynn Unst Memories-Red-ET – Cooter Creek Cattle Company, Enosburg, VT
🏆 Yuma Architecht 347 wins the Junior Three-Year-Old Cow | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
Yuma Architecht 347 is the logical winner for Eaton and Anthony Liddle, and she wears the best udder in the class. Exhibited by Mount Elgin Dairy Farms of Guelph, ON, she has width and balance throughout her frame and depth of fore and rear rib. Over second, she’s deeper and wider through the chest floor, with a more desirable turn to her rear flank and a more level udder floor.
Canary Altitude Reba-Red – Ava Canary, Fort Plain, NY
Arizona Awesome Smore-Red-ET – Arizona Dairy Co, Delavan, WI
Danhof Starlight-Red-ET – Zachary Danhof, Waukon, IA
Intense Dvour Ginger-Red-ET wins the Four-Year-Old Cow | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
Eaton called Intense Dvour Ginger-Red-ET the best-uddered cow in the class, and she came to the top fast. Exhibited by Butlerview Farm of Chebanse, IL, she spills milk from nose to tail, with dairy angularity and quality throughout. Over the recently fresh second-place cow, she shows more quality and texture in her mammary system, plus height, width and a deep crease from top to bottom. She also moves a little freer.
Rounding out the top 5:
Kara-Kesh-RK Alt Sky-Red – Curtis, Evelyn & Agnes Griffin, Thief River Falls, MN Garay-Md-Wvg Barbara-Red-ET – Alicia & Jonathan Lamb, Oakfield, NY Holbric Mvn Chrissy-Red-ET – Elmvue Farm, Johnstown, NY Boxelder-Bend Ld Daphne-Red – Tristian J Lang, Hutchinson, MN
Luck-E Devour Akooza-Red-ET wins the Five-Year-Old Cow | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
Openness and dairy strength through her midsection won it for Luck-E Devour Akooza-Red-ET, and Eaton said she’s his kind. Exhibited by Golden Oaks Farm of Wauconda, IL, she carries width from her nostrils back through her hips, pins and thurls, plus a tremendous udder. Over second, she has more openness of rib and chest floor, a longer udder floor and more width through her mammary system. It’s Golden Oaks’ second class win of the show, after the Senior Three-Year-Old.
Rounding out the top 5:
Rokeyroad Moovin Artist-Red – Elmvue Farm, Johnstown, NY Kamps-Rx Aplb Archer-Red-ET – Jay Ackley, Jim & Val Spreng, & Hodglynn Holsteins, East Liberty, OH R-Homestead Jordy Elena-Red – Landon, Kaylee, & Logan Hilgendorf, Nokomis, IL Milksource Tantalize-Red-ET – Taylor Haeft, Delavan, WI
Glaustar Calif All Out-Red-ET wins the Aged Cow, Six-Year-Old & Older | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
Glaustar Calif All Out-Red-ET came to the top handily, a nine-year-old with seven calves, fresh about 60 days. Bred and owned by Jay Ackley and Donald E Simpson of East Liberty, OH, she brings balance and dairy strength, and Eaton said she’s given a lot of milk. Over second, she carries her milk right to the top of her rear udder a little nicer. She also earned the class’s top udder award.
Rounding out the top 5:
Luck-E Russ-PP Astro-Red-ET – Allison, Lane, & Callum Francis, Greenville, OH Golden-Oaks Temptres-Red-ET – Milk Source, Fischer, Steinhagen & Crescentmead, Kaukauna, WI Willye Srndptous Legacy-Red – Oakfield Corners Dairy, Oakfield, NY Trav-Annah Fantasy-Red-ET – T&S Krohlow, William Schultz III, Yvonne Preder, Black Creek, WI
Hurcroft Awe Lillyann-Red wins the 150,000 lb. Production Cow | International Red & White Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Aaron Eaton | Associate: Anthony Liddle
A higher, wider rear udder won it for Hurcroft Awe Lillyann-Red. Exhibited by Oakfield Corners Dairy of Oakfield, NY, the seven-calf cow brings dairy strength and balance. Over second, she carries her milk a little higher to the top of her rear udder, with more width there and more quality to the depth of her ligament, the udder’s center support. It’s another class win for Oakfield Corners Dairy, which also topped the Fall Senior Two-Year-Old class.
Rounding out the class:
Ms Ransom-Rail Beth-Red-ET – Milk Source, Ransom-Rail and Fischer, Kaukauna, WI
Patty’s Day: O Malley Daughter Goes From Senior Three to Grand at the 2026 International Brown Swiss Show
Judge Rick “RT” Thompson spent two days at World Dairy Expo looking for one thing in every class: dairy strength that can work. By Wednesday afternoon he’d found it in Pit-Crew O Malley Patty. She won the senior three-year-old class with the best udder, was named intermediate champion, and then took the grand champion banner over a field of mature cows. Patty is exhibited by Kirby Sparrow of Worthville, Kentucky.
The aged cow winner, Colebrook Creek DT Alina (by Dynamite), was senior and reserve grand champion for Abigail Wilber and Jenna Lenhart of Thurmont, Maryland. Peter Vail’s four-year-old winner, Hilltop Acres H Damara, was reserve senior and honorable mention grand champion. Associate judge Hayden Hauschildt of Ellsworth, Wisconsin, worked the ring alongside Thompson, who farms at Random Luck Farm in Darlington, Wisconsin .
Why Patty won
Thompson was consistent about Patty all day.
Senior three class: she had a little more dairy strength than her rivals, fuller crops and a stronger loin. He named her best udder, saying the top of her rear udder fills up and her front-to-back balance is nearly ideal.
Intermediate drive: he credited her dairy strength and mobility. He said dairy strength and the ability to milk are what he wanted to recognize in the breed.
Grand drive: he called her the cow with the most Brown Swiss character for him. He pointed to her wide muzzle, big strong front end and mammary system, and said she moves freely on her feet and legs and stands square up front. He also praised the well-balanced aged cow and the two four-year-olds that filled out the final lineup.
Champions at a glance
Award
Animal (sire)
Exhibitor
Grand & intermediate champion
Pit-Crew O Malley Patty (O Malley)
Kirby Sparrow, Worthville, KY
Reserve grand & senior champion
Colebrook Creek DT Alina (Dynamite)
Abigail Wilber & Jenna Lenhart, Thurmont, MD
HM grand & reserve senior
Hilltop Acres H Damara (Huge SG)
Peter Vail, Valatie, NY
HM senior
Jenlar FC Whipsaw-ETV (First Choice)
Iroquois Acres, Bridport, VT
Reserve intermediate
Rosedale Diego Aliada-ETV (Diego)
Grace, Kenzie & Harper Koopmann, Epworth, IA
HM intermediate
Rival With All Due Respect (Elisium)
R & L Read, L & S Olson, L & B Beckard, T Wright, Hutchinson, MN
Junior champion
Ar-Line Tmo Love Bites-ETV (Time Out)
L: Kyla Johnson; O: Ranae Herman, Tomah, WI
Reserve junior
Banowetz F Freebird Twin (Famous)
Clark & Alisha Morgan & Graham Jenkins, Urbana, OH
HM junior
Jenlar Wclass Wellcut-ETV (World Class)
Brianna & Abby Meyer, Chilton, WI
Premier breeder went to Pit-Crew Genetics, premier exhibitor to Fairdale Farm LLC, and premier sire to Hilltop Acres B Daredevil-ET. In the heifer show, Jenlar Holsteins & Brown Swiss was premier breeder, Pit-Crew Genetics was premier exhibitor, and Jennings Gap Time Out was premier sire.
The senior end: presentation versus mass
Alina won the aged cow class on presentation. Thompson said she shows herself beautifully, is smooth on the walk, is straight over the top and has more natural, correct teat size. He openly admitted that second-place RDT Daredevil Lola outmassed her, with openness up front, drop of rib and spring of rear flank. That’s how this judge decides close calls: correctness and how a cow moves win over size.
You could see the same thing in the five-year-old class. Voegeli Farm’s V B Phantom Sinister won on mammary balance over a pair of fourth-calf cows. Kylie Sparrow’s Edge View D Sesame placed third but had the class’s best udder. Thompson said she just wasn’t at her peak at 10 months fresh, and predicted “she’ll have her day”
The message about milking yearlings
Thompson’s strongest comment came in the intermediate drive. He said there hadn’t been milking yearlings like the top two in a while. He told breeders that yearlings in milk are where the breed needs to look in the future, and that heifers need to be milking at that age to compete in today’s market.
He backed it up by placing Aliada and All Due Respect, the top two milking yearlings, as reserve and honorable mention intermediate champion. In the component merit class, he also made a point of thanking cows that made plenty of milk even with milk prices where they are.
Sires and breeders worth noting
Three sires stood out:
Daredevil: nine daughters in the cow-class top tens. They include second-place cows in the aged and senior three classes, the five-year-old best udder (Sesame) and fifth-place Pit-Crew Daredevil Shay, the four-year-old class’s top bred-and-owned cow. That backs up his premier sire award.
Diego: 11 daughters in the top tens, mostly in the younger classes, from calves through senior two-year-olds. That includes Aliada, the reserve intermediate champion.
Time Out: the heifer show’s premier sire also sired the junior champion and the fall yearling winner.
Pit-Crew Genetics earned premier breeder in a way pedigree buyers will notice. Their cows won best udder in both junior two-year-old classes: Nashville (first in the summer class) and Kami (second in the spring class). They also placed second in both best-three-females classes.
Brown Heaven of Verchères, Quebec, won senior best three females and produce of dam. Brianna and Abby Meyer took junior best three females on the strength of a deep group of Jenlar heifers.
Elsewhere in the ring
Heifer show: Love Bites won junior champion for her movement. Thompson said she was so comfortable on the move and presented herself at all times.
Meet the Official Judge: RT Thompson
Junior show: Pearl Dell Drake Whitney, second in the open five-year-old class, was junior show grand champion for Elizabeth Schieferstine of Verona, New York. Tristen Hans Ostrom’s Harvest Brz Els Windstorm was reserve.
Last year’s champion: Brian Pacheco, who won the 2025 grand champion title with Iroquois Acres Jong Cali, was back in the four-year-old top three with Lookout Super Ginta.
RT Thompson owns and operates Random Luck Farm in Darlington, Wisconsin, a 130-head herd of Brown Swiss and Jerseys. The UW-Platteville graduate’s program has produced more than 150 All-American and Junior All-American nominations and more than 200 Excellent cows. It has earned Premier Breeder honors at the Wisconsin State Fair and at multiple national shows.
RT is a past president of the Wisconsin Brown Swiss Association and has served three terms on World Dairy Expo’s Dairy Cattle Exhibitor Committee. Along with the 2023 International Brown Swiss Show, he has judged the All-American Dairy Show, the Minnesota State Fair, and the Southwest National Brown Swiss Show.
Meet the Associate Judge: Hayden Hauschildt
Hayden Hauschildt runs Jaden Holsteins and Brown Swiss in Ellsworth, Wisconsin, with his parents, Jim and Diane. The herd has bred more than 100 Excellent Brown Swiss, 17 All-American nominees, and numerous state and national champions. Jaden has earned Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor at the Minnesota State Fair and Premier Breeder at the North American International Livestock Exposition.
A UW-Madison graduate, Hayden won the Dr. Dave Dickson Award for high oral reasons at the National Intercollegiate Dairy Judging Contest. He was associate judge of the 2022 International Brown Swiss Show and focuses his breeding program on strong cow families.
Intermediate Champion Female
Intermediate Champion: Pit-Crew O Malley Patty – Kirby Sparrow, Worthville, KY
Reserve Intermediate Champion: Rosedale Diego Aliada-ETV – Grace, Kenzie & Harper Koopmann, Epworth, IA
Thompson pulled five cows for the intermediate drive: the top two yearlings in milk, the summer junior two-year-old winner, and the first- and second-place senior three-year-olds.
Patty, the senior three-year-old winner, gets the banner on dairy strength and mobility. Thompson said dairy strength and the ability to milk are what he wanted to recognize in the breed today.
Aliada, the yearling-in-milk winner, takes reserve. Thompson said there hadn’t been milking yearlings like these in a while, and he pointed to yearlings in milk as where the breed needs to look in the future. To be competitive in today’s market, he said, they need to be milking at that age.
f
🏆 Spring Heifer Calf
Kedar Ojh Stop and Stare-ET – Opsal-JH Genetics & Kedar Brown Swiss, Blue Mounds, WINorthkill Creek Famous Glam – Hannah Balthaser, Bernville, PABlue Diamond R Genie – Kyle Thompson, Raymond, CAWindyhollow Design Rowdy – Conway Krohlow, Poynette, WIKnapp Timeout Oracle-ET – Colt & Luke Buckley; Jack, Sydney, Luke & Macey Saltzman, Lawrenceburg, KY
Thompson’s winner sorted herself to the top on openness of rib. She’s open through the fore rib and carries that back through the rear rib. She placed over second for being harder on top, with more style about her head and neck.Glam wins the next pair on how she holds her front end together, especially in line. She’s stronger through the shoulder, blends better in the crop and is harder on top. Genie’s openness and mass kept her in third. Rowdy gets the nod over fifth for straightness of lines, length from nose to tail and a cleaner hock.
🏆 Winter Heifer Calf
Northkill Creek Glazer – Hannah Balthaser, Bernville, PA
Red Carpet Diego Sushi-ET – E, I, E Staudinger & L & L Kuester, Reedsville, WI
KCCK Sully Always – Livia Morris, Dyersville, IA
Brook Hollow Iconic Honi – Delbert & Heather Yoder, West Salem, OH
Kruses Gen Jethro Fresca – Adam & Alison Kruse, Homestead, IA
Thompson loved Glazer’s straightness of lines. He said the spring at the top of her rib got her over second. He also liked her dairy quality through the head and neck, her angularity and her overall style.
Sushi is deep, open and has lots of capacity, with plenty of spring to her rear rib. She wins the next pair because she tracks more square. Honi’s breed character, dairy strength through the head and neck, and quality of bone kept her fourth. Fresca gets the nod over sixth for being longer and cleaner in her neck.
🏆 Fall Heifer Calf
Ar-Line Tmo Love Bites-ETV – L: Kyla Johnson, O: Ranae Herman, Tomah, WI
Jenlar Diego Tillie-ETV – Brianna & Abby Meyer, Chilton, WI
Pit-Crew Formula Kassidy-ET – Pit-Crew Genetics, Cambridge, MN
Love Bites put the class together on the move. Thompson said she’s so comfortable walking and presents herself at all times. He also gave her more dairy strength through the muzzle than the second-place heifer.
Tillie brings mass, openness, body capacity and a correct rump. Her strength through the crops and chine got her over Tiptoe. Tiptoe moves freely on her feet and legs and has a very desirable rump. She placed over the high-style heifer in fourth for showing more breed character through the front end.
🏆 Summer Yearling Heifer
Banowetz F Freebird Twin – Clark & Alisha Morgan & Graham Jenkins, Urbana, OH Hills Valley Lt F Dragon – Kiley Rae Little, Thurmont, MD Buckmeadow To Ivy League-ETV – Brian Pacheco, Kerman, CA Blessing Gaff Trick Zandra – Chad Gebert & Marlin Gaff, Wawaka, IN Knapp Rc Design Truly 894-ETV – Michael Maier, Stitzer, WI Freebird Twin sorted herself to the top on locomotion. Thompson called her balanced and correct all the way through. She’s not extreme anywhere, but she’s straight in her top line, open and has breed character from head to tail. She placed over second for tracking straighter on her front legs and setting her rear feet down more smoothly on the move.
Dragon has the frame, openness and dairy quality. Her width through the rump gets her over the high-style heifer in third.
🏆 Spring Yearling Heifer
Jenlar Wclass Wellcut-ETV – Brianna & Abby Meyer, Chilton, WI
All-Glo Carter Popular-ET – Justin & Ashley Kaufman, Berlin, PA
New-Direction Arizona-ETV – Blessing Farms and Brian Garrison, Fort Wayne, IN
Blessing Garbro F Glenda-ETV – Stookey Holsteins & Goff Dairy, Milford, IN
Jenlar Diego Whynot-ETV – Brianna & Abby Meyer, Chilton, WI
Wellcut grabbed Thompson’s attention right away with her style. In what he called a close placing, the hardness of her loin, how freely she tracks and her feet and legs got her over second.
Popular is square-made and straight in her lines. Her openness wins the pair over the straight-lined heifer in third. Further down, Whynot is square, hard down her top and tracks well on her feet and legs. She placed over the high-style heifer in sixth for more depth of flank.
🏆 Winter Yearling Heifer
Knapp Norwin Daisy ETV – Peter and Lisa Coyne, Spring Valley, WI
Knapp Ray Rosebud-ETV – Patty Dilly, Dyersville, IA
Sashill Design Abilene – Paul and Abby Pavolko, Albion, PA
New Direction To Winter – F Hayden Weaver, Ephrata, PA
Thompson called it a close pair at the top. Daisy gets the nod for more dairy quality about her head. She’s longer and stronger through the muzzle, cleaner and longer in her neck, and a little wider in the pins.
Rosebud’s loin gets her over third. Kylynn’s balance and style place her over the very dairy heifer in fourth. Abilene wins her pair for openness of rib, clean bone, more width in the pins and through the rump, and fuller crops.
🏆 Fall Yearling Heifer
Birdsallway Time Out Nita-ET – P Kinnard, W Malcore and T Ostrom, Kaukauna, WI
Hobby Stock Topntch Bacardi – Garrett Waldenberger, Spring Grove, MN
Jenlar Diego Wild Dream-ETV – L: Jacob Harbaugh; O: Townline Acres Dairy, Marion, WI
Blessing Garbro Pistachio-ETV – Logan & Chloe Duckett & Peter Vail, Rudolph, WI
Thompson said Nita wasn’t his first pick at the start. The longer he looked, the more he liked her. She’s a little fuller in her crops and wider in her pin placement, and that got her over the high-style heifer in second.
Bacardi wins the next pair for overall length, depth and openness. Wild Dream carries her loin and moves more freely on her front feet than fourth. Pistachio’s squareness and ring presence put her over Trudy. Trudy has breed character, is dairy and feminine through the head and neck, and blends smoothly in the shoulder.
🏆 Yearling Heifer in Milk
Rosedale Diego Aliada-ETV – Grace, Kenzie & Harper Koopmann, Epworth, IA
Rival With All Due Respect – R & L Read, L & S Olson, L & B Beckard, T Wright, Hutchinson, MN
V B HJ Cv Ray Vendetta – Christopher Voegeli and Hilary Voegeli, Monticello, WI
Voelkers Nello Nockoff – Voelker Kiley Farms LLC, Rochester, MN
Just So D Forthright-ET – Just So Farm, Lake Mills, WI
Thompson said the top of the class was pretty easy. Aliada has balance and capacity throughout. She’s the modern kind, moves freely and is straight in her lines. Second follows her closely in that pattern but isn’t as mature.
All Due Respect’s hardness over the top and more desirable rump win the pair over the big-framed, strong dairy cow in third. Vendetta gets the nod over fourth for more strength through the front end, a more desirable tailhead setting and a more nearly level udder floor. Nockoff’s dairyness and teat placement carry her over fifth.
B3-Nehls Time For Fun – Brothers Three and Shawn & Seth Nehls, Watertown, WI
Brown Heaven Famous Jello – Brown Heaven, Verchères, QC
V B Design Zappy – Voegeli Farm Inc., Monticello, WI
Hobby Stock Famous Brailey – Garrett Waldenberger, Watertown, WI
Thompson started the class with the cow he felt shows the most breed character. Nashville has a stronger jaw than second, an open front end, angle to her rib, a wide rump and a snug mammary system. She’s also his best udder, with a level udder floor, width, venation and teat placement.
Time For Fun wins the next pair on attachments. She’s stronger in the fore udder attachment and higher in the rear udder. Jello carries her loin better than fourth, and her fore udder blends more smoothly into the body wall. Zappy’s rear-udder symmetry and seam definition take her over fifth.
🏆 Spring Junior Two-Year-Old Cow
Hills Valley Foremost Yoshi – Mount Elgin Dairy Farms & Jaiden Stull, Guelph, ON
Rosedale Diego Altra-ETV – Blessing Farms and Brian Garrison, Fort Wayne, IN
Thompson called it a close pair at the top. Both cows are high style, with dairy frame, angularity and well-balanced mammary systems. Yoshi gets the nod because she carries her loin, is a little stronger and is taller at the point of the shoulders.
Kami takes best udder for being more even in her rear quarters, and that mammary system wins her pair over the big-framed cow in third. Tessa is long from nose to tail, carries her udder well above the hock and has her thurls placed more correctly than fourth. Princess gets over fifth on udder bloom and width. She also tracks more freely on her rear legs.
🏆 Senior Two-Year-Old Cow
Hilltop Acres D Kourtney-ET – T&K Kohls and R&K Mackinson, Arlington, MN C & A Collaps Rosee-ET – Ashley Swenson, Nicollet, MN Jenlar Diego Windfall-ET – Carter Kruse, Dyersville, IA Jenlar Diego Wedding-ETV – Tristen Hans Ostrom, Kaukauna, WI Brook Hollow Mb Picture It-ET – Delbert & Heather Yoder and Mark Binverse, West Salem, OH Thompson started with his best-udder cow. Kourtney has a level udder floor, strong attachments and near-ideal teat placement and size. She’s also a little more stylish and sharper down her top line. He did grant that the second-place cow is fuller in the crop and a little stronger in the front end.
Rosee’s strength, hard top and fore udder capacity get her over the large-framed cow in third. Windfall and Wedding are similar in frame. Windfall wins that pair on a more level udder floor and a longer fore udder attachment. Wedding’s udder width, openness, angle of rib and front-end dairy strength put her over fifth.
🏆 Junior Three-Year-Old Cow
Harvest Brz Els Windstorm – Tristen Hans Ostrom, Kaukauna, WI
Just So K Fairlady-ETV – Just So Farm, Lake Mills, WI
Abs Daredevil Hotstuff – Alexis Blankenberg, Platteville, WI
Brown Heaven Design Freida – Brown Heaven, Verchères, QC
Just So K Wafer – Just So Farm, Lake Mills, WI
Windstorm walked in and challenged the rest of the class. Thompson called her the most correct cow, with frame, overall length and height. Her mammary system wins the pair over second. She has a more nearly level udder floor and more ideal rear teat placement and teat size.
Fairlady has an open rib, carries her loin and moves well on her legs. Her dairy frame and udder bloom put her over third. Hotstuff’s breed character through the head, sharpness down the top, udder balance and rear-udder height got her over fourth. Freida placed over fifth on teat placement and the turn of her rear udder.
Senior Three-Year-Old Cow
Pit-Crew O Malley Patty – Kirby Sparrow, Worthville, KY
Edge View D Fabulous – William Kelly Iii & Goldfawn Farm, Winchester, NH
Hilltop Acres D Twirl-ETV – Blessing Farms and Brian Garrison, Fort Wayne, IN
SG VB Biniam Callise-ET – New Generation and Voegeli Farms, Monticello, WI
Thompson called it a top-heavy class. Patty gets the nod for a little more dairy strength, fuller crops and a stronger loin. She’s also his best udder. The top of her rear udder fills up, and he called her front-to-back balance nearly ideal.
Fabulous wins the next pair on a big advantage in udder bloom and capacity. She’s also a little sharper over the shoulder, though he granted that Twirl tracks smoother on her rear feet and legs. Twirl’s balance, fore udder and dairyness put her over fourth. Callise’s level udder floor and rear-udder height got her over fifth.
Four-Year-Old Cow
Hilltop Acres H Damara – Peter Vail, Valatie, NY
Jenlar Fc Whipsaw-ETV – Iroquois Acres, Bridport, VT
Lookout Super Ginta – Brian Pacheco and Antonio Moreno, Kerman, CA
Robland Bays Irish Cream Twin – Tony Kohls and Goldfawn Farm, Arlington, MN
Damara wins a 20-cow four-year-old class for Peter Vail and also takes the class’s best udder. Pit-Crew Genetics’ Shay rounds out the top five as the top bred-and-owned cow in the class.
🏆 Five-Year-Old Cow
V B Phantom Sinister – Voegeli Farm Inc., Monticello, WI
Pearl Dell Drake Whitney – Elizabeth D Schieferstine, Verona, NY
Edge View D Sesame – Kylie Sparrow, Worthville, KY
Hills Valley Dairystar Riki – Hill’s Valley Farm, LLC, Cattaraugus, NY
Thompson started with a pair of fourth-calf five-year-olds. Sinister wins it on mammary balance. She’s more symmetrical front to back, especially between the right and left front quarters, and he preferred her teat size and placement. She’s also thinner-hided with more dairy quality and moves freer on her rear legs.
Whitney carries a high rear udder well above her hock. She places over third on angularity and freer movement. Sesame, fresh 10 months with three calves, gets over fourth on frame, an additional calf, and udder capacity and width. Presley’s mobility puts her over fifth.
RDT Daredevil Lola – Red Dirt Genetics & Katy Boehm, Perkins, OK
R-N-R Cliff Camilla – Kevin Michalovich, Lakeville, OH
Brown Heaven Genox Jeaverissa – Brown Heaven, Verchères, QC
Kruses Moonlight Juliet-ET – Rick Kruse, Dyersville, IA
Alina won on how beautifully she presents herself. Thompson said she’s smooth on the walk, straight over the top and has more natural, correct teat size than second.
He granted that Lola outmasses the winner. She has openness through the front end, drop to her rib, spring to her rear flank, and an udder carried well above her hock. The way she tracks gets her over third. Camilla has had five calves, carries her udder well above the hock and has uniformity of udder Thompson called tremendous. The top of her rear udder puts her over the very dairy cow in fourth.
🏆 Component Merit Cow
Terra Rose Cliff Shasta – Adele Biasini, Calmar, IA
Shiloh Durango Tori – Fairdale Farm LLC, Worthville, KY
Brown Heaven Kade Friend – Brown Heaven, Verchères, QC
Cutting Edge Bg Ds Sharice – Blessing Farms and Garrison Bros., Fort Wayne, IN
Just So D Frisky – Just So Farm, Lake Mills, WI
Shasta wins the class handily, and her mammary system is the big reason. Thompson called her very correct and very dairy in her frame. After a year in milk, she carries a balanced, wide udder well above her hock, with teat size and placement close to ideal.
Tori and Friend make a close pair. Both are dairy-framed cows that carry their udders above the hock. Tori gets the nod on number of calves, with twice as many as third. Friend’s mammary balance puts her over fourth. Sharice gets over fifth for more extension in her fore udder attachment.
Mike Berry’s two days in the Coliseum ended where the last two Expos did – with Vierra Dairy Farms’ great cow on top and Milk Source Genetics’ Dixie right behind her.
As Mike Berry walked out to his final lineup at the 2026 International Jersey Show on Tuesday afternoon, the song over the Coliseum speakers was “Hall of Fame.” Berry said it fit. He told the crowd he didn’t know if there had ever been a cow quite like Stoney Point Joel Bailey. Then he named her Grand Champion.
That’s three straight years at the top of the Jersey breed in Madison for Bailey and Vierra Dairy Farms of Hilmar, Calif. She was Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo in 2024 and came back as Grand Champion in 2025. This year she came into the championship off a win in the Lifetime Cheese Production Cow class.
Berry, of Powell Butte, Ore., said Bailey puts it all together. She moves free around the ring and is balanced, with a hard top and a great mammary system, and she’s beautiful from end to end. In her class, he pointed to her high, wide rear udder and the way her fore udder ties into the body wall. By his estimate she’s about 10 years old.
The same top two as last year
The rest of the podium will look familiar too. GMBV Joel Dixie-ET, the winning Five-Year-Old for Milk Source Genetics of Kaukauna, Wis., took Reserve Grand, the same spot she held behind Bailey in 2025. Honorable Mention went to Lookout Joel She’s Spicy, runner-up to Dixie in the five-year-old class, for River Valley Farm of Tremont, Ill. Berry said the two five-year-olds share the same style in their frames. Both are balanced, hard-topped and silky, with style all the way through.
Honorable Mention capped a big week for River Valley Farm. They won the Yearling Heifer in Milk class with Sparks Kaymanor Acc Daytona and the Four-Year-Old class with Pine Haven Victorious Taya. They also placed second in two classes, third in two and fourth in another, putting them in the top four in seven classes.
Intermediate: Lovebite edges April
Knonaudale Chips Lovebite-ET, the winning Winter Senior Two-Year-Old for Jim & Valerie Spreng and Jay Ackley of East Liberty, Ohio, was named Intermediate Champion. Berry called her and the Reserve, Ratliff Wicked April, two cows that blow you away. April won the Junior Three-Year-Old class for Ron & Christy Ratliff of Garnett, Kan. In the end Berry went with the younger cow’s udder floor and the way her mammary system ties into the body wall, though he made a point of saying April has a great udder of her own. Honorable Mention went to KCJF/Lucky Lady Keep the Fayeth-ET, the Senior Three-Year-Old winner for Keightley & Core Jerseys and Frank & Diane Borba of Salvisa, Ky.
Junior: Budjon-Vail sets the pace
Monday’s heifer show belonged to Budjon Farms and Peter Vail of Lomira, Wis. Budjon-Vail Joel Starstruck-ET won the Summer Yearling class and went on to Junior Champion and Bred & Owned Junior Champion for Budjon Farms, Peter Vail and Genosource. Berry liked her style, balance and depth, how gracefully she moves on a beautiful set of feet and legs, and her femininity through the head and neck. Her stablemate Budjon-Vail Video Kerosene-ET, second to Starstruck in the class, took Honorable Mention. Budjon also won the Junior Best Three Females. On Tuesday they added the Six-Year-Old & Older Cow class with SpringView Joel Kinsley.
Reserve Junior Champion went to South Mtn & Co Rockin Robin-ET, the winning Spring Yearling for Brayden Carpio and Kiliana Breuer of Kersey, Colo. Berry picked her on femininity. She was also Junior Champion of the Junior Show.
Junior show and groups
Kevetta Colton Delilah, third in the Six-Year-Old & Older class for Kyra & Griffin Lamb of Oakfield, N.Y., was Grand Champion of the Junior Show. Reserve went to Sugar Brook Joel Jeopardy for Kamryn, Kate & Colt Kasbergen and Kash-In Jerseys of Tulare, Calif. In the class, Berry had singled her out as a 10-year-old that’s had eight calves. Underground Fancys Fiji was Honorable Mention.
Pacific Edge of Tillamook, Ore., won both the Senior Best Three Females and the Exhibitor’s Herd. Misty Meadow Dairy took Produce of Dam.
From the middle of the ring
Berry last judged this show in 2017. He’s a partner in Robinhood Cattle Company, and he started out as a professional fitter. Across roughly 365 head in 17 classes, he kept coming back to the same things: balance, a hard top, spring and openness of rib, and udders that tie in right.
Before tying the final banners, Berry thanked associate judge Ryan Lancaster of Tillamook, Ore. He said they’ve shown Jersey cows together for about 30 years. He also thanked his parents, uncles and brother, who were watching from the stands.
Meet the Associate Judge: Ryan Lancaster
Ryan Lancaster lives and breathes Jerseys. He and his wife Freynie, with their children Logan, Tatum, Harper, and Bode, run Royalty Ridge in Tillamook, Oregon. The milking herd classifies at a 91.7 average. The Ohio State University graduate’s program has bred 34 EX-95 cows and one EX-97, and it includes cows such as EX-97 Pleasant Nook F Prize Circus and EX-95 FLM Tradition Flower.
Royalty Ridge has won Champion Bred & Owned at the All-American Jersey Show five times. The Lancasters were also the first Jersey breeders to have four consecutive generations classify EX-95, and they have a long record of success at World Dairy Expo and national shows.
Follow Bullvine Coverage Both Days
This page will be updated as each class is placed. We’ll post:
Class winners and top placings, checked against the official World Dairy Expo results
Original Bullvine photography from ringside
The key points from Judge Berry’s reasons, class by class
Video of the Junior, Intermediate, Senior, and Grand Champion selections
Complete official placings when the show wraps up
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🏆 Grand Champion Female
Grand Champion: Stoney Point Joel Bailey – Vierra Dairy Farms, Hilmar, CA Reserve Grand Champion: GMBV Joel Dixie-ET – Milk Source Genetics, Kaukauna, WI Honorable Mention: Lookout Joel She’s Spicy – River Valley Farm, Tremont, IL
Berry said Stoney Point Joel Bailey, the Lifetime Cheese Production Cow winner, just puts it all together, and he doesn’t know if there’s ever been a cow quite like her. She moves free around the ring and is balanced, with a hard top and a great mammary system. She’s beautiful from end to end, the kind of cow everyone wishes they had.
Reserve went to GMBV Joel Dixie-ET, the Five-Year-Old winner, with class runner-up Lookout Joel She’s Spicy at Honorable Mention. Berry said the pair share the same style in their frames: balanced, hard-topped and silky, with style all the way through.
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🏆 Intermediate Champion Female | International Jersey Show | World Dairy Expo 2026 Judge: Mike Berry | Associate: Ryan Lancaster
Intermediate Champion: Knonaudale Chips Lovebite-ET – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH Reserve Intermediate Champion: Ratliff Wicked April – Ron & Christy Ratliff Trustees, Garnett, KS
Berry said his top two just blow you away, and he split them by only a little. Knonaudale Chips Lovebite-ET, the Winter Senior Two-Year-Old winner, got the edge on her mammary system. She’s a little nicer in her udder floor and a little squarer, and she ties in a tick nicer to the body wall.
Ratliff Wicked April, the Junior Three-Year-Old winner, takes reserve. Berry loved her length of frame and dairy strength and made a point of saying she has a great udder too. He just preferred the younger cow’s udder floor and the way it ties in.
Junior Champion: Budjon-Vail Joel Starstruck-ET – Budjon Farms, Peter Vail & Genosource, Lomira, WI Reserve Junior Champion: South Mtn & Co Rockin Robin-ET – Brayden Carpio and Kiliana Breuer, Kersey, CO
Budjon-Vail Joel Starstruck-ET came in off a Summer Yearling win, where Berry called her an exceptional heifer. He liked her style, balance and depth, the way she moves gracefully around the ring on a beautiful set of feet and legs, and her femininity through the head and neck.
South Mtn & Co Rockin Robin-ET topped the Spring Yearlings on femininity. In that class, Berry praised her style and balance, depth of fore rib, hard top and beautiful set of feet and legs. She was also cleaner through her head and neck and crisper through the front end.
🏆 Spring Heifer Calf
Miss-E Kid Rock Vayda-ET – Missy Moretti, Tillamook, OR
Crestbrooke Video Menace-ET – Brayden Carpio and Kiliana Breuer, Kersey, CO
Z-Class Living On The Edge – Mason Ziemba, Durhamville, NY
Budjon-Vail V Kountry Roads – Budjon Farms and Peter Vail, Lomira, WI
BK-Mor Gold Dust Faith – Clark & Alisha Morgan, Graham Jenkins,& Olivia Weisant, Urbana, OH
Berry gave Miss-E Kid Rock Vayda-ET the nod on the move. He liked how she carries herself through her head and neck, with more extension and femininity, and how she stands squarer and more comfortable on her legs.
Crestbrooke Video Menace-ET, long from end to end with a hard top and square rump, placed over third for blending better through the front end – tighter in her crops, with more width and power through the fore rib. Z-Class Living On The Edge took the pair for third, crisper and cleaner in the thigh. Budjon-Vail V Kountry Roads placed over fifth on width, power, balance and length of frame.
🏆 Winter Heifer Calf
Ela May Hidalgo Vegas Baby – Ela May Genetics-Ava, Ivy & Liv Hebgen, Deforest, WI
Schulte Bros Kid Get To Work-ET – Zach, Blake, Mitch, Charlie and Zachary Jr Schulte, Dyersville, IA
Big Time Hidalgo Finales Fable – Dylan & Cameron Ryan; M Linehan, G Fremstad, Fond Du Lac, WI
Schaapman Kidrock Honey-ET – Terrance Yoder, Montezuma, GA
Berry gave Ela May Hidalgo Vegas Baby the nod coming at you. He liked her turn and spring of rib, her openness and flatness of bone, plus that silkiness.
Schulte Bros Kid Get To Work-ET has high style and length of neck. She placed over third because she’s more like the winner: cleaner across the ribs, flatter in her bone, with more spring and openness. Big Time Hidalgo Finales Fable placed over fourth for more length from end to end, a cleaner look on the move and more style through her head and neck. Schaapman Kidrock Honey-ET placed over fifth on femininity and style.
🏆 Fall Heifer Calf
Miss Recognition Jemma – Max, Ellie, Maddie Bollenbacher, Kevin Reichard, & Matt and Molly Sloan, Marshall, WI
Hrc Manhattans Mojo-ET – Tommy Allen, Reedsburg, WI
South Mountain Rock&Roll Cher-ET – Ernest Kueffner, Terri Packard & Russell Lynn Isley, Boonsboro, MD
Budjon-Vail Jordan Shadore-ET – Budjon Farms and Peter Vail, Lomira, WI
Big Guns Gold Dust Velvet – Harold Rader Jr, Conneaut Lake, PA
Berry called Miss Recognition Jemma a fairly handy winner. He liked her style, balance and dairy strength. She’s wide coming at you, silky, with a big turn and openness. Width, power and cleanliness put her over second.
Hrc Manhattans Mojo-ET, hard-topped, long-framed and feminine on the move, won the pair for second on feet and legs. She tracks out better and is more refined in bone down through the leg. South Mountain Rock&Roll Cher-ET, wide in the rump with big hips and square pins, placed over fourth on width and power. Budjon-Vail Jordan Shadore-ET stood more comfortably in line, with a more desirable set to the leg than fifth.
🏆 Summer Yearling Heifer
Budjon-Vail Joel Starstruck-ET – Budjon Farms, Peter Vail & Genosource, Lomira, WI
Budjon-Vail Video Kerosene-ET – Budjon Farms and Peter Vail, Lomira, WI
Pacific Edge Joel Valencia-ET – Pacific Edge & Brent Rocha, Tillamook, OR
Budjon-Vail Video Synthia-ET – Budjon Farms and Peter Vail, Lomira, WI
Berry handed Budjon-Vail Joel Starstruck-ET the class on style, balance and depth. She moves gracefully around the ring on a beautiful set of feet and legs and is feminine through her head and neck.
Berry called second and third extremely close. Budjon-Vail Video Kerosene-ET wins the pair, deeper in her flank with more rear rib, and stands more comfortably on a more desirable set of legs. Vierra Baileys 1st Impression-ET placed over fourth on style and balance. Berry switched fourth and fifth in line, preferring Pacific Edge Joel Valencia-ET for a wider chest floor and squarer front legs.
🏆 Spring Yearling Heifer South Mtn & Co Rockin Robin-ET – Brayden Carpio and Kiliana Breuer, Kersey, CO Nasholm-Vail Reviresco Vasia – Camryn Thomas & Michael Mcswain, North Lewisburg, OH Budjon-Vail Video Tswift-ET – Gavin Bewley, Susquehanna, PA MM Gentry Vixen-ET – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH Meadowridge Sting Emmie – Mark, Kaitynn,Tani Riebe and Alleah & Alexa Anderson, Cumberland, WI Berry gave South Mtn & Co Rockin Robin-ET the nod on femininity. He liked her style and balance, her depth of fore rib, her hard top and her beautiful set of feet and legs. She’s cleaner through her head and neck, and more feminine and crisper through the front end, than the big, powerful Nasholm-Vail Reviresco Vasia. Budjon-Vail Video Tswift-ET, long-framed and hard-topped, hits you with style and balance on the move. She placed over fourth for more femininity and cleaner bone down through the leg into the hock. Berry admired MM Gentry Vixen-ET’s frame, width and power, and her wide, square rump.
🏆 Winter Yearling Heifer
Bambi-KCCK Kidrock Friends-ET – Kaleb, Cole & Carter Kruse, Gene Henderson and Cooper Schulte, Dyersville, IA
Mead-Manor Joel Cheering-ET – Mead-Manor & Katie Ledvina, Algoma, WI
Discoverys Ghost Janessa – River Valley Farm, Tremont, IL
Budjon-Vail Jordan Sheena-ET – Budjon Farms and Peter Vail, Lomira, WI
Z-Class Cash Recognition – Mason Ziemba, Durhamville, NY
Bambi-KCCK Kidrock Friends-ET gets the nod for more width through the chest floor coming at you. She’s deeper, with more turn, spring and openness of rib. Berry liked the dairy strength, loins and wide, square rumps on both of his top two.
Mead-Manor Joel Cheering-ET, stylish and hard-topped with her tail set right down between the pins, placed over third with more drop to the flank and more depth and openness of rear rib. Discoverys Ghost Janessa’s length of frame and loin positioning put her over fourth. Budjon-Vail Jordan Sheena-ET, deep-sprung and silky, placed over fifth on cleanliness through the front end.
🏆 Yearling Heifer in Milk
Sparks Kaymanor Acc Daytona – River Valley Farm, Tremont, IL Vierra Just Dance-ET – Pacific Edge & David Jordan, Tillamook, OR Vierra Chip Spritzer-ET – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH Meadowridge Conquest Angie – Michael, Mark, Kaitynn, Tani Riebe and Alleah & Alexa Anderson, Cumberland, WI Ratliff K Rock Disco-ET – Brock Hoskins, Westby, WI
Berry gave Sparks Kaymanor Acc Daytona the nod for how she blends through her front end. She’s fuller in her crops, with a longer fore udder tying into the body wall. He also liked her style, hard top and length of frame.Vierra Just Dance-ET placed over third on rear udder height, width and structure. Vierra Chip Spritzer-ET’s dairy strength, spring and openness of rib put her over fourth. Berry sees a big future for Meadowridge Conquest Angie, a recently fresh winter yearling. She placed over fifth with a smoother fore udder that extends and ties into the body wall nicer.
🏆 Summer Junior Two-Year-Old Cow
Lookout Chocolate Love – Michael Neves & Lourenco, Isabella, Mason, Giada, & Ava Pires, Modesto, CAOakriver Victorious Kaitlin Klark – Weeksdale Holsteins Inc. and T & L Cattle Ltd, Pleasant Valley, PEReich-Dale Victorious Slap – Shaylin Reichard & Evelynne Holmquist, Chambersburg, PALost-Brooke Cf Kid Rock Faith-ET – Makayla,kaleb,katie,kylie, & Jaclyn Osinga, Hico, TXMM Victorious Takes 2 To Tango-ET – Misty Meadow Dairy, Tillamook, OR
PVF Rainbow Chocochip-ET – River Valley Farm, Tremont, IL
Budjon-Vail Victorious Sheera-ET – Budjon Farms and Peter Vail, Lomira, WI
Vierra Baileys Bombshell – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH
Budjon-Vail Video Shyanne-ET – Kaleb & Henry Osinga, Hico, TX
Berry gave Stadview Gentry Velvet-ET the nod on angularity. She’s crisper throughout and flatter-boned, with more spring and curvature of rib and a fuller rear flank. He also preferred her front teat placement to that of the big, square second-place cow.
PVF Rainbow Chocochip-ET, high, wide and square in her rear udder, placed over third on depth, width and power. Budjon-Vail Victorious Sheera-ET’s length of frame and fore udder extension put her over fourth. Vierra Baileys Bombshell placed over fifth on her mammary system: the way her fore udder ties in, rear udder height and width, plus style on the move.
🏆 Winter Senior Two-Year-Old Cow
Knonaudale Chips Lovebite-ET – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH
Mixin Moos Victrious Rylah – Clarkvalley & Pierre Boulet, Beaverton, ON
Krahn Girls Downtown Vitality – Clancey, Amy and Ben Krahn, Albany, OR
Lc C Chip Dew Drop – Erin & Sophie Leach and Anna Hahn, Linwood, KS
Mcwilliams Cc Double – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH
Berry handed Knonaudale Chips Lovebite-ET the win on balance. She’s wide and square, with a little more width and power all the way through. He also liked how her fore udder ties into the body wall and her high, wide, square rear udder.
Mixin Moos Victrious Rylah placed over third on more mammary quality, with nicer texture in her rear udder. Krahn Girls Downtown Vitality, long and feminine through the head and neck, placed over fourth on high style. Lc C Chip Dew Drop’s rear udder width and the way she keeps her pins down put her over fifth.
🏆 Junior Three-Year-Old Cow
Ratliff Wicked April – Ron & Christy Ratliff Trustees, Garnett, KS
Avonlea Stony Kadbury Mini Eggs – Ducket Holsteins and Apex Genetics, Rudolph, WI
MM Chocolatier Kickstart-ET – Misty Meadow Dairy, Tillamook, OR
Underground Fancys Fiji – Isaac Folts, Keightley & Core, F&d Borba, North Collins, NY
Pacific Edge Famous Icon – Joey Rocha, Tillamook, OR
Berry said Ratliff Wicked April came to the top quite handy. He liked her hard top on the move, her dairy strength and width through the chest floor, and her spring and openness. She’s feminine, with a high, wide, square rear udder.
Avonlea Stony Kadbury Mini Eggs placed over third on a fore udder that extends and ties into the body wall nicer, with more snap at the top of the rear udder. MM Chocolatier Kickstart-ET’s width, in her rear udder and all the way through, put her over fourth. Underground Fancys Fiji, hard-topped with a high rear udder, placed over fifth for a nicer loin, keeping her pins down.
🏆 Senior Three-Year-Old Cow
1.Kcjf/lucky Lady Keep The Fayeth-ET – Keightley & Core Jerseys and Frank & Diane Borba, Salvisa, KY 2. Schulte Bros Kid Rock Cobra-ET – Ron & Christy Ratliff Trustees, Garnett, KS 3. Roggua Kid Rock Naela – River Valley Farm, Tremont, IL 4. Breezy Knoll Joel Melanie – Cam, Cora & Coy Cope, Salem, OH 5. Meadowridge Maximus Goldie – Michael, Mark, Kaitynn, Tani Riebe and Alleah & Alexa Anderson, Cumberland, WI Berry’s top two were wide, powerful cows, and Kcjf/lucky Lady Keep The Fayeth-ET gets the nod for being cleaner and more feminine. She’s more refined in bone down through the leg and hock. Berry also preferred her teat size and shape and her added fore udder extension.
Schulte Bros Kid Rock Cobra-ET, massive coming at you with a wide, high, square mammary system, placed over third on depth and udder attachment. Roggua Kid Rock Naela, a cow Berry moved up, got over fourth on her rear udder. Breezy Knoll Joel Melanie stands more comfortably, with more drop to the flank and more width through the midsection than fifth.
🏆 Four-Year-Old Cow
Pine Haven Victorious Taya – River Valley Farm, Tremont, IL
Pine Haven Victorious Mahina – Weeksdale, Gardenvale, Owen Stewart, Pleasant Valley, PE
Ratliff Lolalala Vivid-ET – Ron & Christy Ratliff Trustee and Katelyn Klipp, Garnett, KS
Eatonholme Joyride Reba-ET – Vierra Dairy Farms, Hilmar, CA
Karnation Video Melisandre – Jim & Valerie Spreng, Jay Ackley, East Liberty, OH
Berry’s top two were similar-made, with dairy strength, width, power and openness of rib. Pine Haven Victorious Taya gets the nod on the move, walking more comfortably on her legs. She’s got more flank and is fuller at the bottom of her rib, the way it blends into the udder.
Pine Haven Victorious Mahina placed over third on squareness at the top of the rear udder. Ratliff Lolalala Vivid-ET placed over fourth for more femininity through the head and neck, a flatter udder floor and teats that tie into the floor nicer. Eatonholme Joyride Reba-ET placed over fifth, higher, wider and squarer at the top of the rear udder.
🏆 Five-Year-Old Cow
1.GMBV Joel Dixie-ET – Milk Source Genetics, Kaukauna, WI 2. Lookout Joel She’s Spicy – River Valley Farm, Tremont, IL 3. Pacific Edge Vip Tessah-ET – Brent Rocha & Coltan Seals, Tillamook, OR 4. MM Joel Flower-ET – Budjon Farms and Peter Vail, Lomira, WI 5. LC Reckless Armadillo – Lin-Crest Farm, Sophie & Erin Leach, & Brent Rocha, Tillamook, OR
Berry’s top two were similar in frame. GMBV Joel Dixie-ET gets the nod for how she moves around the ring on great feet and legs. He also preferred the top of her rear udder, and she’s crisper there than second.
Lookout Joel She’s Spicy placed over third on style, prettier through her front end and holding her top and loin better, with a better set to her legs. Pacific Edge Vip Tessah-ET, with a high, wide, quality udder and nicer teat size and shape, placed over fourth on width and power. MM Joel Flower-ET’s long, dairy frame and added power put her over fifth.
🏆 Six-Year-Old & Older Cow
1.Spring View Joel Kinsley – Budjon Farms and Peter Vail, Lomira, WI 2. Rivendale Vip Eloise – Vierra Dairy Farms, Hilmar, CA 3. Kevetta Colton Delilah – Kyra & Griffin Lamb, Oakfield, NY 4. J.P.L Joel Adelia – Vierra Dairy Farms, Hilmar, CA 5. Sugar Brook Joel Jeopardy – Kamryn, Kate, Colt Kasbergen & Kash-In Jerseys, Tulare, CA
Berry gave Spring View Joel Kinsley the nod on her mammary system: the way it extends and ties into the body wall, a level udder floor and a prettier attachment. She also has more spring and depth and is cleaner through the midsection than second.
Rivendale Vip Eloise, long and hard-topped, placed over third on height at the top of her rear udder. Kevetta Colton Delilah’s width and extra top to her rear udder put her over fourth. J.P.L Joel Adelia placed over fifth with a flatter udder floor and teats that tie in nicer. Berry admired Sugar Brook Joel Jeopardy, a 10-year-old with eight calves.
🏆 Lifetime Cheese Production Cow
1.Stoney Point Joel Bailey – Vierra Dairy Farms, Hilmar, CA 2. Pacific Edge Premier Diva-ET – Brent L Rocha, Tillamook, OR 3. Highview Balin Journey – Milk Source Genetics, Kaukauna, WI 4. Budjon-Vail Jordan C Shaneese-ET – Kamryn, Kate, Colt Kasbergen & Kash-In Jerseys, Tulare, CA Stoney Point Joel Bailey gets the nod on her mammary system: high and wide in the rear udder, with a fore udder that ties into the body wall. Berry also liked her style, balance and hard top, and the way she moves.
Pacific Edge Premier Diva-ET, silky and open-ribbed, placed over third on power through the front end and a long, well-extended fore udder. Highview Balin Journey carries her udder a little snugger, with more at the top of the rear udder and a nicer udder floor than fourth. Berry admired the spring and depth of rib on Budjon-Vail Jordan C Shaneese-ET.
Faultless: Arolene Dempsey Ella Takes Grand at the 2026 International Junior Holstein Show
Alyson Doiron led her own cow on the colored shavings for the first time and left with the top banner. Go-Sho Tatoos In Jericho-ET was Intermediate and Reserve Grand, and a winter yearling from the class Judge Ben Wallace called the best of the day won the heifer show.
Doiron, of Cap-Santé, Quebec, led Arolene Dempsey Ella to Senior and Grand Champion of the International Junior Holstein Show on Sunday, the opening day of World Dairy Expo 2026. Judge Ben Wallace of Stoughton, Wisconsin, and associate judge Phillip Topp of Botkins, Ohio, named Go-Sho Tatoos In Jericho-ET Intermediate and Reserve Grand Champion. In the heifer show, Walk-Era Aint She Fancy-ET came out of the 17-head winter yearling class to be named Junior Champion.
“I wanted to do the junior show and just have some fun,” Doiron said after the show. “And I didn’t expect to win, but now I’m really happy.”
A Grand Champion Nobody Had to Argue About
Many in the building had Ella marked as grand champion early. Wallace said he felt the same way once he saw her.
“She was pretty amazing, just faultless to us, you know,” he said after the show.
That’s how he placed her all afternoon. In the senior drive, Wallace said it was hard to call anything easy with that many good cows in the ring, but this five-year-old made it easy. He said he couldn’t find a fault. He talked about her femininity, her open rib, her rump structure and a great set of feet and legs. Then he got to the udder: high and wide, very symmetrical, and tightly attached.
Ella took the senior banner over Allegro Thunder Struck Cabell, the four-year-old winner for Olivia and Emily Feltmann of Norwood, Minnesota. Wallace preferred Ella for a little more heart and more drop to her fore rib. He still praised Cabell’s udder, and she was named Reserve Senior Champion over the second-place five-year-old because her rear udder was higher and wider.
Four cows came in for the grand drive: the senior champion and reserve, and the intermediate champion and reserve. Wallace said all four had beautiful frames, open rib structure and beautiful udders. He kept coming back to Ella’s udder, though, and said he couldn’t talk about it enough. He called it symmetrical, high and wide, with blended parts.
The Cow That Came Home
Ella’s story started with her dam, whom the Doirons owned. Ella was sold at the Royal, and Doiron admits she was “really mad” at her mom and uncle when it happened. After the sale, she decided she had to get her back.
“I was like, I have to bring this cow back home,” she said. “And that’s how it went.”
Ella was recently classified Excellent-95. Sunday was also a first for Doiron. She has shown in showmanship on the colored shavings before, but this was her first time leading a cow in the class show, and it was her own cow.
“It’s really my first time, and it was a nice experience,” she said.
Ella goes back into the ring Friday for the International Holstein Show. “She’ll be ready, and I think she’ll even look better,” Doiron said. After that, it’s on to the Royal. Then Ella will need to calve again, with the goal of coming back to Madison next year.
Jericho Leads the Intermediate Division
Jericho is owned by Tessa and Stella Schmocker, Sadie Kropf and Tristan Olstrom of Whitewater, Wisconsin. She won the senior three-year-old class on her rear udder, which Wallace said attached a little nicer at the top than the runner-up’s. Wallace also said she had probably the best rump he’d seen all day, and that she had the best udder in the class.
For the intermediate drive, Wallace pulled four cows: the milking yearling winner, the junior three-year-old winner and his top two senior threes. He called the intermediate champion a slam dunk. After the show, he said Jericho was a close match for his grand champion.
“The intermediate, same type of udder, just welded on, just feminine throughout, and really faultless,” he said.
RJR Gone Away-ET, the second-place senior three for Noah Reuter of Peosta, Iowa, was named Reserve Intermediate Champion. Wallace said it was hard to split his two senior threes. Gone Away edged out Honorable Mention Beslea Allyn HG Lambda Cagney for a little more bloom in her frame and more openness of rib. Cagney, exhibited by Ella, Owen and Ethan Gunderson of Shannon, Illinois, won the junior three-year-old class on her fore udder attachment. Wallace said she was his best udder in that class, too.
The fourth cow in the drive was Ms Lbrd Mar-A-Largo 2918-ET, the milking yearling winner for Mason Ziemba of Durhamville, New York. Wallace said he can’t wait to see how she develops.
Two-Year-Olds Won on Feet and Legs and Udders
After the show, the interviewer pointed to the quality in the young milking classes, and Wallace agreed. He described “quality udders, quality silky-hided cows,” with more moderate frames and wide rumps.
Summer junior two: Karnview Energy J-Lo-ET won a close top pair on feet and legs for the Osinga family of Hico, Texas. Wallace said she walked more comfortably and had the edge in fore udder attachment.
Spring junior two: Woodmansees Algtr Vega-ET won on her udder for Isaac Folts and Maxwell Crouthamel of North Collins, New York. Wallace called her the best udder in a class he described as deep all the way to the end. He said her udder floor was flatter and showed less quartering.
Winter senior two: Maifield Lambda Monique won for Tristen Hans Ostrom of Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Wallace called her an ultra-strong, balanced cow, and said her feet and legs made the difference.
Fall senior two: Seven-Heaven Haniko Delilah topped a two-cow class for Chloe and Carly Feltmann of Norwood, Minnesota. She had more balance, more openness of rib and better feet and legs.
Seniors and a Long-Lasting Production Winner
Nobland Delta-Lambda Book was a pretty easy mature cow winner for Macie R Noble of Lancaster, Wisconsin. Wallace liked her rear udder for being high, wide and well attached, and he liked her fore udder too. In the lifetime production class, Farnear Babes Cry-ET placed over the 11-year-old Tree-Hayven Awesome Mae. Babes Cry is exhibited by Bodie and Ellie Simon and Ana, Carson and Colin Rauen of Blairstown, Iowa. Wallace said you have to admire an 11-year-old cow that looks the way Awesome Mae does.
The Heifer Show: A “Big Mass Guy” Finds His Heifer
The heifer show was big. Two calf classes had 40 or more head: 40 spring calves and 44 winter calves. The interviewer estimated that Wallace sorted around 300 head over the day. Of all those classes, Wallace and Topp agreed the winter yearlings were the best from top to bottom. Wallace said none of those heifers had anything to be ashamed of, even at the bottom of the class.
Aint She Fancy won that class and then the Junior Champion banner for Kaylee and Carter Jackson of Barron, Wisconsin. Wallace liked her width through the chest and all the way through the rump, and her openness and drop to her rear rib. In the championship, he said this winter yearling just did it for him.
“I’m a big mass guy,” Wallace said after the show. “I like the rear flank on her, so long from head to tail.”
Heritage Crazy Drama-ET, the winter calf winner, was named Reserve Junior Champion and Junior Champion Bred & Owned for Madison and Melanie Sarbacker of Whitewater, Wisconsin. Wallace liked this December calf for her openness of rib and her silkiness through the head and neck. He said the winter yearling was a year older and carried her top a little harder. In the winter calf class, Wallace called Crazy Drama a pretty easy winner and said her size, mass and length throughout put her over the runner-up.
Hans-Gen Master Roku was named Honorable Mention Junior Champion for the Osinga family of Watertown, Wisconsin. She won the fall yearling class on openness of rib and rear flank, and she’s due in six weeks.
The other heifer class winners also fit Wallace’s taste:
Spring heifer calf (40 head): Me-Do-Meadows Cu Dancin won for Mallory Nifong of Orfordville, Wisconsin. Wallace said she walked on the best set of feet and legs in the class.
Fall heifer calf (38 head): Milksource Pony Up-ET, a second class win of the day for Tristen Hans Ostrom. Wallace said he and Topp had gone with correctness all day, and she was the most correct heifer in the class.
Summer yearling: Go-Sho Avenger Overdrive-ET, for the same Go-Sho group that owns Jericho. Wallace called her the fullest heifer of the day.
Spring yearling: Bella-Ridge Like A Queen, for the Harbaugh and Loehr families of Marion, Wisconsin. She won for being a little more crisp and longer through the head and neck.
What Wallace Rewarded
If you go back through the reasons, a clear pattern shows up. Feet and legs decided the top pair more often than anything else. That was the case for J-Lo, Monique, Dancin, Pony Up, Babes Cry and the milking yearling Mar-A-Largo. In the cow classes, udder quality and attachment decided many of the other top pairs. That includes Vega’s udder floor, Cagney’s fore udder, Jericho’s rear udder attachment at the top and Book’s udder overall. Across both cows and heifers, Wallace wanted open ribs and rear flank, and he wasn’t shy about calling himself a rib guy.
He also said the two judges stayed on the same page. Topp was on his seventh World Dairy Expo assignment. He has been official judge for the Brown Swiss, Red & White, Guernsey and Ayrshire shows here. Wallace said he valued Topp for liking the same type, for working efficiently and for having “no skin in the game.”
“We seem to agree all day, so it worked out really well,” Wallace said.
This was Wallace’s first time judging on the colored shavings. He’s the third generation of his family to judge at World Dairy Expo, and he noted his uncle judged here too. Wallace develops elite heifers near Stoughton, and he co-bred and cared for the 2021 Junior Champion of the International Holstein Show. He called the assignment “a very humbling experience” that “meant the world to me.”
He gave the exhibitors the credit.
“The kids are the future of the industry,” Wallace said. “You could tell the hard work they’d put in.”
Meet the Official Judge: Ben Wallace
Ben Wallace knows what it takes to develop a heifer into a champion, because that is what he does for a living. Ben, his wife Jennifer, and their children Kayden, Brock, and Kylie run a boarding program near Stoughton, Wisconsin. They manage 10 to 15 elite heifers a year, and in the last seven years they’ve developed more than 20 All-American nominated animals across several breeds. Their biggest win came as co-breeders and caretakers of the 2021 Junior Champion of the International Holstein Show.
Before that, the UW-Platteville Animal Science graduate worked as herdsman for Carrousel Farms and Me-Do Meadows, where he helped develop 40 All-American nominees. He has spent more than a decade fitting and developing cattle at local, state, national, and international shows, and he also runs a hoof-trimming business. Sunday, he continues a family tradition as a third-generation World Dairy Expo judge.
Meet the Associate Judge: Phillip Topp
Phillip Topp brings a breeder’s eye and a busy judging résumé to the middle of the ring. He and his wife Carrie, with their children Aubree, Aiden, and Alaina, own a 40-cow registered herd in Botkins, Ohio, where Phillip also runs a stainless-steel TIG welding fabrication business.
He has exhibited champions at the Ohio State Fair, NAILE, and World Dairy Expo, and he received the Ohio Young Breeder Award in 2016. His judging has taken him across the U.S. and to Peru and Mexico. This is his seventh assignment at World Dairy Expo. He has been official judge for the Brown Swiss, Red & White, Guernsey, and Ayrshire shows and associate for Brown Swiss and Jersey. In 2025, he judged the Holstein Show at the All-American Dairy Show in Harrisburg.
Results
Grand Champion: Arolene Dempsey Ella – Alyson Doiron, Cap-Santé, QC Reserve Grand Champion: Go-Sho Tatoos In Jericho-ET – Tessa & Stella Schmocker, Sadie Kropf and Tristan Olstrom, Whitewater, WI
Wallace pulled four for the grand drive: his senior champion and reserve, and his intermediate champion and reserve. He said all four had beautiful frames, open rib structure and beautiful udders. Ella gets the grand banner on her udder, and Wallace said he couldn’t talk about it enough. It’s so symmetrical, high and wide, with blended parts. He also liked her big, open rib and how she looks from head to tail.
Jericho, the senior three, takes reserve. Wallace liked her long frame from nose to tail and her open rib. She placed over the four-year-old for being more level from hooks to pins, using her feet and legs a little better, and having a little more heart.
Wallace said it’s hard to call it easy with this many good cows out, but this five-year-old made it pretty easy. He said you can’t find a fault on Ella. She’s so feminine, with an open rib and a beautiful rump structure, and she walks on a great set of feet and legs. Then there’s the udder: high and wide, super symmetrical and tightly attached.
Ella gets the nod over Cabell, the four-year-old winner, for a little more heart and more drop to her fore rib. Cabell has a great udder of her own. She took reserve over the second-place five-year-old for a higher, wider rear udder. Wallace said he loved the frames on all four cows he pulled.
Intermediate Champion: Go-Sho Tatoos In Jericho-ET – Tessa & Stella Schmocker, Sadie Kropf and Tristan Olstrom, Whitewater, WI Reserve Intermediate Champion: RJR Gone Away-ET – Noah Reuter, Peosta, IA Honorable Mention: Beslea Allyn HG Lambda Cagney – Ella, Owen & Ethan Gunderson, Shannon, IL
Wallace called it a slam dunk. Jericho grabs your eye with femininity throughout, length from nose to tail and openness of rib. Her udder is super symmetrical and tightly attached, and she walks on a great set of feet and legs.
Reserve was closer. Wallace said it was hard to split his two senior threes. He liked Gone Away’s frame, rump structure, openness of rib, and feet and legs. She took reserve over Cagney for a little more bloom in her frame and more openness of rib. Cagney, the junior three winner, drew praise for her udder, feet and legs, rump and strength throughout. Wallace pulled four for the drive, including the milking yearling winner.
Junior Champion: Walk-Era Aint She Fancy-ET – Kaylee & Carter Jackson, Barron, WI Reserve Junior Champion & Junior Champion Bred & Owned: Heritage Crazy Drama-ET – Madison & Melanie Sarbacker, Whitewater, WI Honorable Mention: Hans-Gen Master Roku – Makayla, Kaleb, Katie, Kylie & Jaclyn Osinga, Watertown, WI
Wallace said this winter yearling just does it for him. He called himself a big rib guy, and Aint She Fancy has the mass, rear flank and openness of rib he’s after. He loved how she carries her top and how long she is from head to tail. With another year on her, she’s a little harder over the top than his reserve, a December calf.
Crazy Drama drew praise for her openness of rib and silkiness through the head and neck. Wallace said she was a little harder and firmer over the loin than Roku, the fall yearling due in six weeks. He said Roku also has a big, open rib and a beautiful rump.
🏆 Spring Heifer Calf
Dancin was a pretty easy winner for Wallace, and it came down to feet and legs. She walked on the best set in the class. He also liked her length of frame from head to tail, her long, wide rump and her chest floor. Aubry catches your eye with her rump structure, open rib, rear flank and wide chest floor.
Aubry placed over Laguna in a close pair for a fuller rib and more rear flank. Laguna placed over Misha for being a little bigger, with more length of frame. Wallace liked Misha’s style and said she had the second-best feet and legs in the class. Misha placed over Ellamae on feet and legs.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
1
269
Me-Do-Meadows Cu Dancin
Mallory Nifong
Orfordville, WI
Y
2
2
258
Blondin Major Aubry-ET
Kale, Kley, Ryan, Logan Beer
Berne, IN
N
3
3
265
Dialed-In Epi Laguna
Camryn Thomas
North Lewisburg, OH
N
4
4
247
Eaton-Ch Epiphany Misha
Adelyn, Ava, Elle & Easton Ford and Aria & Bria Pechal
Inola, OK
N
5
5
246
Curr-Vale Aneesh Ellamae-ET
Emma J England and Tyler Leuch
Pulaski, WI
N
6
6
257
Ryan-Vu Master Jalepeno
Dylan & Cameron Ryan
Fond Du Lac, WI
Y
7
7
275
Crisdhome Major Ainsley
Kale, Kley, Ryan, Logan Beer
Berne, IN
N
8
8
245
Beslea Master Coco-ET
Kel Wade Philips
Lingleville, TX
N
9
9
252
Summit Alpha Liphora-ET
Makenzie & Callen Ferris
Gervais, OR
Y
10
10
244
Hobby-Hill Delt Lamba Tipsy
Gracin & Chesney Speich
Orfordville, WI
Y
11
11
264
CCCC Superman Lady Luck-ET
Jacob, Logan & Madison Harbaugh
Marion, WI
N
12
12
254
Kress-Hill Ar Emerald-ET
Mila Digangi
Darlington, WI
N
13
13
239
Do-N-Joy Major Jax-ET
Brooklyn, Bryce & Blakely Kohls
Arlington, MN
Y
14
14
266
Elladaire Major Agnes-ET
Adam R. & Claire R. Bindl
Plymouth, WI
Y
15
15
260
Go-Sho Direct To Jamaica-ET
Tessa Vl & Stella Rb Schmocker and Sadie C Kropf
Whitewater, WI
Y
16
16
241
Karolstein Ebay Lambda-ET
Jada, Jala, Jace, Jax & Jade Rauen
Blairstown, IA
N
17
17
281
Ms Athena Dropbox Album-ET
Macie Noble & Adam & Claire Bindl
Lancaster, WI
Y
18
18
271
Ocean-View Struttn My Style
Jason and Jared Pareo
Deerfield, WI
N
19
19
268
Hilrose Moovin Ariel-ET
Bae & C Ott Bbb Brantmeier & A Vande Hey
Hilbert, WI
N
20
20
267
Genosource The Jellybean-ET
Jada, Jala, Jace, Jax & Jade Rauen
Blairstown, IA
Y
21
21
284
ZBW Off The Hinges-ET
Mason Ziemba
Durhamville, NY
Y
22
22
242
Oakfield Alpha Loco-ET
Landree Fraley
Muncy, PA
N
23
23
262
Klinedell Gator Destiny-ET
Jackson Kline
Myerstown, PA
Y
24
24
250
Ridgedale Kylie Jenner
Liam & Keaton Conard
Sharon Springs, NY
N
25
25
270
Ms Dv-Gibbs Saint Lexie
Natalie Besler
Dyersville, IA
N
26
26
273
Rollingriver D Fireball 2.0
Kamrie Mauer and Bentley Brasch
Browntown, MN
Y
27
27
279
Heart&Soul Candy Eclair-ET
Luke Tanis
Millmont, PA
N
28
28
272
Red-Violet Arc Teacup-ET
Claire & Luke Ziemba
Cambridge, WI
N
29
29
238
Do-N-Joy Major Jamison-ET
Brooklyn, Bryce & Blakely Kohls
Arlington, MN
Y
30
30
282
Obee-Jay Sidekick Taffy
Jemma Obert
Burlington, WI
Y
31
31
251
Sco-Lo-Lm Arc 2636-ET
C, C & C Cannon & M & A Salonen
Guelph, ON
N
32
32
255
Kress-Hill Sandbox-ET
Kayleigh Haag
Dane, WI
N
33
33
261
Gunnex JL Tyrannosaurus
Claire & Luke Ziemba
Cambridge, WI
N
34
34
253
In-Style Moment Jukebox
Vivian & Winston Lichty
Beaver Dam, WI
Y
35
35
278
Golden-Oaks Kngdoc Aloha-ET
E, I, E Staudinger & L & L Kuester
Reedsville, WI
N
36
36
280
Larson-Lane J. Lewis Jolene
Connor Edward & Charlee Lynn Larson
Darlington, WI
Y
37
37
263
Ourway Tango Sybill
Kate Olmedo
Brodhead, WI
Y
38
38
240
Double-Ef Hammer Lock
Parker E Schwarze
Litchfield, MN
Y
39
39
243
Ali-Star Detective Sienna
Lilly Peterson
Wilson, WI
N
40
40
471
Milksource Eye On Power
Jada, Jala, Jace, Jax & Jade Rauen
Blairstown, IA
N
🏆 Winter Heifer Calf
Drama was a pretty easy winner for Wallace and Topp. Her size, mass and length throughout carried her over Theadora. She catches your eye with her length, open rib and beautiful rump, and she handles herself so nicely on her feet and legs.
Wallace expects Theadora to be a gorgeous heifer as she matures. He liked her style, openness of rib and rump structure, and she placed over Ros for a little more style and a more open rib. Ros won a close pair over Belvedere for using her legs a little better. Belvedere placed over Extraterrestrial for being better through the front end and smoother through the crops.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
1
307
Heritage Crazy Drama-ET
Madison & Melanie Sarbacker
Whitewater, WI
Y
2
2
329
Jeffrey-Way Tatoo Theadora
D and C Sloan & M And M Sarbacker
Marshall, WI
N
3
3
316
Ms Buckmeadow Major Ros-ET
Colt & Luke Buckley & Andrew Carrier
Lawrenceburg, KY
Y
4
4
319
Curr-Vale-Ae Majr Belvedere
Makayla, Katie, Kylie, Jaclyn& Henry Osinga
Watertown, WI
N
5
5
300
Ridgedale Extraterrestrial
Camyrn & Maci Crothers & Brynlee Greer
Deforest, WI
N
6
6
320
Hammertime Gk Direct Velveteen
Callie L Krohlow and Genavieve Knaup
Poynette, WI
Y
7
7
309
Redcarpet Buddy Holly-ET
K, W & P Zimmerman & N & F Heinsohn
Brodhead, WI
N
8
8
325
Bella-Ridge Caughtp Destiny
J, L & M Harbaugh and A & A Loehr
Marion, WI
Y
9
9
296
Vandoskes Jerylew Callie-ET
Brianne, Brooklyn & Reid Vandoske
Cleveland, WI
Y
10
10
331
Luck-E Architect A-Snow-ET
Mara Endres
Waunakee, WI
N
11
11
304
Ms Kampy Bruins Bridget-ET
I & L Kamphuis & C & C Gunst
Pine River, WI
Y
12
12
302
Scenic-Moraine Sm Topaz
Katelyn Henschel
Plymouth, WI
N
13
13
333
Ms Dawns Dream-ET
Lauren Kishman
East Liberty, OH
N
14
14
291
Cache-Valley Hysteria
Lilly Ann Eslass
Richmond, UT
N
15
15
288
Zbw Jlewis Beauty-ET
Brynley & Raegan Bossard
Fabius, NY
N
16
16
326
CCCC Major Blossom-ET
Brayden Carpio and Kiliana Breuer
Kersey, CO
N
17
17
318
Robella Dl My Luckyday-ET
Cooper Schulte
Dyersville, IA
N
18
18
311
Beslea Lambda Capone-ET
R, R & R Torres & B, K, J & E Beno & C, B, & T Correia
Delavan, WI
N
19
19
312
Forward Winter Solstace-ET
Sara, Wyatt & Claire Dorshorst
Marshfield, WI
Y
20
20
293
Kamps-Rx Sfest Almighty
Demi, Elliot & Alayah Kamps
Darlington, WI
Y
21
21
321
Kingsway Lqdcourage Alkaline
Makenzie & Callen Ferris
Gervais, OR
N
22
22
301
Lambrecht Redhot Cher P
Nolan, Amelia, Ruth, Clayton Lambrecht
Kewaunee, WI
Y
23
23
315
Koll-Kreek Tango Laquita
Kasey & Kyle Clanton & Mackenzie Krausz
Mulberry Grove, IL
N
24
24
305
Redcarpet Fieldof Dreams-ET
Claire & Luke Ziemba & Finley & Navy Heinsohn
Cambridge, WI
Y
25
25
322
Me-Do-Meadows Cu Moovin
Mallory Nifong
Orfordville, WI
Y
26
26
323
RJR Dice 9474-ET
Jayse & Jaymeson Pudwill Alaina & Amery Dinderman
Dakota, IL
N
27
27
308
Milkboyz Major Aura-ET
Makayla Ellen Monk
Artesia, NM
N
28
28
290
Blacklilly Ephny Lindsay-ET
Zach Dasilva
North Lewisburg, OH
N
29
29
285
Nor-Bert Karma Catalina
Breanne Freeman
Bremen, IN
Y
30
30
317
Ms Direct Nellie
Paige Sweatt & Callie Krohlow
Dane, WI
Y
31
31
295
Utecht Major Superstar
Kolton Utecht
New Richmond, WI
Y
32
32
286
Brigeen Eminent Athena
Sydney Bullard
Turner, ME
Y
33
33
336
Stermans M Wc Warstory
Mya J Digangi
Jackson, WI
N
34
34
327
Genosource P Cheap Fix-ET
Alivia Fellows
Evansville, WI
N
35
35
314
Genosource Major League-ET
Stella Jauquet
Luxemburg, WI
N
36
36
298
Hobby-Hill Jl Gerry
Gracin & Chesney Speich
Orfordville, WI
Y
37
37
306
Farnear LC 4235-ET
Bodie & Ellie Simon & Ana, Carson & Colin Rauen
Blairstown, IA
Y
38
38
303
Kennebec Jerry Lewis Amazon
Adelyn, Ava, Elle & Easton Ford and Aria & Bria Pechal
Inola, OK
N
39
39
330
Lasue Hellion Hallelujah
Emma England
Murtaugh, ID
Y
40
40
465
Samholm Sidekick Seven
Ian Sammon
Faribault, MN
Y
41
41
289
Hammertime Major Lilac
Callie, Conway, Cooper & Case Krohlow
Poynette, WI
N
42
42
287
Go-Sho Leannes Angel-ET
Tessa Vl & Stella Rb Schmocker and Sadie C Kropf
Whitewater, WI
Y
43
43
335
RJR Dice 9471-ET
Brooklyn Woeste
Long Prairie, MN
N
44
44
334
Ms WOCC Thats What’s Shakin
Lily Norton
Evansville, WI
N
🏆 Fall Heifer Calf
Wallace said he and Topp went with correctness all day, and Pony Up was the most correct heifer. She has a beautiful set of feet and legs and a beautiful rump structure. She’s open through the rib and hard over the top. Her feet and legs carried her over Fait, a balanced, open-ribbed heifer. Pony Up tracks a little nicer and uses her feet a little better.
Fait placed over Venom for being harder over the top and better from hooks to pins. Wallace liked Venom’s style. She placed over Cut Corners for more stretch from head to tail, a more dairy head and neck, and more femininity.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
351
Milksource Pony Up-ET
Tristen Hans Ostrom
Kaukauna, WI
Y
2
2
352
Kuk-Lan Master Fait
Kale, Kley, Ryan, Logan Beer
Berne, IN
N
3
3
362
Redcarpet Master Venom-ET
Olivia Hetke,F & N Heinsohn & W,P & K Zimmerman
Reedsburg, WI
N
4
4
1
360
Vandoskes Cut Corners-ET
Brianne, Brooklyn & Reid Vandoske
Cleveland, WI
Y
5
5
356
Ocean-View Sassy After Dark
Evan Hathaway
Deerfield, WI
N
6
6
358
Rock-N-Hill-II Mast Convict
Siera Mccullough
Juda, WI
N
7
7
373
D-Man War Acura-ET
Emma, Leila, Amelia, & Dennis M Miguel
Hilmar, CA
N
8
8
374
Gildale Master Harmony-ET
M, E, N, J, & B Gilbertson and Dane And Claire Sloan
Marshall, WI
Y
9
9
375
Go-Sho Gave Me Goose Bumps
Tessa Vl & Stella Rb Schmocker and Sadie C Kropf
Whitewater, WI
Y
10
10
366
Gaedtke Sidkick Quiet Place
Jadelynn Kroll & Stella Jauquet
Luxemburg, WI
Y
11
11
361
Ms Vierra Back 4 More-ET
Jason & Jared Pareo
Veguita, NM
N
12
12
343
Ms Buckmeadow Be Rosabel-ET
Colt & Luke Buckley & Andrew Carrier
Lawrenceburg, KY
Y
13
13
338
Golden-Oaks Db Trinity-ET
Kennedy, William, & Paige Zimmerman
Brodhead, WI
N
14
14
466
Rollingriver Be Marley
Kamrie Mauer and Bentley Brasch
Browntown, MN
Y
15
15
369
Golden-Oaks Master Crown-ET
Anthony Kane Ventura
Wauconda, IL
N
16
16
359
Tora-Ranway Lambda Blossom
Alexis Schultz
Marion, NY
Y
17
17
368
Genosource Major Heat-ET
Adelyn, Ava, Elle & Easton Ford
Dyersville, IA
N
18
18
371
West-In Haxl Ariana-ET
R, R & R Torres & B, K, J & E Beno & C, B, & T Correia
Delavan, WI
N
19
19
379
Rollingriver Barracuda-ET
J, P, P, K, J, C Kinnard; W & R Melcore
Sturgeon Bay, WI
N
20
20
342
Ember-Lit Believ Kadilac-ET
Britney Smith
Norwood Young America, MN
N
21
21
346
Blacklilly Limelite-ET
Nathaniel, Lauren & Hannah King
Schuylerville, NY
N
22
22
348
Curr-Vale Major Boost-ET
Lilly Ann Eslass
Richmond, UT
N
23
23
345
Synergy Holy Sassafras
L: Isabella Race O: Synergy Farm LLC
Pulaski, WI
N
24
24
380
Russellridge Pazzle Bust
Amelia K Russell
Alexandria, PA
Y
25
25
341
Oakfield Major Junie-ET
Raegan Wolfe
Perkasie, PA
N
26
26
376
La-Ca-De-Le Chief Waffles
Owen and Lucy Kimball
Groveland, NY
Y
27
27
337
Petitclerc Ambrose Loupi
Conner Wills
Schodack Landing, NY
N
28
28
364
Benrise Master Sangria
Jaedyn Mcpherson
Grandview, TX
N
29
29
467
La-Ca-De-Le Hava Dream-ET
Owen and Lucy Kimball
Groveland, NY
N
30
30
354
Samway Master Sequence-ET
Addison Lortie
Albion, IN
N
31
31
363
Vandoskes Carbon Copy-ET
Hadley Burrus
Friona, TX
N
32
32
367
Genosource Acting Agent-ET
Evan, Alexa, Rosella, and Willem Brey
Sturgeon Bay, WI
N
33
33
347
Kress-Hill Sandi-ET
H&H. Sleik, A. Zick, A. Buttke, & E Loker
Pickett, WI
N
34
34
353
Redcarpet Salsa Dancer-ET
Colton Riedel and Logan Sorg
Pardeeville, WI
N
35
35
365
Duckett Larizio Vivi
Jason & Jared Pareo
Veguita, NM
N
36
36
339
Ms Bevens-Creek Mj Punch-ET
C, C, O & E Feltmann & B Smith
Norwood, MN
N
37
37
357
Road-View Rare Gem
Haylee and Grant Yager
Mineral Point, WI
Y
38
38
350
Ms Curr-Vale Pazz Done Deal
Adelyn, Ava, Elle & Easton Ford
Inola, OK
N
🏆 Summer Yearling
Wallace liked Overdrive’s femininity, ultra dairy strength and open rib, and called her the fullest heifer of the day. She tracks on a beautiful set of feet and legs, and he loved her rump structure. She placed over the long, open-ribbed Broadway on how her tail head sets and on tracking a little better.
Broadway held herself together in line better than Angel Eyes, who was the heifer they pulled first. Wallace praised Angel Eyes as an angular, open-ribbed heifer. She placed over Riot for being cleaner through the head and neck, with a little more length of neck. Riot, a nicely ribbed, square heifer, placed over Daydream for being harder over the top at the standstill.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
1
385
Go-Sho Avenger Overdrive-ET
Tessa & Stella Schmocker
Whitewater, WI
Y
2
2
401
Fraeland Major Broadway
Makayla, Kaleb, Katie, Kylie, & Jaclyn Osinga
Watertown, WI
N
3
3
413
SPF Angel Eyes-ET
J, L & M Harbaugh and A & A Loehr
Marion, WI
N
4
4
402
Fier-View Detective Riot
B,C,D,T,D,T,&D Fier
Taunton, MN
Y
5
5
412
Klinedell Dman Daydream-ET
Jackson Kline
Myerstown, PA
Y
6
6
387
Ryan-Vu Pazzle Marina-TW
Dylan & Cameron Ryan
Fond Du Lac, WI
Y
7
7
383
Vandoskes Architect 7141
Brianne, Brooklyn & Reid Vandoske
Cleveland, WI
Y
8
8
414
Synergy Arch Scottie
Stella Jauquet
Luxemburg, WI
N
9
9
381
Summit Thunder Struck Joy
Makenzie & Callen Ferris
Gervais, OR
Y
10
10
392
Karnview Alpha Abstract
Jaedyn Mcpherson
Dyersville, IA
N
11
11
406
Genosource Caught A Line-ET
Phillip Mccormick
Millmont, PA
N
12
12
395
B-J-Grove Lambda Chenoa-ET
Kasey Clanton
Mulberry Grove, IL
Y
13
13
411
Butlerview Master Shock-ET
Addison Lortie
Albion, IN
N
14
14
393
Oakfield Major Jade-ET
Gavin Carncross
Lodi, WI
N
15
15
408
Ocean-View Shes Taken
Kailey Guilette & Jamison Jauquet
Algoma, WI
N
16
16
398
Ridgedale R Analyst Fettywap
Liam & Keaton Conard & Reese Finn
Sharon Springs, NY
N
17
17
403
West-In Hoa-P Aysha
R, R & R Torres & C, B & T Correia
Delavan, WI
N
18
18
384
Kingsway Lambda Tipsy
Brynley Dejong and Jacob Romeo Barrera
Dyersville, IA
N
19
19
390
Bay Crown Royal Windy-ET
Adelyn, Ava, Elle & Easton Ford and Aria & Bria Pechal
Inola, OK
N
20
20
410
Windy-Knoll-View Patches
Terrance, Carmen, and Ryan Yoder
Montezuma, GA
N
21
21
407
Ms Gebert Bullseye Telly Rc
Cade Bachelor
Wawaka, IN
N
22
22
391
Oakfield Major Jelly-Et Te Tc Ty Tv Tl Td
Dylan, Sophia, & Cullen Thompson
Lewiston, MN
N
23
23
396
Threesisters Jade Dback-ET
Shelby Swanson
Hutchinson, MN
Y
24
24
394
Kress-Hill Shore-ET
Owen & Kendyll Kress
Newton, WI
Y
25
25
399
Ocean-View Admire This
Kendalyn Waddell
Waterloo, WI
N
26
26
388
Brigeen Hoa Gosling-ET
Sydney Bullard
Turner, ME
Y
27
27
415
West-Croix Snowwhite
Landon & Lane Van Dyk
New Richmond, WI
N
28
28
400
Ember-Lit Illustrat Kyra
Tyler Butts & Alivia Fellows
Evansville, WI
N
29
29
404
A-B-Royal Architect Blossom
E, I, E Staudinger & L & L Kuester
Reedsville, WI
Y
30
30
409
Sonnenbrook Legend Kazoo
Caitlin Carter Bainbridge
New Glarus, WI
N
31
31
389
Sweetview Bullseye Hadfun
Jason & Jared Pareo
Veguita, NM
N
32
32
405
Blondin Machine Luminate
Brayden Carpio and Kiliana Breuer
Kersey, CO
N
🏆 Spring Yearling
Like A Queen and Tulsi came to the top pretty easy for Wallace. Both are big, open-ribbed heifers, ultra long and stylish. Like A Queen gets the nod for being a little more crisp and a little longer through the head and neck.
Tulsi’s openness of rib and the drop to her rear rib cage put her over Outof This World, an ultra-correct heifer. Outof This World placed over Brianna for more style through the rump, better-set hooks and pins, more openness of rib and more fill. Brianna placed over Love My Jala for the way she uses her rear legs. Wallace said he loved everything about Jala.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
1
425
Bella-Ridge Like A Queen
J, L & M Harbaugh and A & A Loehr
Marion, WI
Y
2
2
421
Beers Master Tulsi
Kale, Kley, Ryan, Logan Beer
Berne, IN
Y
3
3
420
Go-Sho Outof This World-ET
Tessa Vl & Stella Rb Schmocker and Sadie C Kropf
Whitewater, WI
Y
4
469
Budjon-Vail Sdk Brianna
Calvin Bening
Arlington, MN
N
5
4
433
Genosource Love My Jala-ET
Ana, Carson, Colin, Jada & Jala Rauen
Blairstown, IA
Y
6
5
428
Curr-Vale Archit Boppity-ET
C K & G Grinstead and J & G Boyke
Fond Du Lac, WI
N
7
6
431
Genosource Love My Jada-ET
Ana, Carson, Colin, Jada & Jala Rauen
Blairstown, IA
Y
8
7
418
Budjon-MB Dazl Snazl-ET
Max Miles, Mclane Mormann
Dyersville, IA
N
9
8
424
Desperle Nadina Limited
Kennedy, William, & Paige Zimmerman
Brodhead, WI
N
10
9
417
Gaedtke Eventful Day-ET
Jadelynn Kroll & Stella Jauquet
Luxemburg, WI
Y
11
10
419
Clarkvalley Eyecandy Mario
Olivia & Emily Feltmann
Norwood, MN
N
12
11
432
Threesisters Eclipse Hatche
Shelby Swanson
Hutchinson, MN
Y
13
12
430
Rollingriver Be Freedom
Logan Kusilek
Baldwin, WI
N
14
13
429
Curr-Vale Major Perks-ET
Magen Busker and Josie Meier
Freeport, IL
N
15
14
423
B-J-Grove Reeses Take 5
Kasey & Kyle Clanton
Mulberry Grove, IL
Y
16
15
427
Budjon-Mb Sdk Eagle Eye
Nolan, Amelia, Ruth, Clayton Lambrecht
Kewaunee, WI
N
17
16
422
Hartleys Warrior Rhinestone
Emma M Giddings & Weston, Brooks & Cash Braun
Soldiers Grove, WI
Y
18
17
416
Mil-K Maker Lovelock
Ashlynn Schultz
Orangeville, IL
N
🏆 Winter Yearling
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
443
Walk-Era Aint She Fancy-ET
Kaylee and Carter Jackson
Barron, WI
N
2
2
450
Farnear Liquid Iv
Adelyn Ford
Dyersville, IA
N
3
3
438
Miss Salute Eazy E
Dylan & Cameron Ryan
Fond Du Lac, WI
N
4
4
446
Ms Haniko Adidas-ET
Brynley Dejong
Dyersville, IA
N
5
5
1
439
Go-Sho Rems Rarity-ET
Tessa Vl & Stella Rb Schmocker and Sadie C Kropf
Whitewater, WI
Y
6
6
444
Exels Hindsight Kara
Atlee M Van Exel & Mallory R Nifong
Orfordville, WI
Y
7
7
453
Genosource Headliner-ET
Katie Ledvina & Jacob Treml
Algoma, WI
N
8
8
452
Paulsoncrest JL Candy Apple
Jackalyn Paulson
Columbus, WI
Y
9
9
445
Ocean-View Zs Broken Heart
Evan Hathaway
Hartford, WI
N
10
10
436
Heart&Soul Mc Ember-ET
Abby Meyer
Chilton, WI
N
11
11
448
Mar-Del-View Arcrft Asa-ET
Brady W & Bentley M Cole
Bloomville, OH
N
12
12
451
Flower-Brook Han Gelatin-ET
Colton, Kendall & Camryn Thomas and Zach Dasilva
North Lewisburg, OH
N
13
13
441
Pennwood Rompen Wrench
Charles E. Stoltzfus
Berlin, PA
Y
14
14
437
Loa-De-Mede Mstr 4 Bells-ET
Isaac Folts
North Collins, NY
N
15
15
447
MS Shadeline Acetylene Kat
C Liette L Burke & T R & J Klopfenstein
St. Marys, OH
N
16
16
435
Booth-Haven Lombardi Legend
Campbell and Royce Booth
Plymouth, WI
Y
17
17
442
Crave Lc Jaded 16438-ET
Brianna, Caden, & Laynee Lopes
Shoshone, ID
N
Wallace said he and Topp both agreed this was the best class of the day. Aint She Fancy was a pretty handy winner. She’s wide through the chest and all the way through the rump, with openness and drop to her rear rib. She placed over Liquid Iv, a beautiful, stylish heifer, for a little more rear flank.
Liquid Iv placed over Eazy E for being a little harder over the top. Wallace called Eazy E a really correct heifer that holds herself together well in line. She placed over Adidas for more mass in the chest and for using her rear legs a touch better. He praised Adidas as an ultra-silky, dairy heifer.
🏆 Fall Yearling
Roku was a pretty handy winner, and it was mainly her rear flank that carried her over Firecracker. Wallace said she excels in openness of rib and drop to her rear flank. He liked the length and width of her rump. She also got the edge on pin setting and the way she lays her tail head down.
Firecracker, an ultra-stylish heifer, placed over Skye for more style through the head and neck. Skye placed over Brandi for a longer frame from head to tail. Brandi, a big, open-ribbed heifer, placed over Rosa for more drop to her rear flank and more openness of rib.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
461
Hans-Gen Master Roku
Makayla, Kaleb, Katie, Kylie, & Jaclyn Osinga
Watertown, WI
N
2
2
1
463
Redcarpet Tatoed Firecracker
Maelee Heinsohn
Kirkland, IL
Y
3
3
458
Golden-Oaks Master Skye-ET
Kennedy, William, & Paige Zimmerman
Brodhead, WI
N
4
4
462
Montyedge Wichmann Brandi
Alexis, Caleigh & Madelyn Hoefs
New Prague, MN
Y
5
5
457
Air-Osa Hulu Rosa 38653
Phillip Airoso
Pixley, CA
Y
6
6
459
Ms-Cranapple St Catalina-ET
Laney Neuser
Cato, WI
N
7
7
456
Hartleys Tatoo Tequila
Emma M Giddings & Weston, Brooks & Cash Braun
Soldiers Grove, WI
Y
🏆 Milking Yearling
Mar-A-Largo 2918-ET wins a close top pair. Wallace liked her a little higher in the udder, and she tracked and used her feet and legs better. He liked the modern style of both cows, with strength from muzzle to rump.
Sincerly, fresh since May, placed over Katey, fresh about three weeks, because she was cleaner through the head and neck and higher and wider in the rear udder. Katey won the next pair on udder symmetry and the way she tracks. Wallace liked Jumpin’s width, rump, length and style. She took fourth because she was wider throughout, especially up front, and carried her strength to the rear.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Udd
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
113
Ms Lbrd Mar-A-Largo 2918-ET
Mason Ziemba
Durhamville, NY
N
2
2
107
Ms Milksource Sincerly-ET
Charles Boulet
Montmagny, QC
N
3
3
101
Luck-E Acetylene Katey
Hope Engel
Hampshire, IL
Y
4
4
1
104
Royal-Cut Dlamb Jumpin-ET
Logan & Lauren Silveira
Chowchilla, CA
Y
5
5
102
Kingsway Major Trophy
Lilly, Trapper, Braxton, Finley & Braxton Elsass & Oscar Trbovich
Wapakoneta, OH
N
6
6
111
Hawkeye-Jk Eye Candy Aurora
Brooke Krogman
Ashton, IA
Y
7
7
460
Cache-Valley Side Haze-ET
Landen Copenhaver
Richmond, UT
N
8
8
109
Genosource C Your Breath-ET
Ella, Owen, & Ethan Gunderson and Finn & Max Faulkner
Shannon, IL
N
9
9
110
Go-Sho Asalias Alibi-ET
Tessa Vl & Stella Rb Schmocker and Sadie C Kropf
Whitewater, WI
Y
10
10
116
Hawkeye-Jk Crush Ada-ET
Brooke Krogman
Ashton, IA
Y
11
11
117
Vazdale Eye Candy Sassy
Emma, Leila, Amelia, & Dennis M Miguel
Hilmar, CA
N
12
12
114
Park-View-Gk Tstorm Trisha
G,j,g,j,j Holewinski
Pulaski, WI
N
🏆 Summer Two Year Olds
J-Lo wins a close top pair on her feet and legs. Wallace said she tracks well and walks a little more comfortably. He liked her length of frame from head to tail and her width from muzzle to rump. He called her a beautiful rump cow. She also had the edge in fore udder attachment.
Wallace admired Skipper’s femininity. She placed over Lolleena for a higher, wider rear udder. Lolleena placed over Gallop for more openness of rib and more rear flank. Wallace called Gallop a long, stylish cow that just needs a little more time. She placed over Rhegan for length of frame, style and width through the rump.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Udd
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
124
Karnview Energy J-Lo-ET
Makayla,kaleb,katie,kylie, & Jaclyn Osinga
Hico, TX
N
2
2
1
128
Kress-Hill Skipper-ET
Owen & Kendyll Kress
Newton, WI
Y
3
3
127
Glenbert Salute Lolleena
Brooklyn, Bryce & Blakely Kohls and Bralin Regan
Arlington, MN
N
4
4
119
Kampy Eye Candy Gallop
Jayden & Cora Schmidt
Brandon, WI
N
5
5
125
Fier-View Energy Rhegan
B,C,D,T,D,T,&D Fier
Taunton, MN
Y
6
6
129
Walk-Era Eye Candy Mitzi
Kale, Kley, Ryan, Logan Beer
Berne, IN
N
7
7
120
Ms Holbric Hulu Charred
Hailey Kriegel, Peyton, Elena & Bria Olbrich
Harvard, IL
Y
8
8
123
Road-View Thunder Rolls
Haylee and Grant Yager
Mineral Point, WI
Y
Spring Two Year Olds
Vega wins it on her udder. Wallace called her the best udder in the class. She’s flatter on the udder floor and shows less quartering than Atlas. She’s also the more correct cow and walks on a great set of feet and legs. He gave her the edge on her left rear pastern too.
Atlas placed over Barbie Doll for more strength through the front end and more rear flank. Wallace liked Barbie Doll’s length and style. She placed over Julie for being cleaner and more dairy. He admired Julie as a balanced, wide-rumped cow. Julie placed over Azia for more quality in the rear udder.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Udd
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
141
Woodmansees Algtr Vega-ET
Isaac Folts & Maxwell Crouthamel
North Collins, NY
N
2
2
135
Mer-James Alpha Atlas
Emma J England and Tyler Leuch
Pulaski, WI
N
3
3
143
Budjon-Vail EC Barbie Doll
Owen Gunderson
Shannon, IL
N
4
4
142
Go-Sho Tats Groovy Julie-ET
Tessa Vl & Stella Rb Schmocker and Sadie C Kropf
Whitewater, WI
Y
5
5
131
Luck-E Hindsight Azia
Audrey and Brady Sidle
Smithville, OH
N
6
6
132
Shadyrail Major Misfit
Terrance Yoder
Montezuma, GA
N
7
7
130
C-Cove D-Lambda Cosmic
Landree Fraley
Muncy, PA
N
8
8
148
Nehls-Valley Crushn Asphalt
Braxton Nodolf & Brady Mcconnell
Belmont, WI
N
9
9
136
Kings-Ransom Db Diver-ET
Nathaniel, Lauren & Hannah King
Schuylerville, NY
Y
10
10
1
145
Road-View Doin This
Haylee and Grant Yager
Mineral Point, WI
Y
11
11
140
Sunny Plains Candy Raven
Derek R. Schwartzlow
Monroe, WI
N
12
12
147
Nehls-Valley Azoom Anna
Mya J & William J Digangi
Jackson, WI
N
13
13
139
B-J-Grove A Catawba-ET
Kasey Clanton
Mulberry Grove, IL
Y
14
14
134
Lakeshore Sk Emerson-ET
Taylor, Layla & Kaylyn Powell
Hilmar, CA
Y
🏆 Winter Two Year Olds
Monique wins it on her feet and legs. Wallace liked this ultra-strong, balanced cow, wide from muzzle to rump, with an open rib and a beautiful udder. She walks on a great set of feet and legs. That gave her the edge over Pearl, who also has a beautiful udder and a nice open rib.
Pearl placed over Lets Dance for overall strength, especially through the front end. Wallace liked Lets Dance’s style and udder. She placed over Caitlin for a wider, higher udder. Wallace admired Caitlin’s frame and open rib. Caitlin placed over Pazzle for being cleaner, with a more snug fore udder attachment.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Udd
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
150
Maifield Lambda Monique
Tristen Hans Ostrom
Kaukauna, WI
N
2
2
149
Kieffers-Rcd Showtime Pearl
Olivia & Emily Feltmann and Claire Kieffer
Norwood, MN
N
3
3
470
Genosource Lets Dance-ET
Bodie & Ellie Simon & Ana, Carson & Colin Rauen
Blairstown, IA
Y
4
4
152
Ms Sidekick Caitlin
Cole Saathoff, Kasey & Kyle Clanton
Mulberry Grove, IL
N
5
5
464
Four Hills Pazzle 71530
Sarah Hill
Bristol, VT
N
6
6
1
1
158
Go-Sho Olivias Thee Original
Tessa & Stella Schmocker
Whitewater, WI
Y
7
7
155
Hawkeye-JK Jrdy Atkins-ET
Brooke Krogman
Ashton, IA
Y
8
8
154
Cache-Valley Jazz Master-ET
Carissa Pittman
Richmond, UT
N
9
9
156
Nehls-Valley Mast Excite Me
Mya J & William J Digangi
Jackson, WI
N
10
10
157
Genosource Let Loose-ET
Taylor, Layla & Kaylyn Powell
Hilmar, CA
N
11
11
0
468
K-Lane Showtime Pearl
Kyle Clanton & Miles Krausz
Mulberry Grove, IL
N
🏆 Fall Two Year Olds
Only two answered the call in this fall senior two class, and Wallace called them two really nice cows. Delilah gets the nod for a little more balance and more openness of rib. She walks around the ring on a better set of feet and legs, and Wallace named her the best udder in the class. He didn’t take anything away from Lucy. To move her up, he’d like to see her open up through the rib and track a little better.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
1
162
Seven-Heaven Haniko Delilah
Chloe & Carly Feltmann
Norwood, MN
Y
2
2
164
Holbric Firstcrush Lucy
Elena, Peyton, Bria & Logan Olbrich
Harvard, IL
Y
🏆 Junior Three Year Olds
Cagney wins it on her fore udder attachment. Wallace called her the most balanced cow and liked her openness of rib, her free walk around the ring, and the symmetry and quality of her udder. He tabbed her for best udder. Roxstar is another balanced cow with a high, wide rear udder. Cagney was just longer in the fore udder.
Roxstar placed over Herbie for more quality in the udder. Wallace liked Herbie as an ultra-dairy, feminine cow, fresh in July, that needs a little more time. Herbie held the quality in the rear udder better than Pepper, a beautifully framed cow that walks on a beautiful set of feet and legs.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Udd
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
179
Beslea Allyn HG Lambda Cagney
Ella, Owen & Ethan Gunderson
Shannon, IL
N
2
2
183
Melboro Etesian Roxstar
Chloe & Claire Lamb
Oakfield, NY
N
3
3
175
Stone-Front Doc Herbie
Tessa Vl & Stella Rb Schmocker and Sadie C Kropf
Whitewater, WI
N
4
4
167
Class-A Pepper-ET
Bralin Regan
Arlington, MN
N
5
5
1
166
Courtlane Hancock Sunrise
Brody & Brinlee Courtney
Delavan, WI
Y
6
6
173
Rotaly Master Creed
H,H,H McIsaac and M & M Price
Petaluma, CA
N
7
7
174
Jeffrey-Way Hancock Rosebud
Emma Kate Hendrickson
Belleville, WI
Y
8
8
168
Ladys Ecandy Lamborghini-ET
Bodie & Ellie Simon & Ana, Carson & Colin Rauen
Blairstown, IA
Y
9
9
181
Forward Beulah-ET
Sara, Wyatt & Claire Dorshorst
Marshfield, WI
Y
10
10
170
Ms Milksource Prada
Samantha Suehring
Leopolis, WI
N
11
11
169
Siemers Hanans Kahlua-ET
Payton & Javen Prickette
Clintonville, WI
N
12
12
0
177
Kings-Ransom Parker Cleopat
Nathaniel, Lauren & Hannah King
Schuylerville, NY
Y
13
13
0
178
Heart-Broke T-Storm Darling
Madison Sickles
Marengo, IA
Y
14
14
171
Holle-Oaks Fc Funky-ET
Kyson Jenson & Chase Olsen
Wellsville, UT
N
15
15
0
182
Luck-E Perennial A-Light-ET
Elie Ledet
Delhi, LA
N
16
16
0
180
Bur-Wall Addison Captureme
Isabelle, Kiefer & Kirk Anderson
Fort Atkinson, WI
N
🏆 Senior Three Year Olds
Jericho wins it on her rear udder, which Wallace said attaches a little nicer at the top than Gone Away’s. He liked this feminine, open-ribbed cow and said her rump was probably the best he’d seen all day. He also named her his best udder. It’s super symmetrical, and he loved how the fore udder attaches.
Gone Away placed over Crash My Party for more pop and bloom, especially in the udder. Crash My Party, fresh since March, won the next pair for being cleaner. Wallace admired Lennon’s frame and udder at 15 months fresh. She placed over Justice for being cleaner through the head and neck and for a higher rear udder with more quality.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Udd
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
1
186
Go-Sho Tatoos In Jericho-ET
Tessa & Stella Schmocker, Sadie Kropf and Tristan Olstrom
Whitewater, WI
Y
2
2
191
RJR Gone Away-ET
Noah Reuter
Peosta, IA
Y
3
3
192
Delcreek Crash My Party
Addison Lortie
Albion, IN
N
4
4
189
Eastside Hanley Lennon
Isaac Folts, Cameron Garcia, Jannalee Coleman
North Collins, NY
N
5
5
188
Go-Sho Tatooed Justice-ET
Tessa Vl & Stella Rb Schmocker and Sadie C Kropf
Whitewater, WI
Y
6
6
185
Budjon-Vail Jagr Lucille-ET
Calvin Bening
Arlington, MN
N
7
7
194
Ms Duckett Brayden Allie-ET
Terrance Yoder
Montezuma, GA
N
8
8
190
Road-View Paiges Parsly
Haylee and Grant Yager
Mineral Point, WI
Y
9
9
195
Gahm-Ozroyal Hanans Atlee
Kasey Clanton & Mackenzie Krausz
Mulberry Grove, IL
N
10
10
193
Holbric Backflip Applebees
Elena, Peyton, Bria & Logan Olbrich
Harvard, IL
Y
11
11
184
Fleury Destination Madeleine
Landon & Lane Van Dyk
New Richmond, WI
N
🏆 Four Year Olds
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Udd
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
207
Allegro Thunder Struck Cabell
Olivia & Emily Feltmann
Norwood, MN
N
2
2
208
Unique Chief Cheers 2.0-ET
Ava & Bryson Kieffer
Utica, MN
N
3
3
205
Oakfield Honour Sing-ET
Chloe & Claire Lamb
Oakfield, NY
Y
4
4
212
Kozak Domino Drascilla
Ella Spiniolas
Harvard, IL
N
5
5
206
Kings-Ransom P Dancin Queen
Nathaniel, Lauren & Hannah King
Schuylerville, NY
Y
6
6
204
Kings-Ransom Hm Dearjohn-ET
Nathaniel, Lauren & Hannah King
Schuylerville, NY
Y
7
7
202
Jeffrey-Way Tatoo Tanuki-ET
Tessa Vl & Stella Rb Schmocker and Sadie C Kropf
Whitewater, WI
N
8
8
203
Mosnang Avenger Lippy
Makenzie & Callen Ferris
Delavan, WI
N
9
9
197
Ridgedale Eagle
Liam & Keaton Conard & Mason Pryor
Sharon Springs, NY
N
10
10
201
Stelte Sidekick Pockets
Sophie Toutant
Brandon, WI
N
11
11
210
Wiscit Derby Eve
Nolan E Burken
Galesville, WI
N
12
12
198
Robeth Doc Penpal
Ella Kennett & Sarah Hill
Bristol, VT
N
13
13
211
Budjon-Vail Dl Alabama-ET
Hope, Blake, & Hailey Engel
Hampshire, IL
N
14
14
213
Hawkeye-Jk Tstruk Apache-ET
Brooke Krogman
Ashton, IA
Y
Cabell came to the top pretty easy for Wallace. He liked her style, length of frame and openness of rib. She placed over Cheers 2.0 for being better through the front end and shoulder region, and for a longer fore udder. Wallace praised Cheers 2.0 as a feminine, open-ribbed cow with a high, wide rear udder.
Cheers 2.0 placed over Honour Sing for a higher, wider rear udder with more quality and a longer, straighter fore udder attachment. Honour Sing placed over Drascilla for a more level rump and for walking better on her feet and legs. Drascilla placed over Dancin Queen for a little more style.
🏆 Five-Year-Old Cow
Wallace said Arolene Dempsey Ella won it handily. He liked her from end to end: a beautiful udder, style and length of frame, an open rib and a long, wide rump. She placed over T-Triple-T Side Peace for a higher, wider udder, meaning more capacity carried higher.
Side Peace, another long, open-ribbed cow with a beautiful rump, placed over Cashells Side Limoncello for more length end to end and smoother use of her feet and legs. Limoncello’s more moderate size, more openness of rib and smoother movement won her the pair over Ju-Lar Chief Freya. Freya’s higher, wider rear udder and extra quality placed her over Velvet-View Remembering.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Udd
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
219
Arolene Dempsey Ella
Alyson Doiron
Cap-Santé, QC
N
2
2
217
T-Triple-T Side Peace
Colton, Kendall & Camryn Thomas and Elli Cummings
North Lewisburg, OH
Y
3
3
224
Cashells Side Limoncello
Camryn and Maci Crothers, Evelyn Getty
Argyle, NY
N
4
4
215
Ju-Lar Chief Freya
Spencer Nelson and Cooper Schulte
Wykoff, MN
N
5
5
223
Velvet-View Remembering
Wyatt Schlauch
Big Prairie, OH
Y
6
6
221
Blexys Crshtim Blueberry-ET
L, H & B Smith, E Gunst, & L & L Siver
Hartford, WI
N
7
7
220
Banowetz Meridian Mojito
Kamryn, Kate, Colt Kasbergen and Kash-In Jerseys and Brianne, Reid, Brooklyn Vandoske
Cleveland, WI
N
8
8
1
216
Goodtime-Ktt Doc Desiree
Kylie, Tyler, Trysten Verthein
Altura, MN
Y
🏆 Mature Cow Book was a pretty easy winner for Wallace, and her udder did the talking. It’s attached so well, high and wide, and her fore udder is well attached too. She placed over Counsell 3449 for more length from end to end and a rear udder with more bloom, height and width.
Wallace liked Counsell’s open, deep rib and wide rump. She placed over Pety for a more level rump from hooks to pins and better use of her feet and legs. Pety placed over Jasmine for a higher, wider rear udder, better attached at the top. Jasmine placed over Goose Bump for frame, openness of rib and chest.
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Udd
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
229
Nobland Delta-Lambda Book
Macie R Noble
Lancaster, WI
Y
2
2
225
Wargo-Acres Counsell 3449
Gavin Carncross
Lodi, WI
Y
3
3
226
Robthom Martina Pety
Leah, Hattie and Blake Smith And Faith Ling
Watertown, WI
Y
4
4
234
Ss-Maplecrest Tatoo Jasmine
Tyler Leuch
Pulaski, WI
N
5
5
233
Elm Bend Goose Bump
Gavin Bewley
Susquehanna, PA
N
6
6
1
228
Brigeen Royalcrush Gertie
Sydney Bullard
Turner, ME
Y
7
7
231
West-Croix Octane Gaiacat
Landon & Lane Van Dyk
New Richmond, WI
N
🏆 Production Cow
Pl
Jr
Jr B&O
Udd
Entry
Name
Owner
Location
B&O
1
1
235
Farnear Babes Cry-ET
Bodie & Ellie Simon & Ana, Carson & Colin Rauen
Blairstown, IA
Y
2
2
237
Tree-Hayven Awesome Mae
Colton Riedel and Logan Sorg
Pardeeville, WI
N
Two really nice cows answered the call in the lifetime production class, one almost nine and the other 11. Babes Cry was a pretty easy winner for Wallace. He liked her overall udder quality and the way she tracks on her feet and legs. She uses those feet a little better than Awesome Mae.
Wallace didn’t take anything away from the runner-up. He said you’ve got to admire an 11-year-old cow that looks like Awesome Mae does.
A 56-year chain of mentors, a 10,000-cow philosophy, and the boy who couldn’t read the Holstein Journal. Inside the legacies of the 2026 World Dairy Expo honorees.
Corey Geiger was supposed to be judging Ayrshire heifers. It was 1990, the Manitowoc County 4-H team had won the Wisconsin contest, and the kid who was about to start his senior year of high school walked into World Dairy Expo’s ring on the colored shavings and forgot about the heifers. He spent the class looking at the decorations instead. He placed it badly, by his own account, and it never bothered him, because of what he told himself standing there: “I want to be part of the dairy industry the rest of my life.” He said as much decades later to Peggy Coffeen on the Up Level Dairy podcast. Listen closely, and you can hear that the kid in the ring is still running the show. Robert Chicoine’s version of that moment came decades earlier, and he couldn’t even read it. Born on a Quebec dairy farm, he got his first Holstein Journal from a relative who kept purebred cattle. It was in English, and he didn’t know any English at all. So he asked his father to tell him the names of the animals in the pictures, and he remembered them. “I don’t know why,” he told Coffeen in an interview published August 25. By his account, he’d seen every issue since.
Same ring, same colored shavings, 28 years later: Corey Geiger dances with his wife, Krista, during World Dairy Expo’s 2018 Supreme Champion show. This time, he wasn’t looking at the decorations.
Ask Geiger who got him here and the list runs long. Bill Borgwardt of Sunnyside Farms watched a teenager read his placings off a clipboard and told him to put it down: “Corey, you know cows. You can tell a good story… tell me a story about those four cows.” Geiger was “nervous as heck,” and he’s been telling stories ever since. Then came the Hoard’s Dairyman crew: Bill Knox, Gene Meyer, Ewing Row and Steve Larson. By Geiger’s count, they had 120 years of editorial experience between them when he walked in. “And I had one day.”
That’s a 56-year span of award dates, from Knox to Geiger. It doesn’t prove mentorship causes awards, and it isn’t a record of continuous teaching. It does make “somebody handed this to me first” a lot more concrete than the usual acceptance-speech line.
Six names, one award
Oakfield’s honor makes the same point in a different way: it names six people, not one. Jonathan and Alicia Lamb, Matthew and Kendra Lamb, Jim Veazey and Janette Veazey-Post. A championship photo fits one cow and one halter, and running 10,000-plus cows across two states takes a lot more hands than that. Add Chicoine, who made sure his board got credit for the idea behind Boviteq, and it’s three for three: nobody here got here alone, and nobody’s keeping the credit to themselves.
Six names, no show halter. Oakfield Corners’ 2026 Dairy Producers of the Year pose in the parlor, not the ring.
That means he got to tell his own story, in his own words, before anyone else had to tell it for him. A citation tells you what someone accomplished. An interview tells you what it felt like before anyone knew it would matter.
The kid with a breeding budget
Before the judging contest, there was a checking account. In the summer of 1986, the year Geiger started eighth grade, his dad walked him into the local bank and opened one. “You need to learn about money,” he told him. Geiger still has that account, through several bank mergers.
Then came the part that mattered to a cattle-obsessed kid. His dad gave him a budget to pick the bulls and mate the cows. “It’s your baby.” Geiger remembers walking the AI rep into the house so his mom could write the check, and the first couple of times, he said, they wouldn’t even put the semen in the tank because they weren’t sure the story was true. That’s the real origin story of a dairy economist: not the diploma, but the moment his father trusted him with a decision that cost money.
The degrees came later, in dairy science and ag economics at UW–Madison. So did the red ink. During a 1994 summer internship at an AI cooperative, his first articles came back covered in corrections, and his first thought was “Oh, I’m not a good writer.” Someone there told him otherwise: “No, you’re great. These stories will resonate with farmers. You just need to brush up on your grammar.” Word got to Bill Knox, and Hoard’s hired Geiger as an associate 15 months before he graduated. A page of corrections doesn’t crush a young writer when somebody makes clear the work underneath is worth fixing.
Making the numbers mean something
Corey Geiger, Expo’s 2026 Industry Person of the Year, spent 14 years as managing editor at Hoard’s Dairyman. At CoBank, the number he’s chasing now is the economic value of genetics.
At Hoard’s, Geiger learned from people with decades on him. It’s a nice symmetry with the award list, but what he inherited was more useful than a trophy case: how to read an industry and explain it to the people running it.
Now he’s CoBank’s lead dairy economist, one of 12 people on the lender’s Knowledge Exchange team. These days, he’s focused on three targets: putting a real economic value on genetics, getting the industry to pay attention to components instead of just milk volume, and figuring out what beef-on-dairy breeding does to replacement supply. A producer can take any of the three straight into a mating decision or a loan conversation. As he describes it, the whole job is connecting what farmers already know in the barn to the language a lender or an economist uses to talk about the same cow.
The detail that stuck with us wasn’t economic at all. Every year at the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Convention, Geiger and his wife, Krista, give a little nylon halter to every kid attending for the first time. The idea came from watching kids chase candy at parades. “I wanted the young people, and Krista did too, to walk away with something and put a smile on their face,” he said. “If I can spark a youth to be part of this industry, that’s the best honor I can have.”
Beyond the 10,000-cow count at Oakfield
Geiger spends his CoBank career trying to put a real number on genetics. Oakfield Corners is where those genetic values actually hit the shavings. Expo’s citation puts the operation, run today by 12th-generation farmers, at more than 10,000 cows and 15,000 acres across New York and Ohio, up from 65 cows at the start. The same citation credits an energy-corrected milk average above 110 pounds per cow and an 18-year streak of milk-quality awards. That’s the award committee’s read rather than an independent audit, but they’re specific numbers, and they say more than the herd count.
Oakfield runs a 28-cow show herd, kept entirely apart from the rest of the milking herd. Alicia Lamb put it plainly: “They’re two separate philosophies.”
Show cattle and high-index cattle are different breeding targets, and she’s not pretending one mating can chase both. That’s a cleaner admission than most operations make. Pick a lane, and you can judge whether you hit it.
It also means getting the credit right matters. Oakfield bred and developed Oakfield Solom Footloose-ET, then sold her as a four-year-old to Duckett Holsteins. Footloose went on to be Expo’s grand champion in 2022 and again in 2024. The official 2024 results list Showbox Sires and Vierra Dairy as her exhibitors. Oakfield gets the breeder credit.
Kandy Cane and the long wait
Judge Aaron Eaton fist-bumps Jamie Black after naming Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane grand champion of the 2025 International Holstein Show. The Lambs had first spotted her in Saskatchewan three years earlier.
2025 turned the credit around. Oakfield’s own Expo grand champion wasn’t an Oakfield-bred cow. Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane won her class, Senior Champion and Grand Champion at Expo’s International Holstein Show, exhibited by Alicia and Jonathan Lamb, with show herd manager Jamie Black at her halter, as The Bullvine reported from Madison.
Jonathan shared that the goal felt too lofty when they started. He also talked about the specific kind of humbling Expo delivers: you show up thinking you’ve got a good one, then you walk the barns and find out how much better “good” gets in Madison. Anybody who’s hauled a cow to a show and then walked the aisles knows that feeling.
The Lambs first saw Kandy Cane as a young cow in Mike and Jessica Lovich’s Saskatchewan herd in 2022. They remembered her, and she came to Oakfield in the spring of 2024. That’s its own kind of judgment: recognizing the right animal, then not letting the moment pass.
None of it happened by accident once she arrived. Alicia described a separate facility, a special diet and year-round attention for the show string, and Jonathan pointed to the team built around the cattle. A banner in Madison doesn’t tell you whether the rest of the farm made money that quarter, and it shouldn’t have to. It tells you the Lambs backed a specific ambition with real resources, and it paid off.
Janette’s part starts in the dirt
The award names six people for a reason, and Janette Veazey-Post is the one least likely to end up in a show photo. American Farmland Trust’s 2023 case study on Lamb Farms names her as crop manager since 2012 and credits her with putting strip-till on 1,000 acres in 2013.
That’s a far better place to start talking sustainability than “big farms are efficient”: a specific person, a specific number of acres, a specific year. The same case study tracks manure injection starting in 2016 and cover crops on 3,500 acres by 2018, including triticale, clover and radish planted after corn silage comes off.
None of that shows up on a banner. It shows up the next spring, in whether the ground can carry the next crop without the inputs it used to need. Janette’s paper trail of specific changes on specific acres is checkable, and it holds up.
If you’re running your own operation and wondering what to take from Oakfield, don’t reach for the herd count. Ask whether every piece of your farm, from the show string to the cropland, has a clear target and somebody who owns hitting it. A show cow and a strip-tilled field get judged on completely different scorecards. That’s fine. Just know which scorecard you’re using before you grade yourself.
Every proof Oakfield reads, and every genetic value Geiger tries to price, rests on an idea that was a hard sell in 1960s Quebec: a bull’s daughters tell you more when you compare them to their herdmates than to their dams. Chicoine was the one selling it.
The allergy that redirected a career
Robert Chicoine, Expo’s 2026 International Person of the Year, honored posthumously. He joined CIAQ in 1966 and spent the years after convincing Quebec breeders to trust the numbers.
Allergies ruled out farming, so Chicoine went to school instead and studied agriculture. In the third year of a four-year program, a teacher suggested he spend a summer at Quebec’s AI centre. It was a revelation, he said. At the end of that summer, the centre told him that if he’d go on to a master’s in animal breeding, there’d be a job waiting: developing its young sire proving program.
He joined CIAQ in 1966, Semex noted in its tribute. What he loved about those early years was getting paid to visit the famous herds he’d read about in the Journal as a kid.
The hard part was the argument. For about 20 years, Quebec farmers had been told to use proven sires to improve their herds, but those bulls had been proven in private herds, and some weren’t as good as their proofs suggested. Chicoine had to explain why herdmate comparisons beat comparing daughters to their dams. “I wrote many articles about that. I went to several meetings, many meetings,” he said. “And it worked. It was a long process.” A good breeding method on paper is worthless until somebody convinces the room.
Trusting the paper, trusting the eye: Senator and Starbuck
Two bulls show how Chicoine worked. In the fall of 1967, at 23, he spotted a Holstein World ad for auctioneer Harris Wilcox’s New York dispersal and fixed on the pedigree of a young bull nobody else wanted: Sevens Burke Skylark on the sire’s side, Osborndale Ivanhoe behind the dam, and three generations of proven AI sires stacked up the male line, as The Bullvine detailed in an earlier profile. The dam didn’t have the look breeders expected. Chicoine trusted the paper over the picture and bought him anyway.
Quebec’s breeding community mostly ignored the calf once he got home. CIAQ’s inseminators used his semen as a last resort, when a farmer didn’t request anything specific. Craiglen Sevens Senator earned Holstein Canada’s EXTRA designation in 1978, more than a decade later. By Chicoine’s own count, Senator now appears in at least half the pedigrees of Canada’s current Holsteins.
Starbuck was the opposite kind of decision, and Chicoine called it luck, twice in one answer. In May 1979, he and fellow CIAQ sire analyst Harley Nicholson were in Ontario signing mating contracts and looking for young sires, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. They stopped for a quick dinner and happened to be at the same restaurant as Peter Heffering of Hanover Hill Holsteins in Port Perry. Heffering said he was free that evening if they wanted to see the herd. It wasn’t far, so they went, and they found a bull calf about a month old that Chicoine remembered as “already very impressive.” The calf had been born April 26, 1979, by CIAQ’s record. The dam impressed them too.
The pedigree gave them pause. Starbuck was another son of Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation, and CIAQ already had proven Elevation sons. Chicoine and his partner had “a very serious discussion” about whether to sample another one. They bought him anyway, because they liked the family and the calf standing in front of them. Every serious breeder who’s ever found a great one in somebody else’s barn knows luck still has to be recognized before it counts for anything. The Bullvine’s archive digs into Starbuck’s pedigree.
Hanoverhill Starbuck, grown up. The month-old calf Chicoine and Harley Nicholson debated in May 1979 became, in Chicoine’s words, the bull with “the greatest impact, by far.”
Don’t turn either bull into a system, though. He wasn’t right for the same reason both times. He was a breeder weighing whatever evidence he had in front of him, sometimes a pedigree sheet and sometimes his own eye, not a man who could see forty years down the pedigree.
That earlier Bullvine profile dug into how the Senator decision fed into modern genetic evaluation. The podcast adds something it didn’t have: restraint. Asked to put a number on how much faster genetic progress moves today, he said a number “would need some research, I suppose.” What he offered instead was how it had changed. A proven bull in his early years could be used for 10 years and never get any better. Genomic selection keeps moving the target, he said. It would have been easy to toss out a figure, and he didn’t.
He wasn’t uncritical of where genomics has taken the industry, either. He praised the pace of progress, then named the cost: the selection being made now drives inbreeding. He thought research might find a way to handle it, because related animals can still carry different genes. It wasn’t a verdict, just a question he left for whoever comes next, in an interview that was supposed to be a victory lap.
Building something that outlasts you
Asked about his biggest impact, Chicoine didn’t point to a bull. He pointed to cooperation: bringing Canadian AI organizations together into what became the Semex Alliance. His reasoning was about scale. Canada has far fewer dairy cows than the U.S. or Europe, and no single AI organization had enough bulls to be sure of always having superstars. Together, they might. He had to convince the other partners, and they came around gradually.
Semex credits him as the Alliance’s first general manager in 1997, after running CIAQ, and as the force behind Boviteq, where he chaired the board from 1991 to 1996. A bull changes a pedigree. An organization keeps creating chances for people long after the person who built it is gone. He seemed to know which one mattered more.
Coffeen closed the episode with a piece of context Chicoine had asked her to include: early on, his board challenged him to push innovation on the female side of reproduction, and that challenge led to Boviteq. He wanted the record straight. It wasn’t a solo idea.
“You cannot achieve everything by yourself as a person,” he said. “You need partners. You need working companions.” Pick the best people you can find, and they’ll carry the work on when you leave. Asked about the Expo honor itself, he turned it around again: “My merit is limited in that regard. I was there at the beginning.” It’s a tougher standard for a leader than it sounds: counting the next person’s success as part of your own, without angling to keep the credit.
What’s worth carrying home
Three different careers, three different scales, one repeated move: somebody handed off real responsibility, and the person who received it did something with it worth handing off again.
You don’t need 10,000 cows or an international alliance to run that play. Define your breeding goal clearly enough that you can judge whether you hit it. Give a young person a real budget and someone willing to answer their questions. Build people who can keep the operation running without you in the room.
When Expo’s call came, Geiger pulled over to take it, then went straight to the list of past winners. “Just to be considered among them really gave me pause,” he said. Jonathan Lamb did his own version of the same thing, crediting the years of learning and the team behind the Kandy Cane run, not himself alone.
All three get recognized September 29, and Chicoine won’t be in the room for it. You don’t need a banquet invitation to take something from their stories. Somebody, somewhere, is the reason each of these three got a start, and most of those names will never get read from a stage. Be that person for somebody younger, before you’re the one being honored for a career already finished.
Asked how he hoped to be remembered, Chicoine said he didn’t have specific expectations. He was proud to have been there at the beginning, and he’d always enjoyed going to work, because he got to spend his working life on the passion he’d had as a young person. “So life has been good for me.”
Key Takeaways
Three of Geiger’s four Hoard’s mentors, Knox (1970), Meyer (1988) and Larson (2007), won Expo’s Industry Person of the Year, the same award Geiger receives in 2026. That’s a 56-year span, not proof mentoring wins awards.
CIAQ inseminators used Senator as a last resort, and he didn’t earn EXTRA until 1978. Chicoine’s pedigree bet took more than a decade to pay off, so judge your own breeding calls on that kind of timeline.
Oakfield’s honor names six people, including crop manager Janette Veazey-Post, who put strip-till on 1,000 acres in 2013. When your farm gets credit, name the person behind the work nobody photographs.
Learn More
Beef-on-Dairy’s $6215 Secret: Why 72% of Herds Are Playing It Wrong — Breaks down the exact math behind Geiger’s replacement supply warning. If your 21-day pregnancy rate sits under 20%, deploying beef semen drains your heifer pipeline and kills profitability, while high-performing herds can net an extra $6,215 monthly.
The Holstein Visionaries Who Built Everything You’re Breeding Today — Tracing the money behind historical genetic strategies proves that titans like Stephen Roman treated the show ring strictly as a marketing engine. These foundational decisions deliver the blueprints dictating your herd’s current DNA and long-term financial potential.
The Show Ring Showdown—Why Bigger Isn’t Always Better — With financial data calculating the hidden tax on massive frame size, the numbers reveal every vertical inch costs $1.20 daily in feed. This brutally validates Oakfield’s split-herd philosophy: chasing ribbons with your commercial string guarantees a profit-killing disaster.
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Blondin used partnerships. Jacobs made its prefix travel. Pierre Boulet trusted the cow before the catalog. Kueffner and Packard resisted show-ring excess. Budjon bred cattle that kept winning under new ownership. The real test is which systems produced another generation.
Ferme Jacobs could have protected Jacobs Lauthority Loana EX-96-2E after she swept the 2018 International Holstein Show. She won Senior Champion, Grand Champion, and Champion Bred & Owned for Ferme Jacobs and Pat Conroy.
The high-five that sealed it: Jacobs Lauthority Loana EX-96-2E wins Grand Champion of the 2018 International Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo, adding to her Senior Champion and Champion Bred & Owned titles for Ferme Jacobs and Pat Conroy. The family’s next move was to take her to Toronto.
Instead, the family brought her back out at The Royal one month later.
Jacobs Windbrook Aimo EX-95 beat her.
Aimo took Grand Champion and Loana Reserve. It was the first Grand-and-Reserve sweep by homebred entries at the Royal Holstein Show since Agro Acres did it in 1969.
The Jacobs family knew the risk. Loana had been perfect at Madison. Aimo was ready to challenge her in Toronto. Once both cows walked in looking as good as the family could make them, the decision belonged to the judge.
Winning with one cow can happen. Breeding two cows capable of beating each other is a program.
That’s the standard behind these five operations. The question isn’t just which famous cows they owned, bred, developed, or showed. It’s what they kept, what they fixed, and whether the families kept producing after the champion photos were taken.
The 2026 International Holstein cows enter the World Dairy Expo Coliseum at 7 a.m. on October 2. The Parade of Champions and Supreme selections follow at 4 p.m. Ryan Krohlow of Poynette, Wisconsin, will make the official placings, with Kelly Barbee of Concord, North Carolina, as associate judge. The cattle will meet in one ring. The breeding systems behind them were built very differently. (Read our show preview here – World Dairy Expo 2026 Holstein Show Preview: 11th Place Is Now The Favorite)
What 2026 Already Revealed
The August 2026 Le Suprême Laitier Holstein Show gave a current read on three Quebec programs.
Ferme Jacobs won Premier Breeder and finished second for Premier Exhibitor. Blondin won Premier Exhibitor without placing among the top three breeders. Pierre Boulet was second for Premier Breeder and third for Premier Exhibitor.
Those banners measured three different things.
Jacobs made its prefix travel. Jacobs-bred cattle earned breeder points across several ownership groups.
Blondin assembled the string. Its owned and jointly owned cattle put up the strongest exhibitor total.
Boulet worked both sides. Pierstein cattle earned breeder points, and Boulet’s exhibited animals scored too.
The difference matters. Under Holstein Canada’s rules, Premier Breeder points follow the animal’s registered prefix, and no more than 10 females count. The cattle don’t have to stay in the breeder’s ownership. Premier Exhibitor counts no more than 10 females owned by the exhibitor, and jointly owned cattle count as a separate exhibitor.
World Dairy Expo uses different Holstein rules. Holstein Association USA defines the breeder as whoever owned the dam when she was serviced. It counts no more than six animals toward each Premier award and treats every distinct partnership as a separate breeder or exhibitor.
So the Le Suprême banner split points in a direction, but it doesn’t carry over directly to Madison. It shows how Jacobs, Blondin, and Boulet build competitive depth. It can’t predict how WDE’s breeder-of-record and partnership rules will add up the points.
World Dairy Expo doesn’t publish a full public Holstein entry list in advance. This article doesn’t claim that every operation or animal discussed here is entered for 2026. It looks at the breeding and management systems Madison has tested over time.
Ferme Blondin: Families and Partnerships
Blondin Skychief Supra EX-93-3E wasn’t a fashionable purchase. She came from one of the first purebred families Simon Lalande began developing after his father bought him a heifer at Holstein Canada’s 100th-anniversary sale in 1984.
The mating behind Supra says more than her show record. Her dam was Blondin Starbuck Superlass VG-87, a 17-star brood cow. Lalande believed Starbuck daughters generally had the legs he wanted but only average udders, and that Skychief could add the mammary system.
He made the mating to combine those strengths instead of doubling down on one fashionable trait.
That’s pedigree breeding at its most useful. Know what the female family already does, name what it’s missing, and pick a bull to fix that one thing.
Supra became Holstein Canada’s 2009 Cow of the Year. Bullvine’s 2013 profile called her a 24-star brood cow. Holstein Canada’s current record lists her at 35 stars, with the notation 12/163.
Blondin Redman Seisme-Red EX-97 with Wisconsin’s Alice in Dairyland after winning Grand Champion of the International Red & White Show at World Dairy Expo. Seisme won that title in 2010 and 2012. She’s Skychief Supra’s granddaughter, and the proof that Blondin’s foundation family could breed on to Madison’s biggest stage.
Her descendants make the stronger case. Blondin R Marker Supra VG-89, a Red Marker daughter of Skychief Supra, produced Blondin Redman Seisme-Red EX-97. Seisme was Grand Champion of the Red & White Show at World Dairy Expo in 2010 and 2012, and Supreme Champion at The Royal in 2010.
That’s transmission a breeder can see. Supra didn’t just classify high or win a Cow of the Year vote. A later generation took the family onto the biggest stages in North America.
Rockymountain Talent Licorice EX-95 was Blondin’s other route into an important family. Lalande bought her fresh as a senior 3-year-old at World Dairy Expo in 2010. He looked at the individual first, then her mammary system, legs, dairy strength, maternal family, and sire stack.
Licorice was a Talent tracing through Skychief and Rudolph daughters to Ravenswell Lydia EX-92. Lydia is the brood cow behind other influential show families, including Idee Lustre EX-95. Holstein Canada’s current record lists Licorice as an 8-star brood cow with 40 progeny in the calculation.
One year after Simon Lalande bought her fresh as a senior 3-year-old in Madison, Rockymountain Talent Licorice EX-95 came back to win the 4-year-old class at the 2011 International Holstein Show.
She was Intermediate Champion at The Royal in 2010. In 2011, she won the 4-year-old class and Reserve Senior Champion at World Dairy Expo. She sold for $420,000 in the 2011 International Intrigue Sale.
Supra and Licorice did different jobs. Supra proved Blondin could build a family from within. Licorice showed it could spot a cow from an established maternal line, develop her, and fit her into a bigger genetics and marketing program.
Partnerships extended that reach. In 2013, Blondin reported managing more than 225 partnership-owned animals. That came with the registrations, genomic tests, imports, exports, accounting, and partner communication attached to each one.
That’s also where the system can break. Every added partner can affect mating authority, flush schedules, show decisions, sale timing, and how returns are split. Access to a better cow family only matters if the owners can agree on what to do with it.
Ferme Jacobs: The Prefix Travels
Loana and Aimo showed that Ferme Jacobs could breed two cows good enough to fight for the same championship. The tougher test is whether the Jacobs prefix keeps working after cattle leave Cap-Santé.
Premier Breeder, 2025 International Holstein Show. At Madison, breeder credit goes to the owner of the dam at service. That makes this banner a measure of what Ferme Jacobs bred, not just what it led into the ring.
Recent results say it does. Ferme Jacobs won Premier Breeder at the 2025 International Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo. At Le Suprême Laitier in August 2026, it won Premier Breeder again and finished second for Premier Exhibitor.
The prefix earned points through cattle in several ownership groups. Jacobs Unix Britain was shown with Ferme Gillette and T-Wave. Milk&Honey Im A Sexy Baby, Jacobs Tatoo Branelle and Jacobs Sidekick Bee also carried Jacobs breeding into other owners’ strings.
That’s what a traveling prefix looks like. The breeder gives up day-to-day control over feeding, fitting and show decisions. The family still earns breeder credit in somebody else’s hands.
Inside the Jacobs herd, selection has never just been a chase for more type. The family told Bullvine it would use older proven sires when the cross justified it and wouldn’t use minus-milk bulls. It was adding milk because it felt the herd already had enough extreme type.
Loana and Aimo were that argument on four legs. Ysabel Jacobs leaned toward Loana’s balance. Yan Jacobs preferred more of Aimo’s extreme look. They wanted the same general kind of cow but didn’t agree on how far to push every trait.
That disagreement stops the Jacobs cow from becoming a caricature of whatever trait the market is paying for this year.
The family was just as deliberate about embryo work. Ferme Jacobs reported selling 500 embryos in 2018. It still avoided flushing cows that were being prepared for shows, because it didn’t want hormone work interfering with their campaigns.
That choice left embryo revenue on the table. Jacobs showed the cow first and flushed her later.
The wider family record shows why transmission matters more than one banner. Jacobs High Octane Babe EX-96-2E was Holstein Canada’s 2025 Cow of the Year. That came eight years after Jacobs Goldwyn Britany, from the same maternal family, won the honor for 2017.
Babe’s family also produced Jacobs Destiny Balla, Jacobs Lambda Baz and Jacobs Alligator Bawl. Bruins, Bullding and Bubble entered AI service through Semex.
That’s when a family becomes more than a show string. Cows, sale animals, and AI sons start carrying the same maternal line into different markets.
The weak point is control. Once a Jacobs animal is sold, the prefix travels, but management authority doesn’t. The breeder’s reputation can rise or suffer on decisions made in another barn.
Pierre Boulet: Cow Before Catalogue
Pierre Boulet starts with the animal, not the catalog.
If he doesn’t like the cow or heifer in front of him, he doesn’t look at the pedigree. Only after she passes that first inspection does he study the maternal family and sire stack.
The order matters. A fashionable pedigree can’t excuse an animal Boulet doesn’t want to work with. A good-looking individual doesn’t get a free pass either. The family still has to be consistent enough to suggest she’ll breed on.
Pierre Boulet with Loyalyn Goldwyn June at the Willows. His buying rule starts where this photo does: with the cow in front of him, not the catalogue.
Viapax B C Madison VG 6* became one of his most important purchases because she created value beyond herself. Boulet bought her as a heifer. He then built the family by flushing Madison, her daughters, and her granddaughters.
Her value came from repeatability. One cow turned into several generations of mating, embryo, and marketing decisions.
Pierre Boulet and Katie Coates with Thrulane James Rose EX-97 after she was named Supreme Champion at World Dairy Expo in 2008. Rose didn’t come from the Pierstein prefix, but Boulet credited her with drawing visitors to the farm and interest in cattle unrelated to her.
Thrulane James Rose EX-97 paid off differently. Rose was Grand and Supreme Champion at World Dairy Expo in 2008, shown by Boulet. Boulet said the attention she drew brought visitors to his farm and raised interest in cattle unrelated to her.
Rose shouldn’t be mistaken for a Pierstein-bred foundation cow. She gave Boulet’s program visibility, show-ring credibility, and market traffic. Madison gave it a family.
That distinction matters, because buying a champion and breeding a family aren’t the same achievement.
Boulet’s published advice reflects different levels of risk. A buyer with more capital can target a VG first-calf cow that has already made it through calving. A buyer with less money can get into an established family through embryos.
The entry price changes. The family still has to breed on.
The limit of that method is fertility. Boulet recalled paying $40,000 for a cow that could win shows but never produced an embryo or a calf. Phenotype, a consistent maternal line, and a proven sire stack reduce the risk. None of them guarantees that a purchase will produce enough embryos or descendants to earn back her cost.
The wider Pierstein record shows the system has worked again and again. Holstein Association USA’s judging biography notes that Boulet has used the Pierstein prefix since 1993 and has bred more than 200 Excellent cows.
That number takes the argument past one purchased star. Boulet’s eye helped build a whole population.
Kueffner & Packard: Function Over Fashion
One barn, two breeds, three titles. Hillcroft Leader Melanie EX-96 was named Supreme Champion, Huronia Centurion Veronica EX-97 (left) Reserve Supreme Champion and Ernest-Anthony Ariel EX-94 Supreme Champion of the Futurity. All three came through Arethusa Farm while Ernie Kueffner and Terri Packard managed the herd.
Ernie Kueffner has never hidden his worry that the show ring can reward the wrong version of a good trait.
He warned that the push for bigger rear udders led some exhibitors to bring cows in overfull, costing them crease definition and mammary quality. He put more weight on fore-udder attachment, teat placement, and feet and legs. Those are the parts that decide whether a cow comes back for another lactation.
In Kueffner’s view, the rear udder might catch the judge’s eye. The whole mammary system and sound locomotion are what keep a cow useful.
Six years after she was Intermediate Champion in Madison, Butz-Butler Gold Barbara EX-95 (EX-96 MS) came back to win Grand Champion of the 2019 International Holstein Show for an ownership group that included Ernie Kueffner and Terri Packard. The Goldwyn daughter of Regancrest Brasilia carries the Regancrest-PR Barbie family, and she’s the kind of cow Kueffner’s standard is built for: one that’s still winning years after her first banner.
Tri-Day Ashlyn-ET, KHW Regiment Apple-Red-ET and Huronia Centurion Veronica became the clearest proof of that standard. Each was a major show winner. But Kueffner’s case for them rested on what came after, through sons and daughters.
Ashlyn Made Excellent Daughters
Tri-Day Ashlyn EX-96-2E was Supreme Champion at World Dairy Expo. She became one of the Holstein breed’s most prolific sources of high-classifying daughters, and current reporting credits her with 73 Excellent daughters worldwide.
Tri-Day Ashlyn at World Dairy Expo in 2001. Banners made her famous. Seventy-three Excellent daughters worldwide made her the proof behind Ernie Kueffner’s function-first standard.
Her daughters included EO Siemers Ashlyns Angel EX-92 and EK-Oseeana Ambrosia EX-95-2E. Earlier records also list eight Excellent sons.
The exact classification total grew over time, but the pattern is clear. Ashlyn’s influence didn’t stop with one show-winning daughter or one AI son.
Apple Built a Red Dynasty
KHW Regiment Apple-Red became one of the defining cows of modern Red Holstein breeding. Her daughter MS Candy Apple-Red was Honorable Mention Grand Champion of the 2013 International Red & White Show. Apple’s clone, KHW Regiment Apple 3-Red, won Grand Champion at the same show.
KHW Regiment Apple-Red-ET on the coloured shavings at World Dairy Expo. A WDE Grand Champion in her own right, Apple mattered more for what came after: daughters, sons and a red family that kept breeding on. She died in January 2020.
Apple’s influence also ran through her sons. Apples Absolute-Red and Mr Apples Armani-RC became widely used sires. They carried the family into herds that would never own an Apple daughter.
That combination matters. A show cow can give you another good-looking female. A breed-changing brood cow gives you daughters, sons, and whole families that keep showing up after her own campaign is over.
Veronica Worked Both Sexes
Huronia Centurion Veronica became a foundation of the modern Jersey show herd. Records list 110 registered sons and daughters. Four daughters scored EX-95: Elliots Golden Vista, Arethusa Primetime Déjà Vu, Arethusa Veronicas Dasher and Arethusa Veronicas Comet.
Her EX-96 daughter, Arethusa Response Vivid, was Grand Champion Jersey and Reserve Supreme Champion at World Dairy Expo in 2012.
Veronica’s sons included Vindication, Verbatim and Voltage. Their daughters added more WDE winners and All-American cattle to the family.
That’s why Ashlyn, Apple and Veronica belong together. Their breeds, pedigrees, and markets differed, but all three transmitted through more than one route.
Kueffner and Packard still had to live with the weakness built into their approach. The market doesn’t always reward functional restraint right away. When exaggerated udders or extreme frames are selling, skipping the trend can mean passing on animals that would bring short-term attention and money.
Their standard only wins the argument if the cattle stay sound and keep producing the next generation.
Budjon Farms: A Prefix That Bred On
Budjon Farms isn’t a boarding operation that happened to show good cows. The prefix built its reputation by breeding cattle that could win at the national level, and it repeated that across several animals and generations.
The foundation was Krull Broker Elegance EX-96, bought by Tom Cull and Joel Kietzman in 1996. Elegance became the taproot of a family that continued through Budjon-bred females. One of them was Budjon-JK Linjet Eileen EX-96-4E GMD DOM, whose official Canadian record lists six brood-cow stars and 30 progeny in the calculation.
The proof came in 2005.
That year, Budjon became the first U.S. prefix to have three different cows named Grand Champion, Best Bred & Owned, and Best Udder at three National Holstein Shows.
Budjon-JK Linjet Eileen did it at the Midwest Spring National Show. Budjon Redmarker Desire EX-95 did it at the International Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo. Budjon Stardust Anisa EX-96 completed the sweep at the Mideast Fall National Show in Louisville.
That wasn’t one great cow carrying a whole program.
It was three Budjon-bred cows winning three national shows in the same year.
Desire’s win in Madison is still the headline. The homebred Red Marker daughter was Grand Champion of the 2005 International Holstein Show. Budjon’s breeding record later grew to six World Dairy Expo Premier Breeder banners.
Those Premier Breeder awards matter because they credit the cattle Budjon bred, not just the animals in its string. They measure how far the breeding program reaches.
Budjon-Vail Drm Sunshine-ET EX-95-2E is the next generation of proof. Bred by Tom and Kelli Cull with Peter Vail, she was Grand Champion Bred & Owned at the 2021 Midwest Spring National Show.
Chandler and Calvin Bening later bought her, and she kept winning while still housed at Budjon Farms. Holstein Association USA named her its 2023 Star of the Breed. It’s the association’s highest individual honor, given to a cow that combines type and production.
Sunshine qualified with a fourth-lactation record of 42,130 pounds of milk, with 2,244 pounds of fat at 5.3% and 1,508 pounds of protein at 3.6%. When she won the award, her lifetime total was 145,590 pounds of milk.
Her show record includes Grand Champion and Reserve Supreme Champion at the 2022 North American International Livestock Exposition Junior Show. She followed that with Senior and Grand Champion in the open Mid-East Fall National Holstein Show. A second-place finish in the aged-cow class at the 2023 Midwest Spring National Show completed her show requirement for Star of the Breed.
That’s a traveling prefix in its own right. Budjon and Vail bred the cow, and another family later owned and showed her. The Budjon-Vail name stayed on a cow that combined national-show form with Star of the Breed production.
Tom Cull holds the Klussendorf Trophy after receiving the 82nd Klussendorf Award at World Dairy Expo in 2024. It’s the show ring’s highest individual honour, awarded for ability, character, sportsmanship and dedication to dairy cattle showing.
Budjon’s boarding and development business sits beside that breeding record. It doesn’t replace it. The operation uses the same observation, feeding, and recovery systems for its homebred cattle, partnership cattle, and cattle bred by clients.
Budjon’s boarding and development business belongs beside that breeding record, not in place of it. The operation has applied the same observation, feeding and recovery systems to its homebred cattle, partnership cattle and animals bred by clients.
That system reached its peak in 2017, when Rosiers Blexy Goldwyn-ET won the six-year-old class, Senior and Grand Champion of the International Holstein Show and then Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo for Budjon, Vail, Abbot, Van Excel and Woodmansee.
Rosiers Blexy Goldwyn-ET, Grand Champion of the 2017 International Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo. She won the 6-year-old and older class for Budjon, Vail, Abbott, Van Exel and Woodmansee, and was later classified EX-97. She’s a Rosiers-bred cow brought to Madison’s top title by the Budjon team.
Blondin Goldwyn Subliminal-ETS EX-97-4E is a strong example of that management. Ferme Blondin bred her, and she was later owned by Budjon Farms with Peter and Lyn Vail. Budjon didn’t create her maternal genetics. What it did was help an injured cow recover, get back into production, and reach 310,707 pounds of lifetime milk.
Two years after the hip dislocation that put her in slings at Budjon Farms, Blondin Goldwyn Subliminal-ETS won Grand Champion of the 2015 International Junior Holstein Show and was later named Supreme Champion of the Junior Show. Chandler Bening leads the Ferme Blondin-bred cow he owned with his brother, Trevor Tuman.
That gives both programs proper credit. Blondin bred Subliminal. Budjon and its partners developed her and kept her going through a remarkable career.
So Budjon’s record is bigger than either “breeder” or “boarder.” It has bred national champions under the Budjon and Budjon-Vail names. It has carried the Elegance family forward through later generations. And it has developed cattle bred by other herds to the top of the industry.
The complete Budjon record is therefore broader than either “breeder” or “boarder.” The operation has bred national champions under the Budjon and Budjon-Vail names, extended the Elegance family through later generations and developed cattle carrying other prefixes to the highest levels of the industry. Most recently, B-Wil Kingsire Willow was Senior and Grand Champion of the 2025 International Ayrshire Show for Budjon Farms and Peter Vail.
One champion can build a reputation. Three bred-and-owned national champions in one year, six WDE Premier Breeder banners and a Star of the Breed show that the prefix itself belongs in this conversation.
Which Family Are You Building?
Pick the three females getting the most breeding, show, or partnership money in your herd. For each one, write down the family trait you’re trying to keep, the fault you’re trying to fix, and the evidence that the mating can do both.
Then describe the daughter you expect the cross to produce.
Not the genomic number you hope to print. Not the sale average you hope to announce. Not the banner you hope to photograph.
The daughter.
If the only answer is “more marketable,” you have a sales plan. You don’t have a breeding plan yet.
When the Holstein cows enter the Coliseum on October 2, the easy question will be which cow can win.
The better question is whether the family, the mating, and the management behind her can produce another one.
Key Takeaways
The 2026 Le Suprême banner split won’t predict Madison. Canadian Premier Breeder counts 10 females by registered prefix, while WDE counts six and credits whoever owned the dam at service.
Jacobs won Premier Breeder at Le Suprême and placed second as exhibitor because its prefix scored in other owners’ strings. Judge your prefix by what wins when somebody else holds the halter.
Boulet screens the cow before the pedigree, and that still didn’t stop him from paying $40,000 for a show cow that never produced an embryo or calf. A good eye and a deep sire stack lower the risk, but they can’t promise fertility.
In 2005, three different Budjon-bred cows won Grand, Bred & Owned and Best Udder at three national shows. That’s proof the family transmits, which one champion can never give you.
7 Habits of Highly Successful Dairy Breeders — Arms you with the specific management routines separating profitable elite herds from average operations. Tracks the daily operational protocols that drive higher conception rates and lower cull rates across top-tier genetics programs.
The Show Ring vs. The Commercial Dairyman — Follows the money on where show-ring type traits align—or collide—with commercial milk production margins. Evaluates the long-term economic shift toward functional conformation, measuring the exact cost of extreme stature in commercial freestall environments.
Genomics vs. Progeny Testing: Which is Better? — Dismantles the traditional timeline of genetic advancement by weighing early genomic predictions against established progeny proofs. Exposes how accelerated generation intervals reduce maintenance overhead while identifying the true risk-to-reward ratio for your breeding budget.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
In 1970, Canada had 90,000 dairy herds. By August 2025, there were 9,048. By 2035, there may be just 3,500. Upon receiving Lactanet’s Distinction Award, Murray Hunt challenged the industry: the milk tank can’t pay for the structure we have now.
Murray Hunt thanked Neil Petreny and Paul Larmer for helping him up to the podium. “Age is catching up,” he said, “but I still love the industry.” Then the 81-year-old spent the rest of his time at the podium proving it, first by thanking the people who built his career and then by telling the people who run Canada’s dairy cattle improvement organizations that the structure he spent that career building has outgrown the milk cheque.
“In 1970 we had 90,000 herds in Canada, 25 cows each, and every farmer organization had its own silo, its own goals, its own area, and you didn’t dare get outside them,” he told the Dairy Cattle Industry Forum at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Toronto on September 22, minutes after Lactanet presented him with its 2026 Dairy Cattle Improvement Industry Distinction Award. Canada had 9,048 farms shipping milk on August 1, 2025, according to the latest available Canadian Dairy Information Centre data. The estimate Hunt had read for 2035 is 3,500. “The milk tank, that little spigot at the end of the milk tank, can’t pay for the structure that we have now,” he said.
Few people in that room had more standing to say it. In 1998, as executive director of the Canadian Association of Animal Breeders, he saw CAAB dissolved once its genetics work had moved to the new Canadian Dairy Network. Four years earlier, Larmer’s citation noted, he “navigated a successful streamlining and integration of research dollars, people resources, and effort” across industry organizations to create the Cattle Breeding Research Council. On Tuesday, he asked the room to do it again. “Alignment for me and Karen personally was that we were out of a job,” he said.
His 2035 number sounds extreme until you look at who actually buys dairy improvement services. Herds enrolled in milk recording fell 17.3% in five years, against 10.4% for all farms. Hold that pace, and Lactanet records roughly 3,650 herds in 2035, within 150 of Hunt’s figure. That’s a Bullvine calculation, and the math is below.
The Names Read Before His
Larmer read the roll of previous recipients before he read the résumé. Doug Blair and Robert Chicoine shared the first award in 2008. Bonnie Cooper became the first woman honoured in 2019. The 2023 forum made up for three pandemic years with Pierre Laliberté, Dr. David Kelton and a special award to Brian Van Doormaal, according to Lactanet. Gary Bowers followed in 2024, and the late Dr. Gerrit Kistemaker was honoured posthumously in 2025.
Lactanet’s announcement calls Hunt the sixteenth recipient since the award’s creation in 2008. Semex announced Chicoine’s death on September 15, so the name that opened the list was read a week later.
Jack Britt had come up from the United States for the evening. The North Carolina State dean emeritus co-wrote the 2018 Journal of Dairy Science review imagining dairy farms in 2067, a fitting guest for a speech about 2035. Hunt also thanked Van Doormaal for starting the forum at CDN and Lactanet for carrying it on.
Larmer called it “a lengthy résumé, but one of contribution, foundation building, and success that has touched on almost every aspect of our dairy improvement industry.” We covered it in full when Lactanet announced the award in August. The short version: a 1970 University of Guelph master’s thesis under Dr. Ted Burnside arguing for the maximum number of young sires in structured sampling, which at its peak meant more than 500 young bulls sampled in Canada a year. The Production Dollar Difference, Canada’s first sire ranking index built on profit and a forerunner of the Pro$ index that arrived in 2015. Eighteen years at Holstein Canada. Inaugural chair of the Genetic Evaluation Board. A seat in the Futures Group that led to Canadian Dairy Network on May 29, 1995.
A Farm Accident, a Centennial Dance and the Hardest Lesson
He was 15 when his parents, Sterling and Irene Hunt, bought Huntsdale Farm: 22 cows and a 25-acre market garden. The herd went on Record of Performance, started using AI in 1962, and was type classified in 1963. Huntsdale earned Holstein Canada’s Master Breeder shield in 1984.
University wasn’t the plan. “I had a farm accident, and she said, ‘You may not be able to farm,'” he said of his mother. “I wanted to farm. As always, mothers are right.”
He called August 5, 1967 “my greatest blessing.” It was a community centennial dance. “I’m not a very good dancer, mostly a wallflower. She did let me drive her home. We went out on a date the next day, and the rest is history.” Karen was entering her first year at McMaster; he was partway through Guelph. They married two years later. “If I have any communication skills, I learned from Karen. She’s my rock, my support, my everything.”
His first job, running Ontario’s Dairy Herd Improvement Program for the provincial agriculture ministry at 25, taught him business and human resources the hard way. “Firing people. That was the toughest thing I ever had to learn,” he said. “I had to learn to part with people in a good way.”
Larmer’s citation filled in the life around the work: more than 15 years as a 4-H leader coaching teams at what’s now the TD Canadian 4-H Dairy Classic, two decades producing the six-night Rockton Dinner Theatre with Karen to raise money for the Rockton Fair, and service as an elder at West Flamborough Presbyterian and Troy United churches. They have three children and eight grandchildren. None of the grandchildren is in dairy. He listed their careers with obvious pride, from data systems to medicine, in the same speech where he cited a 3,500-herd estimate.
How Did Milk Recording Go From 10% of Cows to 58%?
When Hunt joined Holstein Canada in 1973, he said, 10% of Canada’s dairy cows were milk recorded and 6% were type classified. “We’ve heard here today that we don’t need every animal recorded, but at one time we thought we did, so we pushed hard.”
Pushing meant travelling the country to combine the federal ROP program with the provincial DHI programs. It meant writing the first constitution of the Ontario Dairy Herd Improvement Corporation with a lawyer the Ontario Milk Marketing Board paid for. And it meant spending three hours one day explaining to Lorne Hurd, the board’s general manager, why DHI needed a checkoff. “Now whether it’s being well used or not,” he said, “Neil Petreny will have to explain that.”
It worked. In 2025, 563,492 cows in 5,333 herds were on milk recording, according to Lactanet data published by the Canadian Dairy Information Centre. That’s 58% of Canada’s 971,600 dairy cows.
Classification was the harder fix. “The type classification program may not now be meeting everyone’s needs,” he conceded, but in 1973, 47% of first-lactation cows were classified Good Plus, and there were more Goods than Good Pluses. The scores weren’t separating cows, and the recording needed to be standardized.
The answer turned up at a grounded Ottawa airport. It was February, about minus 20, and planes weren’t leaving because Ottawa didn’t have de-icing yet. Hunt got talking to a man in snow boots working on a portable device. He measured trees for a living, he said. He could only work outside for an hour and a half at a time, then went back inside and worked the data. Hunt wondered whether classifiers could use the same thing.
Dalton Hodgins, the Shawville classifier who later led Holstein Canada’s classification staff, according to Holstein Québec, took the project on with him. He’d drive out from his Brantford hotel to the Hunt home at night, where a young Andrew Hunt would pepper him with questions and then start punching keys. Hodgins would warn the boy, “Oh, don’t do that. You might break it,” Murray told the room. “Andrew’s never been afraid of computers.” Larmer’s citation credits that work as the first handheld device used to standardize classifiers’ records, and the Canadian system was adopted by multiple countries. Hunt trained classifiers in Australia, Japan, Brazil, France, Italy, Cuba, Germany and Spain.
He didn’t oversell the result. “I’m not sure we were successful in getting the right feet and legs on the cow,” he said, “but nevertheless, it was a lot of change.”
The Silo Speech
Hunt said he’d cleared it with the organizers first. “I could throw out a little bit of my bias here.” Then he told a room full of cattle people that he wasn’t there to talk about cows. “I want to challenge you on the infrastructure.”
In the 1970s, he said, Canada sampled 500 young bulls a year, and some herds generated 30% of their revenue from breeding sales. The organizations serving them stayed in their own lanes. Some of those walls have come down since. “In my opinion,” he said, “not enough.”
“It’s going to be a business model on every farm,” he said of 2035, and the milk recording service will have to become a business-model service too. “Are you prepared to take down all the silos and get together for the benefit of the dairy farmers?”
He gave three asks.
Alignment. “Yes, I said alignment, not cooperation, not collaboration, not amalgamation. Alignment.” He held up Lactanet itself, which brought CanWest DHI, Valacta and CDN together in 2019, as the model and said it needs to go further. Then he looked right at the president of Holstein Canada. “It’s going to be a challenge for you, because I think there’s roles for breeds and there’s roles for others.”
Rationalization. Each organization carries its own HR department and its own computer systems. “We need to destroy more silos.”
Innovation. “The dairy industry is bigger than Canada, and we need to be finding partners around the world to work on research and development.” Then came an admission from the man who helped shape the type program. “We used to think we had the Canadian kind. It was unique. We’re not any more unique than anything else. We’re finding out now she was too tall in front, and that chest width didn’t mean anything about how much feed she could take in.”
He also asked for modelling. The Futures Group of 1994 led to CDN the following spring. “It sounds kind of stupid now to say 1994. We were looking to the future.” His master’s was a computer model. Now he wants a new model for 2035, 41 years on.
Can 3,500 Herds Pay for Today’s Structure?
Here’s the surprise in his numbers. The milk in the tank barely moves. At 225 to 240 cows a herd, 3,500 herds is 787,500 to 840,000 cows. Add his 20% more fat and protein per cow, and total component output lands between 3% below and 4% above today’s.
So the spigot pays about what it pays now. What changes is how many farms are left to carry the costs that don’t shrink when a herd sells out: boards, head offices, evaluation runs, software, HR.
“We need to destroy more silos.”
— Murray Hunt, Dairy Cattle Industry Forum, September 22, 2026
Bullvine calculation: how fast does the fixed-cost share per herd rise?
Path to 2035
Annual decline in herds
Herds in 2035
Fixed cost per herd vs. 2025
All-farm pace (2014–2024)
2.6%
~6,950
1.30×
Milk-recording pace (2020–2025)*
3.7%
~6,190
1.46×
Hunt’s 2035 estimate
9.1% (implied)
3,500
2.59×
All-farm pace from the AAFC Dairy Sector Profile. *Milk-recording enrolment pace, applied to all farms.
For all farms, 3,500 is aggressive. It needs herds to disappear three and a half times faster than they did over the last decade. For the herds that buy milk recording, it’s close to the current trend line.
Milk recording
2020
2025
Change
Herds enrolled
6,446
5,333
−17.3%
All dairy farms
10,095
9,048
−10.4%
Share of farms enrolled
63.9%
58.9%
−5.0 points
Enrolled herds fell 3.7% a year from 2020 to 2025. Hold that pace for a decade, and the recorded-herd base is about 3,650 in 2035. Part of that is deliberate. The forum heard the same day that not every animal needs recording anymore, and genomics has made that true for some decisions. But a deliberate exit still leaves fewer herds carrying the same systems.
Put a dollar on it. Say an organization carries $1 million a year in costs that don’t fall when herds leave. Across 9,048 farms, that’s about $111 a herd. At 6,950 farms, it’s $144. At 3,500, it’s $286. Spread only across milk-recording herds, it goes from $188 today to $274 at 3,650. That’s an illustrative model, not any organization’s budget.
What Should Board Members Ask Before 2035?
Hunt aimed the challenge at the directors and delegates in the room, and he’d been on the staff side of that table. “Elected farmer representatives are a great resource,” he said. “Being young and brash, you think you don’t need to be told, but I did.” Here’s what his three asks look like as board work.
Ask for the fixed-cost split this AGM season. Ask every organization you fund what share of its budget doesn’t fall when herd numbers do, and what that line costs per herd at 6,950 and at 3,500 farms. It’s a 30-day question. A total with no split isn’t an answer.
Price shared services before governance. Shared HR, IT and field systems attack duplicated costs without anyone surrendering a board, which is the distinction Hunt drew between alignment and amalgamation. The trade-off is control, since breed-specific rules have to survive the sharing.
Fund research with partners beyond Canada. Bigger research pools spread cost across more cows. The risk is losing Canadian pricing in the selection goal, the same logic that made PDD and Pro$ Canadian tools in the first place.
Hunt closed with John F. Kennedy, from Frankfurt in June 1963: “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
He’d lived that line once already, in 1998, when the job he’d built was the one that went.
The room gave him a standing ovation. Karen was part of it, as she’s been through every chapter of this story: his biggest supporter and his biggest fan.
If the organization you pay dues to had to run on 6,950 herds tomorrow, what would it cut first, and has anyone on your board asked yet?
We’ll put that question to the organizations Hunt challenged and report their answers in The Bullvine Weekly.
Key Takeaways
Hunt’s 3,500-herd estimate for 2035 is aggressive for all farms, but milk recording is already on that track: enrolled herds fell 17.3% from 2020 to 2025, which projects to about 3,650.
On Hunt’s own 2035 figures, the tank ships about the same fat and protein, between 3% less and 4% more. What shrinks is the number of herds splitting the fixed costs.
Alignment always costs someone. In 1998 it cost Hunt his own job when CAAB dissolved, so any board asking for it should be ready to say who gives up what.
Hunt’s test for any partnership or shared-service plan: “In the end, the group that need to be profitable are the dairy farms, viable and sustainable.”
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
Learn More
Are You Breeding for the Future or the Past? — Align your genetic strategy directly with tomorrow’s milk cheque. Breaks down the hidden costs of outdated selection traits, arming you with the metrics needed to shift your sire criteria toward strict profit margins over show-ring appeal.
What Will the Dairy Industry Look Like in 2030? — Prepare your balance sheet for the consolidation wave Murray Hunt predicts. Maps upcoming bottlenecks in processing capacity against consumer demand, delivering concrete herd-size thresholds your operation must clear to survive the next decade.
Is Crossbreeding the Answer to Dairy’s Problems? — Challenge the purebred status quo with hybrid vigor economics. Follows the money on crossbred herds to reveal exactly how improved conception rates and reduced cull costs offset potential yield drops, fundamentally redefining baseline profitability.
Butlerview Glitter Girl stood 11th in a 61-head calf class in this Coliseum last October. Ten heifers beat her. Two of them have since lost to her in Madison.
Hamburg, New York, March 2025. Ryan Krohlow, microphone still in hand, congratulates the leadsman after tapping Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane Grand Champion and Best Udder of Show at the New York Spring Show — the second time he had put this five-year-old on top, six months after doing it at the Eastern Fall National. He called her udder “perfect” and “symmetric.” Seven months after this handshake she was Grand Champion of World Dairy Expo. On Friday he holds the microphone at the show she won.
UPDATE: Butlerview Glitter Girl-ET won the winter yearlings and was named Junior Champion, as this preview called it. Eixdale Pwrup Alongside, our live threat in the five-year-olds, was Grand Champion. MD-Locustcrest P Zuriniah was Reserve Grand. Three of the five 2025 banner winners who hadn’t shown all season came back, and all three won their class: Zuriniah, Altona Lea Unix Herminie and Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane. Our dark horses won three cow classes. Our favourites won one, and the Fantasy Exhibitor crowd beat us on straight picks, 4 to 1. The preview below is unchanged from publication. See full results here.
Harrisburg, September 2024. Ryan Krohlow taps a four-year-old Sidekick from Saskatchewan as Senior and Grand Champion of the Eastern Fall National.
Hamburg, March 2025. Krohlow again. Same cow, now a five-year-old, Grand Champion and Best Udder of Show. He calls her “on the money” — “dairy, long, and feminine yet has so much chest” — walking “so free,” with an udder he calls “perfect” and “symmetric”.
Madison, October 2025. Aaron Eaton takes one look and says it out loud: “when that 5-year-old came in the ring today, it was game over.” Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane — Grand Champion of the International Holstein Show, Reserve Supreme of World Dairy Expo.
Krohlow had her purple twice before Eaton ever laid a hand on her. He staked his reputation on that cow in two separate rings while the rest of the industry was still deciding. Now he holds the microphone at the show that made her famous — and Kandy Cane, since scored EX-97, has not been seen in a ring all year.
Neither has the Junior Champion who stood beside her in that final callout. Neither has the Reserve Junior Champion, the Honorable Mention Intermediate Champion, or the Honorable Mention Senior Champion. Of the nine animals who took a divisional banner in Madison last October, five have not surfaced at any of the sixteen major North American Holstein shows held in 2026 — a majority of that callout has been dark for eleven months.
One of the others surfaced in April, in Chilliwack, and won.
A caution before you bet anything: World Dairy Expo does not publish a public Holstein entry list, and entries closed August 31. Nobody outside these barns knows who is on the truck. What follows is who has earned a place in the conversation — and who has been conspicuously, deliberately quiet.
The Cow Who Beat Barabas Is Back — And She’s A Grand Champion Now
Madison, October 2025. Aaron Eaton lifts the leadsman Brian Carscadden’s hand in the Coliseum for West-Adub Lambda Sadie — Intermediate Champion and Reserve Grand Champion of World Dairy Expo, and the cow he put over Famipage Legend Barabas on being “a little cleaner” with “more quality” to her mammary system. “She runs away with it,” he said. Since this photograph she has sold part to Butlerview, calved into a four-year-old and won a Grand Champion banner of her own in British Columbia.
West-Adub Lambda Sadie was Intermediate Champion and Reserve Grand Champion of World Dairy Expo 2025. Eaton said she “runs away with it” — “so dairy, so open, so flawless in her parts” — and he put her over Famipage Legend Barabas for Intermediate on being “a little cleaner” with “more quality” to her mammary system.
She then sold at the Parade of Perfection to Butlerview Farm, with Westcoast Holsteins of Chilliwack retaining half interest. In April she walked into the BC Holstein Spring Show at the National Convention as a four-year-old and Jamie Black made her Grand Champion.
Barabas, meanwhile, aged into the same class and won Grand at the Ontario Summer Show — her second straight Ontario Summer Grand, after taking it as a senior three-year-old in 2025.
Two Grand Champions. One class. A rematch of the closest call of last year’s show. That’s Friday’s headline, and we’ll get to why it’s a fight between two completely different kinds of cow.
The Show You’re Walking Into
The scale, from last year: 468 Holsteins — 236 heifers, 169 intermediate cows, 63 mature cows. The winter heifer calf class alone ran 61 head, the spring calves 42. Judge Aaron Eaton spent two days on it.
The week starts earlier than most people think. The International Junior Holstein Show goes Friday, October 2nd at 10:00 a.m., official Ben Wallace of Stoughton, Wisconsin with associate Phillip Topp of Botkins, Ohio. That’s the junior-exhibitor ring, so it only catches the animals owned by juniors — but that list is not short this year, and it includes some of the best cattle in this preview. Sarah Hill’s Four-Hills Pazzle 71530-TW, Hayden Burrus’s Ms-AOL Alpha Ralpha, the Schmocker sisters’ Luck-E Merjack Asalia, Kolton Utecht’s winter calf, Tenley Chittenden’s JAKKS Arcitect Cupid-Red and Macie Noble’s aged cow all sit in junior hands. Watch Sunday and you get a free four-day preview of Thursday and Friday.
And it doesn’t end Friday morning. The Holstein Grand Champion goes on to the Parade of Champions at 4:00 p.m. Friday for Supreme, and the heifer Supreme is selected Thursday at 8:30 p.m. Last year Kandy Cane won the Holstein ring and still finished Reserve Supreme, beaten by the Red & White champion Golden-Oaks Temptress-Red. Winning Friday morning is not the last word.
Eleventh Place Is Now The Best Heifer On The Continent
Ontario Summer Show, July 2026. Adam Hodgins lifts the leadsman’s hand for Butlerview Glitter Girl-ET — Junior Champion and Champion Bred & Owned Heifer, the third Junior Championship of her season after Midwest Spring National and Northeast Spring National. Hodgins had her on “so much length, width and body strength,” moving “free and comfortable.” Nine months before this photograph she stood eleventh in a 61-head winter calf class in Madison. Photo: Lyndsay Barry / The Bullvine
Butlerview Glitter Girl-ET finished 11th in the winter calf class at Expo last October — out of 61 head.
This season: Junior Champion at Midwest Spring National, Northeast Spring National and the Ontario Summer Show, winning the winter yearling class at all three. Brian Carscadden called her “one of the nicest heifers I’ve had the privilege to make Junior Champion in my career”.
She isn’t the anomaly. Crisdhome TStruck Abudahbi was 3rd in her class at Expo; she’s now Grand Champion of Northeast Fall National. Sandpiper Sidekick Disco was 3rd in hers; Grand Champion of the Atlantic Summer Classic. Cnossome Mirand Penelope was 4th in the senior three-year-olds; Grand Champion of Western Spring National. Ryan-Vu Awesome Rapture was 6th in the spring yearlings; Reserve Intermediate Champion of Midwest Summer National.
Five cows who got beaten in Madison came back as champions elsewhere — and Rapture did it on these exact shavings, at Midwest Summer National in August. Krohlow’s job Friday is to weigh those against the ones who haven’t shown at all.
The Cheat Sheet
Favorite = best 2026 form. Live threat = the animal most likely to beat her, which is sometimes a proven Expo performer who has gone quiet and sometimes a winner off a circuit the favorite has never faced. Dark horse (cow classes only) = the third argument in the class — a champion off a circuit nobody here has faced, or a cow whose 2026 placings are a freshness snapshot rather than a ceiling.
◆ = proven at Expo last October, unseen at any show since.
Heifers — Thursday, October 1, 1:30 p.m.
Class
Favorite
Live Threat
Spring Calf
Do-N-Joy Major Jax-ET
WSC TStorm Rattlin Bog-ET
Winter Calf
Genosource Mjr Heartatak-ET
Extondale Master Mae
Fall Calf
Nehls-Donk Best Giddy Up
Ms Vierra Back 4 More-ET
Summer Yearling
Butlerview Master Shock-ET
Curr-Vale Detective Adeen-ET
Spring Yearling
Go-Sho Detect Revenge-ET
Beers Master Tulsi ◆
Winter Yearling
Butlerview Glitter Girl-ET
Miss Master Elite-ET
Fall Yearling
Kamps-Rx Abercombi Abella
Our-Favorite Endzone-ET
◆ = proven at Expo last October, unseen at any show since.
One honest asterisk on our own aged-cow pick. Lady Crush is the form favorite on a March Grand Championship, but she was fresh since July 2025 when she won it. If Butlerview hasn’t recalved her she walks in roughly 15 months fresh, and a 15-month cow does not carry bloom. That pick is conditional on a calving date nobody outside her barn knows — which is exactly why the live threat and the dark horse in that row are both Grand Champions in their own right.
The senior three-year-olds carry two dormant Expo animals, not one: Believe won that class outright last October with Best Udder, and MD-Locustcrest P Zuriniah was HM Intermediate Champion of the whole show. Either one changes the class.
The four-year-olds are a genuine three-way, which is why the table carries two favorites instead of one. Sadie holds last year’s Reserve Grand; Famipage Legend Barabas answers it with back-to-back Ontario Summer Grand Championships. Jacobs Chief Dina is the live threat on the freshest record of the three — Grand and Best Udder of the whole show in this Coliseum five weeks ago.
One eligibility caveat, because it decides which day you watch. Several animals in this preview carry Red or red-carrier names — Cherry Lor Robin-P-Red, Golden Oaks I Altitu-Red-ET, Hilrose Ac Attababy-Red-ET, Carpsdale-J Fall-Red-ET, Ms Be Tempted-Red-ET among them. Registered Red & Whites show in the International Red & White Show, heifers Wednesday, September 30 at 2:00 p.m. and cows Thursday, October 1 at 7:00 a.m. — a different ring on a different day. Which ring any individual animal lands in depends on her registration, and we can’t confirm entries. Don’t be surprised to find one or two of these names in Wednesday’s lineup instead of Thursday’s.
Watch five and you’ve watched the show: Glitter Girl in the winter yearlings, Abudahbi in the junior threes, the three-way four-year-old fight, Aria in the five-year-olds, and the aged cows, where two 2026 Grand Champions and the cow who won this ring last October could end up in the same lineup.
What Krohlow Rewards, In His Own Words
He’s a fitter first — 18 years at it, plus three as a professional hoof trimmer, running HammerTime on 40 acres at Poynette, Wisconsin with his wife Haley and four kids, Callie, Conway, Cooper and Case, off eight to ten show heifers a year. By his own official Expo biography he prepared 17 Grand Champions at World Dairy Expo and nine at the Royalduring that fitting career, in Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland and Mexico.
His stated ideal: “cows that are square frame, cows that are balanced and hard top, cows that walk out extremely comfortable front and rear,” with “tremendous udders, quality, texture, and symmetry.” In heifers, animals “extremely comfortable in their locomotion” with “quality from end to end” that “track straight both front and rear feet.”
Two tiebreakers repeat often enough to bet on. He splits close pairs on rib — “a tad more drop of rib,” “spring and openness all the way to her barrel,” “more depth right up in that fore rib.” And he reads the back of a rear udder hard enough to separate third from fourth on “more definition to see on the back of that rear udder” and “more seam, all the way at the bottom of that udder.”
He also forgives youth, praising one winter two-year-old as “a February heifer just moving 20 days out of being a junior two-year-old” with a “tremendous future” — and putting her top of the class over cows with more milk behind them.
The Fitter’s Eye: Why Over-Bagging Will Backfire
Eighteen years of fitting means eighteen years of hands on udders the night before a show. A man with that history knows the difference between glandular texture and fluid sitting in the rear seam, and he knows exactly what a cow looks like when she has been held too long — because at some point in 18 years he has been the one asked to do it.
His own reasons tell you he reads for the real thing rather than the volume. He moves cows up on “veination and quality all the way through her mammary system,” on “tightness right at the top of the rear udder attachment,” on “more quality and texture” in a fore udder, on “definition of the seam” at the bottom of the rear. Every one of those is a texture word, not a capacity word. And three years of commercial hoof trimming sit underneath the rest of it: he splits close cows on “bone and flatness right down in the hock,” on pasterns, on cows that “track so comfortably, so straight.” Extra weight in an udder shows up first in exactly the places a trimmer looks — a cow who roaches over her loin to carry it, or who stops handling her hocks cleanly by the second lap.
The rules are on his side, and they are not vague. World Dairy Expo lists “improper fitting practices, such as over filling and over bagging” as an ethics violation outright, alongside “treating an animal, particularly the udder, without a verifiable veterinary need… for the purpose of improving the appearance” and using any device to artificially create or enhance the udder crease. Overfilling udders carries a one-year suspension as a Category 1 violation; udder alterations are Category 2, a minimum two-year ban — and a second Category 1 inside three years is elevated automatically.
Enforcement is not theoretical either. The top one-third of every class is ultrasounded, and champions are ultrasounded and milk-sampled after their champion class and again after Supreme. Udder ultrasounds, milk sampling, hair pulls and blood draws are four of the ten testing actions every exhibitor consents to at entry. Expo also endorses the PDCA Show Ring Code of Ethics, adopted February 2025.
So the read for Friday: pushing extra capacity into a four-year-old or an aged cow to force the look of bloom risks two separate problems. It risks a judge who has spent two decades learning what fluid looks like under the lights and who scores on texture and seam definition rather than volume — and if her rear teats come off their plumb line or her top goes soft carrying it, he sees it before she finishes half a lap. Then it risks the ultrasound afterwards.
The Associate Factor: Kelly Barbee in the Big Heifer Classes
The associate is Kelly Barbee of Concord, North Carolina, and he is there because Krohlow put him there — at World Dairy Expo the official judge submits three names for associate, and the selection is then approved by a committee of Expo exhibitors. This is a pairing the official wanted.
Barbee is a territory sales manager for Trans Ova who has exhibited over 30 All-Americans or All-American nominations across multiple breeds, previously developed and boarded high-end show cattle for clients in the U.S. and Canada, and managed a large commercial herd for ten years before that. His two biggest assignments are both colored-breed: the 2010 World Dairy Expo Jersey Show and the 2008 Royal Winter Fair Jersey Show.
That Jersey pedigree is the thing to watch Thursday afternoon. A judge who has made his name sorting Jerseys is a judge trained on dairyness, clean thurls, open rib and silky hide rather than sheer scale — and Thursday’s first three classes are where those eyes earn their money. Last year the winter calf class ran 61 head and the spring calves 42. In a class that size nobody evaluates 61 animals equally; the depth of the lineup gets sorted while the top end is being walked. A coarse, round-boned calf with extra throat flesh can hide in the middle of a 60-head class under some panels. Against this one, expect her parked early.
Thursday: The Heifers
Spring Calf — the one class with no history
Born March through May of this year, so nobody holds a form line — which means pedigree is most of what you have to go on.
Do-N-Joy Major Jax-ET won 22 head at Midwest Fall for Brooklyn, Bryce & Blakely Kohls, Arlington, MN, with HM Junior Champion of the Junior Show. She’s a Robella Major out of Cresentmead Jaurora-Red-ET, born March 26. Major is the frame-and-cleanliness side of this cross; the red-carrier dam line is where the dairyness comes from, and it’s worth knowing which one she took after when she walks in — Major daughters that inherit too much substance from the maternal side get coarse, and this judging panel will not reward that.
WSC TStorm Rattlin Bog-ET (Thunder Storm) topped 38 at Eastern Fall for Hayden Weaver, Ephrata, PA — biggest spring calf class of the fall circuit. B-Will Mas Dancing Diva-ET(Master) won the class in the Coliseum itself at Midwest Summer National for Charlotte Wingert and Grace Salter, Pearl City, IL. Also Cornerest Altitud Magpie-ET (Altitude), 28 head at Northeast Fall for Kialah Nelson, and Winright Major Erica, 40 head at Ontario Summer, bred and owned by Brian Enright.
Two more with provincial credentials: Petitclerc Airdrop Samantha won the spring heifers at Le Suprême Laitier, bred and owned by Ferme Jean-Paul Petitclerc & Fils of St. Basile, QC, and Cobequid Tatoo Calypso (Tatoo) won the spring calves and took HM Junior Champion of the Atlantic Summer Classic for Ferme Val D’Espoir at Saint-Philippe-de-Neri, QC. In a class this young, a provincial final win in September is worth as much as a bigger class in August.
Winter Calf — the Canadian nobody has faced
Blacklilly Direct Lala-ET (Direct) won the winter calves at Northeast Spring for Eaton Holsteins, Glamourview Farms and Zeh & Cates Morrill of Marietta, NY — out of 12 head, which is the honest caveat on her, because two heifers in this class beat fields three and four times that size.
Extondale Master Mae (Master) won 45 head at Ontario Summer for Beckridge Holsteins, Keswick, ON — the largest heifer class held anywhere in Canada this year — and has never crossed the border. Against her: Genosource Mjr Heartatak-ET (Major) out of 40 at Eastern Fall for Billy Jo Rhodes and Chris & Jennifer Hill, Utecht Major Superstar (Major), Junior Champion of the Midwest Fall Junior Show bred and owned by Kolton Utecht, Fairmont Brielle-ET (Lombardi), Reserve Junior Champion of the Northeast Fall Junior Show for Ella Purchase, and Heritage Crazy Drama (Delta-Lambda), class winner at Midwest Summer National for Madison & Melanie Sarbacker.
Fall Calf — two circuits, one unbeaten record
Ms Vierra Back 4 More-ET won the fall calf class at Southern Spring National in March and at Mid-East Summer National, taking Reserve Junior Champion both times for Jason & Jared Pareo. She has never met the fall-circuit calves.
Those are led by Nehls-Donk Best Giddy Up, Junior Champion at Midwest Fall over 30 head for KurthHaven, Melissa Sprecher and Doug Petzel. Her cross is the interesting one: Blexys Best Sidekick-ET out of Sheeknoll Unix Giselle-ET. A Unix-sired dam again — the same maternal sire sitting under Butlerview Glitter Girl, and the same bull whose daughters held the mature end of Quebec and the Maritimes together this year. If you’re tracking why two of the best young heifers in North America both read as long, wide and strong through the body, the answer is on the dam’s side of both papers.
Oakfield Major July-ET (Major) was Reserve Junior Champion at Northeast Fall for Trina & Garret Bailey. Hilrose Ac Attababy-Red-ET (Acetylene) beat 40 head at Eastern Fall for Justine Kelsey (check the Red & White sheets first — the R&W heifers go Wednesday, September 30 at 2:00 p.m., the day before this class), and Ocean View Sassy After Dark(Master) won the class at Midwest Summer National for Evan Hathaway.
Summer Yearling — the heifer who got better all season
Butlerview Master Shock-ET (Master) is the one who kept answering: class wins over 24 head at Midwest Spring and 27 at Northeast Spring, plus Reserve Junior Champion of the Midwest Spring Junior Show, for Addison Lortie, Albion, IN. Fifty-one head beaten across two spring shows is the deepest résumé in this class.
The one to fear is Curr-Vale Detective Adeen-ET (Detective), Alphie Stoltzfus, Gap, PA. Third at Northeast Spring in March; in September she won 36 head at Eastern Fall and took Junior Champion. Heifers on that trajectory peak in October. Carpsdale-J Sidekick Timber(Sidekick) took HM Junior Champion at Northeast Fall for Anthony & Kennedy Liddle, Echo Glen Master Irina (Master) won 26 at Ontario Summer for Beckridge, shown by Lily Beckett, and SPF Angel Eyes-ET (Eye Candy) won the class at Midwest Summer National plus HM Junior Champion of the Junior Show for the Harbaugh and Loehr families, Marion, WI.
Spring Yearling — the champion, and the calf who beat her once
Go-Sho Detect Revenge-ET (Detective) is the only heifer here with an Expo class win banked — she took the spring calves last October for Pierre Boulet and Clarkvalley, then won the spring yearlings at both Midwest Spring and Northeast Spring for Butlerview.
Beers Master Tulsi (Master) stood second to her in Madison. Kale, Kley, Ryan and Logan Beer of Berne, Indiana haven’t shown her since. In a class Krohlow will split on a rib, twelve months of development is how second becomes first.
Behind them: Beslea Eyecandy C Electra-ET (Eye Candy), Junior Champion at Northeast Fall for Rick Allyn & Dan Hovden; Petitclerc Eyecandy Kayla (Eye Candy), Reserve Junior Champion at Eastern Fall for Ridgedale Farm, Jon Mortensen and Uma Thurman; Eastriver DL Carrera (Delta-Lambda), Junior Champion at Mid-East Summer; Esperanza-CC Tenacity-ET (Tatoo), Reserve Junior Champion at Midwest Fall.
Winter Yearling — the calf who beat her by nine places, and what happened next
Glitter Girl’s pedigree is the reason she went from 11th to unbeatable. She’s a Jacobs Bruins out of Rosemary Unix Goldie EX-95 — a Unix-sired dam who was an All-American in her own right. Unix daughters are what held the mature end of Quebec together this year: Sicy Unix Adriene won the senior threes at Le Suprême with Best Udder, Knonaudale Tiffaney took Grand at the Atlantic Spring Showcase, Altona Lea Unix Herminie won the aged cows at Expo. That’s the frame and dairy strength underneath Glitter Girl, and it’s why the judges keep using the same three words on her — length, width, body strength.
Carscadden had her on “precision on all four legs,” barrel spring, a clean inner thigh and refinement through the neck. Adam Hodgins at Ontario Summer had her on “so much length, width and body strength,” moving “free and comfortable,” handling her hind legs “a touch nicer down in the foot.”
And there was one animal who had her number. Curr-Vale-AE Direct Epic-ET (Direct) finished second in that winter calf class — nine places ahead of Glitter Girl. Then the two met again at Midwest Spring National, and the result inverted: Glitter Girl won the winter yearlings bred and owned, and Epic stood sixth, taking first junior exhibitor for the Osinga family, Hico, TX. A nine-place deficit became a five-place win in about six months. That is the cleanest measurement anyone has of how much Glitter Girl improved over one winter — and the reason the 11th on her Expo card tells you nothing about Thursday.
The heifer who finished closest to her in that spring rematch is Miss Master Elite-ET (Master), second in that Midwest Spring class for Grai-Rose Cattle Co. and Jeremiah Lungwitz, Petaluma, CA — and a class winner bred and owned at Midwest Fall National. She is the live threat on the table on the strength of that finish plus a class win bred and owned at Midwest Fall National — the only heifer in this conversation who has both. Third in that same Midwest Spring class was Walk-Era Aint She Fancy-ET (Direct) — the heifer who was 3rd in the 61-head winter calf class at Expo, eight places ahead of Glitter Girl, and who took the class runner-up spot and HM Junior Champion at Midwest Summer National in August. Ten heifers finished ahead of Glitter Girl in Madison. Two of them — Epic and Aint She Fancy — have since been beaten by her in the same ring.
The most recent heifer to finish directly behind Glitter Girl is Crisdhome EC Tallahassee (Eye Candy), and she got a banner for it. At Ontario Summer in July she stood second in the winter yearlings and walked out Reserve Junior Champion of the show — one place and one banner behind Glitter Girl, who took the class, the Junior Championship and Champion Bred & Owned on the same afternoon. Brian Joseph Enright, Jaquemet Holsteins and Velthuis Farms Ltd of Winchester, Ontario own her.
Her other outing tells you she doesn’t only run second to Glitter Girl. At the Quebec Spring show she was second in the winter yearlings again — this time behind Jacobs Knowhow Bike, bred and owned by Ferme Jacobs, whose full sister placed fourth in the spring yearlings the same day out of the same VG-86-2YR 3* dam. That is the honest shape of Tallahassee’s season: two shows, two seconds, no class win, beaten once by the best heifer on the continent and once by a Ferme Jacobs cow family that is only starting to arrive. She is an Eye Candy, which is the other reason to watch — the same sire has a dark horse in Friday’s summer junior twos. If Krohlow is looking for length and a clean front end behind Glitter Girl, she is the one who has already been placed there by a judge this summer.
Also live: Petitclerc Jerry Adine (Jerry Lewis), who won the class and took HM Junior Champion at Expo last year for Clarkvalley and stood third at Ontario Summer in July; Reyncrest Dundee Affable (Dundee), Reserve Junior Champion at Northeast Spring for Glamourview. And out of Madison in August: Genosource Headliner-ET (Haniko) won this class and took Junior Champion of both the open and junior shows at Midwest Summer National for Katie Ledvina and Jacob Treml, Algoma, WI, with Aint She Fancy second and HM Junior Champion.
Fall Yearling — beaten twice, and the best pedigree in the ring
Our-Favorite Endzone-ET (Lombardi) won the fall calves at Expo last year for Butlerview, then ran second in this class at both Midwest Spring and Northeast Spring. Six months to answer that.
The cow who answered both times is Kamps-Rx Abercombi Abella (Master), 17 head at Midwest Spring with HM Junior Champion of the Junior Show, bred and owned by Demi, Elliot & Alayah Kamps, Darlington, WI. Also live: Appalachian AN Amaretto-ET (Analyst), HM Junior Champion at Eastern Fall; Ranway Handsome Spade-ETS (Handsome), HM Junior Champion at Northeast Spring, bred and owned by Alexis Schultz; Hans-Gen Master Roku(Master), Junior Champion at Southern Spring for the Osingas and a winner of this same class in the Coliseum at Midwest Summer National — two class wins on two circuits.
And note who is not eligible here any more: Sco-Lo Legendary-ET (Legend) was 2nd in the fall calves at Expo, 4th at the Royal and an All-American, but she calved before July. She is a cow now, and Friday’s milking yearling class is where to look for her.
Friday: The Cows
Two class-size patterns frame the whole day.
Milking yearling classes in 2026 drew 2 head at Mid-East Summer, 2 at Atlantic Summer, 4 at Midwest Fall, 6 at Northeast Fall, 8 at Ontario Summer, 11 at Eastern Fall. Junior three-year-olds drew 1 at Atlantic Spring, 3 at Northeast Spring, 4 at Midwest Spring. Those cows exist — they were bred to hit peak on October 2, and Madison is the first ring most of them will see.
Freshness Snapshot vs. Seasonal Ceiling
There is a third category on this card, and it is the one most likely to make you look foolish: the cow who already showed in 2026 and got beaten because she was too fresh to win yet.
A cow eight days into a lactation and a cow eight weeks in are two different animals wearing the same name. The early one has no bloom in her udder, she hasn’t come out in her top line, and she gets placed where the judge finds her that morning — fourth, seventh, wherever. Six weeks later she is the cow her breeder was always describing. The results sheet records the first version and says nothing about the second.
It happens every season, and it happened in plain sight this one:
Curr-Vale Detective Adeen-ET stood third at Northeast Spring in March. In September she won 36 head at Eastern Fall and took Junior Champion. Same heifer, six months of development.
Roquet Gelatine Reddit was only third in the junior three-year-olds at Quebec Spring. By Midwest Fall she won 14 head with Best Udder and went Intermediate and HM Grand Champion.
Ms-AOL Alpha Ralpha was third in the senior two-year-olds at Southern Spring in March. Two months later at Midwest Spring she won the class, took Reserve Intermediate of the open show and Intermediate Champion of the Junior Show.
Sco-Lo Legendary-ET was 2nd in the fall calves at Expo, 4th at the Royal and an All-American — then surfaced at Ontario Summer in July placing seventh, freshly calved as a milking yearling. Read that seventh as a calving date, not a verdict.
So when you scan the class results in this preview, read every mid-pack finish with a question attached: was she beaten, or was she early? October 2 is the date the whole continent breeds toward, and a cow who placed fourth in May while a month fresh is precisely the animal a barn holds back and points at this week. She will not be on anybody’s favorites list, including ours.
The Young Cow Shopping Floor: Why Friday Morning Sets the Market
Here’s the part that makes Friday morning worth watching even if you don’t care who wins: the intermediate classes are where diamonds get found, and the people doing the finding are standing at that rail right now.
The precedent is the best cow of the last decade. Erbacres Snapple Shakira-ET was bred by Francisco Rodriguez and the Erbsen family at Erbacres Holsteins in Lanark, Illinois — who this year took the 2026 Robert “Whitey” McKown Master Breeder Award on the strength of her. The partnership of Ferme Jacobs, Ferme Antelimarck 2001, Attaboy Holstein, Kilian Theraulaz and Ty-D Holsteins bought her as a fresh two-year-old — at World Dairy Expo, in 2017. She went on to Grand Champion of the International Holstein Show in 2021 and Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo in both 2021 and 2023, scored EX-97 4E. Somebody watched a two-year-old walk a class in Madison, did the math on her family, and wrote a cheque. That is the whole business model in one cow.
It is still running. Three of the biggest names on Friday’s card changed hands as young cows:
Millen Lambda Amelia was purchased by Ferme Jacobs and presented as a junior three-year-old at Quebec Spring, where she took Intermediate Champion with Best Udder
Famipage Legend Barabas sold for $120,000 at the International Intrigue Sale to Ron Grandy as a senior three-year-old. She has been Grand Champion of the Ontario Summer Show twice since
West-Adub Lambda Sadie sold at the Parade of Perfection to Butlerview with Westcoast retaining half interest, months after winning Expo’s Intermediate Championship as a junior three-year-old
Ferme Blondin built an entire operation on this. The Bullvine’s own profile describes the deliberate turn into “an elite cattle sales and show operation” running 90 cows milking out of 550 head total, and Holstein Québec credits their buying — not just their breeding — with diversifying the herd and developing new bloodlines. Watch what that looks like in a results sheet: at Le Suprême Laitier this year Blondin put five head into the Spring Junior Two-Year-Old class alone, and collected second place in three more young classes — Bruview Fuel Rowan in the winter two-year-olds, Hill View Randall Praline in the senior twos, Charbend Detective Beatrice in the summer yearlings — without winning a class outright, then walked off with Premier Exhibitor anyway. Volume in the two-year-old ring is the strategy, not an accident.
Pierre Boulet works the same seam from Montmagny. In 2026 alone his name sits on Go-Sho Detect Revenge, Pierstein Dempsey Lexi, JM Valley Sidekick Jacuzzi, Clayhaven Crushabull Lysanna, Dubenoit Dynasty Ever Ready and Valrick Delta Lambda Pamela — cows carrying six different prefixes, none of them his.
And look hard at Butlerview’s 2026 championship list with this in mind: Aria, Lady Crush, Dominate, Champagne, Beast, Constance, Zany, Sadie. Eight champions and class winners, eight prefixes that aren’t theirs. The home-bred exceptions number two — Glitter Girl, and Butlerview Master Shock-ET, who won her summer yearling class at both Midwest Spring and Northeast Spring but did it in Addison Lortie’s string, not theirs. That isn’t a criticism — it’s the most successful show-ring model in North America right now, and it starts with somebody standing at the rail during a junior two-year-old class writing a name in a catalogue.
So when the milking yearlings and junior twos come in Friday morning and you don’t recognise half the names: that’s the point. Some of those cows will be wearing a different prefix’s halter within six months, and one of them is a 2030 Supreme Champion that nobody in the building has heard of yet.
Milking Yearling — the fragile class, and the weather nobody talks about
This is likely to be the biggest milking yearling class of the year — nothing on the 2026 circuit topped 11 head — and it’s also the most breakable. First-calf heifers are the animals that lose a show between the trailer ramp and the wash rack: they go off feed in a strange barn, they don’t let down for a new milker, and an udder that isn’t emptied on schedule for two days doesn’t come back by Friday morning.
Madison in early October gives you both problems at once. The October normal high is about 60°F with a normal low near 40°F, and that daily 20-degree swing is the real hazard — warm, still afternoons in a full barn followed by cold night drafts through the alleys. Fresh heifers are the first to shut down at both ends of that. The strings that win this class are the ones that hauled early, kept the milking interval identical to home, and blocked the drafts before the first night, not the ones who arrived Wednesday.
One more piece of the fresh-cow paperwork that catches people out: every lactating cow needs a negative Influenza A Virus PCR test within seven days of arrival, a rule in force since 2024, and exhibitors whose travel plus exhibition time exceeds the 10-day federal interstate window may need a second round of testing to get home. For a first-calf heifer, that’s another handling event in the week she can least afford one.
Ms Campbell Run DL Konni-ET (Delta-Lambda) won 11 head with Best Udder at Eastern Fall, bred and owned by Sarah Campbell and Evan Creek, Hagerstown, MD — the largest milking yearling class of the season. Carpsdale-J Fall-Red-ET (Acetylene) won at Northeast Fall, Fraeland Alpha Precious (Alpha) took 8 head with Best Udder at Ontario Summer, Sunkist A Palma (Anders) won at Midwest Fall, and Ms Be Tempted-Red-ET (Believe-P) took the class at Midwest Summer National for Milk Source.
The one with the biggest heifer reputation in the class is Sco-Lo Legendary-ET (Legend) — 2nd in the fall calves in this Coliseum last October, 4th at the Royal, an All-American — who freshened in time to place only seventh at Ontario Summer in July. On the evidence of this class she is a seventh-place milking yearling. On the evidence of her heifer career she is nothing of the kind, and three more months of udder is exactly what separates those two readings.
The quiet one comes out of last October’s fall calf class, which split two ways this year — still-dry heifers went to Thursday, the early-freshening ones come Friday. Weeksdale Major Lea(Major) was fifth in it and the top bred-and-owned heifer in the class for Weeksdale Holsteins, Pleasant Valley, PE.
Summer Junior 2-Year-Old — a Reserve Junior Champion, in milk, in a new barn
Jolipre Master Angel (Master) was Reserve Junior Champion of the International Holstein Show last October off a summer yearling class win for Joel Lepage of Amqui, Quebec, and she was named All-Quebec for the season. She now carries JM Valley Holstein ownership — the same barn that took Grand Champion at Le Suprême with Gouldhaven Alligator Ezroyal. Nobody has seen her with a calf behind her.
On form, Fraeland Beckridge Energy Brie (Energy) is the favorite: class win with Best Udder bred and owned at Ontario Summer, then Intermediate Champion and HM Grand. Hodgins called her “a tremendous winner,” a “wide-open, hard-topped young cow,” full through her midsection with depth “all the way down” and “an unbelievable udder.” Hard top plus free movement is Krohlow’s exact vocabulary.
The U.S. answer is Walk-Era Eye Candy Rebel (Eye Candy) for Budjon, Vail, Heartland Dairy, Genosource, Farnear and Demmer, Lomira, WI — she won the summer junior two-year-olds at Midwest Summer National in August and took Intermediate Champion and HM Grand Champion in the Coliseum. Note the barn: Budjon and Vail are also the people sitting on Crackholm Lambda Cleavage. Fier-View Energy Rhegan (Energy) took HM Intermediate of the Midwest Fall Junior Show; Peace & Plenty Have Too Zack (Have Too) won 12 head with Best Udder at Eastern Fall.
Spring Junior 2-Year-Old — Grandy’s other cow
Silverdream Major Tootsie (Major) won the spring yearling class at Expo last October and was an All-American for Ronald Grandy, Beaverton, ON. She hasn’t shown since. Grandy is the man bringing Barabas to the four-year-olds, and he doesn’t miss on development.
The form pick is Ulmar Lambda Dorthe (Delta-Lambda) — 16 head with Best Udder, bred and owned, plus Reserve Intermediate at Ontario Summer for Pfister Dairy, Beckridge and Quality Holsteins. Hodgins called her “the heifer that’s the most trending today,” long and angular, “a dairy machine.” Ryan-Vu Awesome Rapture (Awesome) is the one with Coliseum form — class win and Reserve Intermediate Champion at Midwest Summer National for Arizona Dairy Co, Maple Leigh and Grai-Rose Cattle, having placed 6th in the spring yearlings at Expo last year. Jacobs Tarmac Constance (Tarmac) won the class at Northeast Spring for Butlerview, having been third to Tootsie in Madison. Ms Bratcher-Vu Di Barbie-ET (Delta-Lambda) won 14 head with Best Udder at Eastern Fall; West-Aub Architect Sage (Architect) was Reserve Intermediate at Mid-East Summer. And Armcrest Select Bandana (Master) is unseen this year — the heifer Krohlow himself put top of the spring yearlings at Hamburg on her “long and clean” neck, “silky” hide and open rear rib.
Winter Senior 2-Year-Old — where the missing Junior Champion lands
Echo Glen Master Ivy (Master) was Junior Champion of the International Holstein Show in 2025 and All-Canadian Winter Yearling, tapped for being “a little more dairy all the way through” and “maybe a rib longer in her makeup.” Ronald Grandy has not shown her anywhere in 2026.
Favorite is Winright Sidekick Champagne (Sidekick), who beat 12 head with Best Udder at Midwest Spring for Butlerview and went Intermediate Champion and HM Grand under Pierre Boulet. Her hardest 2026 opposition is Canadian: Axel Havenofear Camy won the class with Best Udder and took Intermediate Champion of Le Suprême Laitier for Ferme Jacobs, Cap-Santé — the best senior two-year-old result anywhere in Québec this year, and she has never met Champagne. Four-Hills Pazzle 71530-TW (Pazzle) was Grand Champion of the Northeast Fall Junior Show and HM Intermediate of the open show for Sarah Hill. Golden Oaks I Altitu-Red-ET (Altitude) took Reserve Intermediate at Northeast Fall; Mortenson Master Anika (Master) was second at Midwest Spring, then won the class with Best Udder at Midwest Fall.
One more absentee: Winright SK Creme Brulee-ET (Sidekick), second in the winter yearlings at Expo last year — and Krohlow’s own Junior Champion at Hamburg in 2025, where he gave her the nod on “a tad more drop of rib.” The judge has already decided he likes this cow.
Fall Senior 2-Year-Old — the Texas cow they kept home
The Osingas have won classes all year at Southern Spring and Midwest Spring. The one they haven’t shown is Kawartha Chief Bailey (Chief), who won the fall yearling class at Expo last October.
On the board: Ms Have No Fear Bet (HaveNoFear) took her class with Best Udder bred and owned plus HM Intermediate at Eastern Fall for Ernest Kueffner, Teri Packard and La Casa de Lac. AR-Line Eye Candy Aerial-ET (Eye Candy) was HM Intermediate at Mid-East Summer; Real-In-Lant Bella (Summerfest) Reserve Intermediate at Northeast Spring. Also unseen: Jacobs Alligator Bawl-ET (Alligator), winner of the milking yearling class at Expo for Budjon Farms, Peter Vail, Genosource & Farnear — her birth date decides whether she lands here or in the junior twos.
Junior 3-Year-Old — third place, twelve months, one purple banner
Abudahbi’s story is the article in one cow: 3rd at Expo last October, Grand Champion at Northeast Fall in September for Elmvue Farm, Johnstown, NY.
The cow who beat her by two places that day was Crackholm Lambda Cleavage (Delta-Lambda), for Budjon Farms and Peter Vail, Lomira, WI, and she hasn’t shown in 2026. Budjon and Vail don’t campaign a cow all summer when Madison is the target.
The rest is loaded. Roquet Gelatine Reddit (Reddit) won 14 head with Best Udder at Midwest Fall for Intermediate and HM Grand — and was only third in this class at Quebec Spring in the spring. Millen Lambda Amelia (Delta-Lambda) was Intermediate Champion with Best Udder at Quebec Spring for Ferme Jacobs. Blondin Eye Candy Salana (Eye Candy) took Reserve Intermediate at Le Suprême. Tex-Stein Unstopabull Lorel (Unstopabull) swept Intermediate, HM Grand and Champion Bred & Owned Cow at Southern Spring. Rosblais Tatoo Madisson(Tatoo) won the spring junior twos at Expo for Glamourview-Iager & Walton and is also unseen.
Senior 3-Year-Old — three Grand Champions, and the two ghosts the room is backing instead
No class carries more proven purple, and almost none of them have met. Start with what happened here last October, because it explains the rest of the class: Butlerview owned the top three of the Winter Senior Two-Year-Old class at Expo 2025 — Micheret South Believe first with Best Udder, Goldenflo Lambda Dominate second with the production award, Sandpiper Sidekick Disco third. All three aged into this class. One of them has been a Grand Champion since, one has been an Intermediate Champion since, and the one who beat both of them has not been seen since.
Micheret South Believe is that cow. She won the class and the Best Udder in it, and there is no 2026 record for her anywhere in the sixteen shows tracked here. If she walks in Friday carrying another lactation, every placing below is provisional.
Ringside agrees, and not by a little. Believe and MD-Locustcrest P Zuriniah are the two most-backed cows in this class in our Fantasy Exhibitor contest so far, at 18.4% and 18.6% of entries — 37% of the senior three-year-old vote on two cows who have not been in a ring in 2026. Our own favorite in the class, Eastern Fall Grand Champion Cedar-Crown Tatoo Amelia, sits ninth at 4.1%; Midwest Fall’s bred-and-owned Grand Champion Carlan D-Lambda Annita draws 4.4%. Read that for what it is: the people who watch these cattle for a living are discounting summer-circuit form in favour of what they saw in this Coliseum last October.
Cedar-Crown Tatoo Amelia (Tatoo) is Intermediate and Grand Champion of Eastern Fall National for Oakfield Corners Dairy. Carlan D-Lambda Annita (Delta-Lambda) is Senior and Grand Champion of Midwest Fall National, bred and owned. Sandpiper Sidekick Disco (Sidekick) is Grand Champion of the Atlantic Summer Classic for Joel Phoenix, T & L Cattle Ltd and Weeksdale Holsteins. Cherry Lor Robin-P-Red (Journey) is Senior Champion and Reserve Grand at Northeast Fall for Elmvue (check the Red & White sheets first — the R&W cows go Thursday, October 1 at 7:00 a.m., which is before Krohlow’s heifers and a full day before his cows). Miley Challenger Beth (Challenger) is Intermediate and HM Grand at Mid-East Summer.
Goldenflo Lambda Dominate-ET is the technical pick. A Farnear Delta-Lambda out of Goldenflo Fitz Rice Krispies, second lactation, she won the class with Best Udder and took Intermediate Champion at Northeast Spring for Butlerview, where Carscadden cited frame length, a smoother neck-to-shoulder transition, a more level udder floor and “seamless blending of parts.”
The ghost: MD-Locustcrest P Zuriniah (Parfect), HM Intermediate Champion at Expo in 2025 and All-National Fall Senior Two-Year-Old, where Eaton praised her as a cow that “spells milk from one end to the other” despite being eleven months into her lactation — which is the durability argument in one line, not a knock. One more lactation on her, zero rings in 2026, for Chip, Chase & Connor Savage and Tom Mercuro, Union Bridge, MD.
4-Year-Old — a clash of two archetypes, not just a rematch
This is the class of the show, and the reason isn’t the rematch. It’s that Sadie and Barabas are opposite kinds of cow, a third one has the freshest win of the three, and Krohlow’s stated preferences cut every way at once.
Famipage Legend Barabas is power. A Legend daughter — Legend being a Walnutlawn Sidekick son out of Mosnang Jacoby Legendaire VG-89 — bred by Ferme Famipage, owned by Ronald Grandy, VG-89 as a three-year-old, All-Canadian Senior 3-Year-Old of 2025. Hodgins gave her Ontario Summer’s Grand on “a little more width all the way through,” “more comfort on her pasterns” and “a touch more venation in that rear,” calling her a cow that excels in “frame, capacity and a tremendous mammary system.” Wide, deep-chested, uphill, and she keeps her udder underneath all that mass.
West-Adub Lambda Sadie is quality. A Farnear Delta-Lambda out of Winright Sidekick Salsa, with an EX-91 mammary system, tracing back through Budjon-JK Gold Chip Ellen EX-91 and Budjon-JK Linjet Eileen EX-96 to Krull-Broker Elegance EX-96-USA 3E — the Elegance tap root is the engine. Eaton’s language on her was all refinement: “so dairy, so open, so flawless in her parts,” “a little cleaner,” “more quality to that mammary system.” Cut out through the front end, silky, with an udder glued to the body wall.
Now read Krohlow’s own words against that. He wants square frame, hard top, comfortable front and rear — Barabas. He also wants texture, symmetry and definition of the seam, and he breaks close pairs on drop of rib and the back of the rear udder — Sadie. He has spent 18 years with his hands on udders, and the two hardest things he’s said about mature cows are that he’s looking for the “complete package of dairy strength” and that he’ll move a cow up for “veination and quality all the way through her mammary system.”
Eaton split them on cleanliness and mammary quality and went Sadie. Hodgins, judging Barabas alone, rewarded width and venation. Krohlow is the one judge on record valuing both halves equally, which is exactly why this could go either way on the floor of an udder.
Then there’s the third Grand Champion in the class, and a skeptic should note she has the most recent win of the three. Jacobs Chief Dina (Chief), Milk Source LLC and Ransom Rail Farms, Kaukauna, WI, won the four-year-olds with Best Udder at Midwest Spring in May — then took the class again with Best Udder at Midwest Summer National in Madison on August 26, where Ryan Weigel made her Senior and Grand Champion and Best Udder of the show out of 230 head. She won that one on the same shavings this show uses, five weeks ago, under a judge who saw her against Wisconsin’s best. Sadie and Barabas both have Grands; Dina has a Grand in the Coliseum.
Behind those three it’s still deep. Cnossome Mirand Penelope (Mirand) is Grand Champion of Western Spring National for Logan & Lauren Silveira, Chowchilla, CA — and she was 4th in the senior threes at Expo last year. Cal-Denier-I Goldwyn Hez-ET (Goldwyn) is Senior and Grand Champion of Southern Spring National for Emma England, Murtaugh, ID. Tombeth House Ariat (Helix) was Reserve Grand and Champion Bred & Owned at Midwest Summer National for Thomas & Elizabeth Kearns, Gays Mills, WI. Chrisland Ashby Dazzle (Ashby) took HM Senior at Northeast Fall, Oakfield Honour Sing-ET (Honour) Reserve Senior at Eastern Fall bred and owned, Fricosos Sidekick Lasenza (Sidekick) Reserve Grand at Mid-East Summer, Martin-View Doc Hot Shot (King Doc) Reserve Grand at Ontario Summer. The one nobody has seen is Weeksdale Unix Tiktok, second in the senior threes at Expo last year and unseen since.
5-Year-Old — the favorite with nothing proven here
Oby-Crest Victor Aria is an Our-Favorite Victor-ET out of Oby-Crest Atwood Avia, EX-94, in her third lactation. She won her class and took Senior, Best Udder of Show and Grand Champion at Midwest Spring, where Boulet said simply, “what a show — and what a great show cow.” At Northeast Spring she won the class again for Reserve Senior and Reserve Grand, with Carscadden admitting, “I’m a sucker for a great udder,” and adding “there’s not a lot of points you can’t put into this udder.”
The catch: she was not in the top six of any class in Madison last year. Two 2026 Grand Championships, no Expo record.
The cow with the Expo record is Eixdale Pwrup Alongside (Alongside) — 2025 four-year-old winner and HM Grand for MilkSource — who stood second to Aria at Midwest Spring for Reserve Grand. That’s the one clean head-to-head. Directly behind Alongside in Madison sat Jacobs Lambda Baz-ET (Delta-Lambda), unseen in 2026, with another lactation on a Delta-Lambda daughter in the year his daughters hit their prime.
Also real: Gouldhaven Alligator Ezroyal (Alligator), class win with Best Udder and Grand Champion of Le Suprême for JM Valley Holstein, London Dairy Farms & Pat Conroy, where Dominic Fortier settled the championship on udder freshness — “more bloom and more veining.” Maiden-Kine Chief Cami (Chief), class win, Senior Champion, HM Grand and Bred & Owned Champion at Eastern Fall. Elm Bend Gapster (Master), class winner at Northeast Fall for Elmvue — a cow Krohlow judged as a four-year-old in 2025 and called a “laser cow” with “so much width power and chest.”
Aged Cow — the lactation question, and the banner that got taken back
The deciding factor here is calving dates, and the class carries the most complicated history in the show. Meet the three principals first, then the standoff.
Lo-Pine-Va Lady Crush is a Maverick Crush out of Lo-Pine-VA Aftershock Lilac, EX-96, bred by Terry Perotti, owned by Butlerview. At New York Spring in March, she was in her fourth lactation and fresh since July 2025 — and she won the aged cows, Senior Champion and Grand Champion, with Carscadden saying “today is this gal’s day” and calling her “bagged perfectly.” He described the split over Jeffrey-Way Hardrock Twigs as “splitting straws,” giving Lady Crush the nod on an udder that carried tighter to the body. If she’s still on that same lactation in October, she’ll be roughly 15 months fresh, so the live question is whether Butlerview has recalved her — because a 15-month cow does not carry bloom, and bloom is what Fortier and Krohlow both decide on.
Jeffrey-Way Hardrock Twigs (Hardrock) is the counterweight: Senior and Grand Champion of Mid-East Summer National, HM Grand at Northeast Spring, scored 96 points, second to Kandy Cane in the five-year-olds at Expo last year, for Doeberiener, Bowen, Conroy, Walker and R&F Livestock.
Twigs also carries the one piece of Expo history nobody in this business has forgotten. She was named Grand Champion of the International Holstein Show in 2024 and then removed from the results roughly two months after the show, with the Grand Champion title passing to Oakfield Solomon Footloose and Reserve to Erbacres Snapple Shakira. World Dairy Expo did not state a reason, referring exhibitors to its Showring Policy and Code of Ethics in the Premium Book. She has campaigned successfully since, including that Mid-East Summer Grand this summer. If she walks back into this ring, it’s the first time she has stood in front of an Expo judge since the banner was reassigned, and that is a genuine storyline rather than a footnote.
Pierstein Dempsey Lexi (Dempsey) won the mature cow class with Best Udder at both Quebec Spring and Le Suprême, with Reserve Grand and the Bred & Owned Grand Championship at Le Suprême. Higherground Hancock 860 (Hancock) won with Best Udder, bred and owned, at Midwest Fall for Reserve Grand. Arolene Duhibou Apple Elmay (Apple Crisp) took class, Reserve Senior, and HM Grand at Northeast Fall. Nobland Delta-Lambda Book (Delta-Lambda) won the aged cows and took HM Senior of the open show plus Senior and Grand Champion of the Junior Show at Midwest Summer National for Macie Noble, Lancaster, WI — a junior exhibitor holding a Grand Championship banner on the Coliseum shavings in August. Altona Lea Unix Herminie (Unix), last year’s aged cow winner and HM Senior Champion for Dalton Faris, is unseen in 2026.
Then there’s Kandy Cane. A Sidekick out of Lovhill Diamondback Crunch, from Lovhill Gold Karat EX-93-CAN 3E — a Gold Chip daughter and maternal sister to Lovhill Goldwyn Katrysha EX-96, Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo 2015. Sidekick over Diamondback: the frame-and-dairy-strength cross on top, the udder family underneath, and that combination is precisely what made Krohlow stop walking in Harrisburg in 2024 and again in Hamburg in 2025. Bred by Lovholm Holsteins at Balgonie, Saskatchewan, she made Lovhill the first prefix to win the Expo Holstein Grand twice.
She’s now EX-97. What nobody outside Oakfield Corners knows is where she sits in her lactation.
So here is the standoff, and it’s the most handicappable decision on the card. If Lady Crush rolls in stale — 15 months on the same lactation, milking on frame — and Kandy Cane arrives fresh and in bloom, Krohlow won’t hesitate. He has crowned that cow twice; he decides on texture and seam definition, and bloom against stale is not a close call for anyone, least of all a judge with his history.
But if they both come in late in lactation, showing on heart, rib and frame, the whole thing moves onto ground Krohlow has been unusually explicit about: bone quality, locomotion, and what the back of a rear udder does at the bottom of the seam. That’s the scenario where the cows behind them get in — Twigs at 96 points, or Lexi with two mature-cow Best Udders this season. A mature-cow class decided on hocks, pasterns, and seam definition rather than freshness is exactly how a Reserve Grand becomes a Grand.
Lifetime Production — the class where the Junior Show already voted
Luck-E Merjack Asalia (Merjack), Tessa & Stella Schmocker, Whitewater, WI — class win with Best Udder at Midwest Spring, HM Senior Champion of the open show, Senior and Grand Champion of the Junior Show. She was second in this class at Expo last year. Walk-Le Delta-Lambda Breezy (Delta-Lambda) won at Eastern Fall for Walk-Le Farm, Thomasville, PA — though honesty requires the class size: she was the only lifetime production cow entered, and Asalia’s Midwest Spring class held two. No published reasons exist on Breezy, so the case for her is structural rather than comparative: she is a Delta-Lambda daughter in the one class where the udder has to survive the most lactations, and Delta-Lambda took ten class Best Udders across the fourteen shows tracked here, more than any other sire. If Krohlow discounts an aged cow for edema or stale attachments — and his stated brief asks for texture, symmetry and a visible seam — a Delta-Lambda mammary system is the modern alternative to raw production mass. Milibro Devour Lovely won at Quebec Spring, bred and owned with Best Udder. The one nobody has seen is Peace & Plenty Doc Jubie16-ET (King Doc), who won this class at Expo in 2025 for Showbox Sires and Milk Source Genetics and hasn’t been seen since.
The Bred & Owned Board Is Where The Breeders Are Winning
If the last section made it sound like the buyers own this game, here’s the other half of the ledger — and the two halves depend on each other. Somebody has to breed the cow before anybody can buy her. The Erbsen family sold Shakira as a two-year-old and won a Master Breeder award off what she became; that’s not a cautionary tale, that’s the business working.
But the banner you cannot buy is the one that comes with a cow you bred yourself, and in 2026 the homebreds weren’t just competing on that board — they were taking open championships with it.
Higherground Hancock 860 (Hancock) is the best case. Ashley, Emily, and Roger Meligren of Zumbro Falls, MN bred her, owned her, and won the aged cow class with Best Udder at Midwest Fall — then took Reserve Grand Champion of the open show, Champion Bred & Owned Cow, and Senior and Grand Champion of the Junior Show. One family, one cow, four banners.
Carlan D-Lambda Annita (Delta-Lambda) won Midwest Fall’s Grand Championship outright, bred and owned, for T & K Kohls and R & K Mackinson. Maiden-Kine Chief Cami (Chief) took her class, Senior Champion, HM Grand and Bred & Owned Champion at Eastern Fall for John & Molly Scoville of Lowville, NY. Tex-Stein Unstopabull Lorel (Unstopabull) swept Intermediate Champion, HM Grand, and Champion Bred & Owned Cow at Southern Spring for Gavin Steinberger. Pierstein Dempsey Lexi (Dempsey) won the mature cow class with Best Udder at both Quebec Spring and Le Suprême, taking the Bred & Owned Grand Championship at Le Suprême.
At Ontario Summer, bred-and-owned cows won six of the cow classes outright: Fraeland Beckridge Energy Brie in the summer twos, Ulmar Lambda Dorthe in the spring twos, Kingsway Lambda Scoobie in the senior twos, Kingsway Crushabull Catch Me in the junior threes, Knonaudale Miranda Lambert in the senior threes, and Glitter Girl in the winter yearlings. Sicy Unix Adriene did the same in Quebec, winning the senior three-year-olds at Le Suprême with Best Udder for Ferme Yvon Sicard.
Glitter Girl is the one to watch here, because she’s the rare animal that can win both boards at once — Butlerview bred her, and she has already taken Champion Bred & Owned Heifer plus Junior Champion at the same show.
The Junior Show Is Where Friday’s Upsets Get Rehearsed
Junior Show animals go back into the open ring, and in 2026 the Junior Show repeatedly found cows the open judge had placed mid-pack. If you want a shortlist of animals capable of beating their class order in Madison, this is it.
Four-Hills Pazzle 71530-TW (Pazzle), Sarah Hill, Bristol, VT — Grand Champion of the Northeast Fall Junior Show while standing only HM Intermediate in the open show. Seven-Heaven Haniko Delilah (Haniko), Chloe & Carly Feltmann — 2nd in her open class at Midwest Fall, then Intermediate Champion of the Junior Show. Robeth Doc Penpal (King Doc), Ella Kennett & Sarah Hill — 3rd in the open four-year-olds at Northeast Fall, then Senior and Reserve Grand of the Junior Show. Miss Showtime Hadley (Showtime), George & Lucille Hoffman — 4th in the open senior threes, then HM Grand of the Junior Show. Goodtime-KTT Doc Desiree (King Doc), Kylie Taylor and Trysten Verthein — 2nd in the open five-year-olds at Midwest Fall, then HM Senior and Grand plus Champion Bred & Owned Cow of the Junior Show.
Ms-AOL Alpha Ralpha (Alpha), Hayden Burrus, Friona, TX, is the cleanest illustration of the whole pattern: 3rd in the senior two-year-olds at Southern Spring in March, then a class win, Reserve Intermediate of the open show and Intermediate Champion of the Junior Show at Midwest Spring in May. Same cow, two months, three places.
Luck-E Merjack Asalia (Merjack), Tessa & Stella Schmocker, won the Lifetime Production class with Best Udder at Midwest Spring, took HM Senior of the open show — and Senior and Grand Champion of the Junior Show. In the heifers, JAKKS Arcitect Cupid-Red-ET(Architect), Tenley Chittenden, Whiting, VT was 2nd in the open spring yearlings at Northeast Fall and Junior Champion of the Junior Show.
Master Builds The Frame. Delta-Lambda Builds The Udder.
The sire story isn’t a win count — it’s a division of labor, and the Best Udder sheets prove it.
Golden-Oaks Master-ET owns the heifer rings. Junior Premier Sire at Le Suprême, the Ontario Spring Discovery Show, the Atlantic Summer Classic and the 2025 Expo heifer show. What judges say about his daughters is consistently about skeleton and cleanliness: Krohlow on the Master spring yearling Armcrest Select Bandana — “long and clean” neck, “silky” hide, a “beautiful” rib, more open about the barrel than anything near her. On the Master four-year-old Elm Bend Gapster — a “laser cow” with “so much width power and chest.” Extreme frame, length, clean bone, and enough rump width to carry it. He is the bull you bet Thursday.
Farnear Delta-Lambda-ET owns the milking rings. Premier Sire at Le Suprême, Ontario Spring Discovery, Ontario Summer, and the International Holstein Show in Madison last year. And across the fourteen shows where we have full class results, Delta-Lambda daughters took ten class Best Udders — while Master daughters took one. Konni, Briefless, Di Barbie, Beast, Risky, Dorthe, Scoobie, Lilah, Alibi Lambda, Loa. Add Krohlow’s own read on the Delta-Lambda senior three-year-old Donacin Delta-Lambda Rain, whom he moved to the top on “tightness right at the top of the rear udder attachment” and “veination and quality all the way through her mammary system.” That’s this generation’s udder bull, and at Le Suprême his weight sat in the three- and four-year-old rings — his best daughters are walking into their prime, not out of it.
Behind those two, Walnutlawn Sidekick is the bull tying the whole show together, and the tally puts him second rather than level: six class Best Udders across the same fourteen shows— Blexys Sidekick Blex, Lovhill Sidekick Kahlula, Sandpiper Sidekick Disco, Winright Sidekick Champagne, Knonaudale Miranda Lambert and Winterbay Sidekick Della. His reach is wider than that number, though. He sired Kandy Cane. He sired Legend, who sired Barabas. He is the maternal grandsire on Sadie’s papers through Winright Sidekick Salsa. Three of the four animals at the centre of this preview trace to one bull.
Chief is quietly arriving at the mature end — Maiden-Kine Chief Cami, Jacobs Chief Dina, Genosource Cookie Dough and Kawartha Chief Bailey all carry him, three of those with championship hardware. Architect is the one stepping into the heifer and young-cow rings now: Genosource Class Act, Ms Klinedell Arch Bella, Cookiecutter Arch Raisin, West-Aub Architect Sage, JAKKS Arcitect Cupid-Red. No Architect daughter took a class Best Udder in this dataset yet, which is what you’d expect from a sire whose daughters are still two-year-olds.
One honest note: Alleyoop has exactly one animal in any of these results — a spring calf placed 31st at Expo last year. Whatever he becomes, the 2026 show ring hasn’t shown it.
Beating Butlerview Means Beating Them Three Times
The banner board tells it faster than a results list. Butlerview Farm of Chebanse, Illinois, in various partnerships, was Premier Exhibitor at Expo in 2025; Premier Exhibitor Overall and Premier Breeder & Exhibitor of the Heifer Show at Midwest Spring National; and at Northeast Spring National took Premier Exhibitor of the open show and of the heifer show both.
Underneath that: Grand Champion at Midwest Spring, Grand Champion at Northeast Spring, three Junior Championships, an Intermediate Championship, class wins in eight separate divisions, and a half-interest in the cow who won the BC Spring Show.
And one line that says it better than any banner count: at Expo last October, Butlerview owned first, second, and third in the Winter Senior Two-Year-Old class — Believe, Dominate, and Disco. All three are senior three-year-olds now, and beating that class on Friday means beating one barn three times in a row.
That’s a bench, not a cow. Standing in their way: Grandy, Ferme Jacobs, Blondin, Boulet, JM Valley, Beckridge, Mt Elgin, Westcoast and T & L Cattle out of the north — and Elmvue Farm, who took Grand, Reserve Grand and HM Grand at Northeast Fall in September out of one string.
We Compared Every Class To The Crowd, And We Lost Nine Of Twelve
We launched the Fantasy Exhibitor contest on September 19. Within a day, it had become something we didn’t plan on: an independent read on this exact card, from several hundred people who had to commit to one animal per class rather than admire the whole lineup.
So we ran our cheat sheet against theirs, class by class, and published the result even though it isn’t flattering. Twelve classes line up one-to-one with our table. Through the first day of voting, the crowd picked the same animal as us in three of them.
Every figure in this section is a snapshot as of September 20. Entries stay open until the day before the show, so these shares will move — and the classes where we’re furthest apart are the ones most likely to move.
Class
Our favorite
Where the crowd put her
Their favorite
Spring Calf
Do-N-Joy Major Jax-ET
tied 4th, 9.9%
Petitclerc Airdrop Samantha, 20.0%
Winter Calf
Genosource Mjr Heartatak-ET
2nd, 13.4%
Blacklilly Direct Lala-ET, 16.4%
Fall Calf
Nehls-Donk Best Giddy Up
6th, 6.6%
Oakfield Major July-ET, 16.2%
Summer Yearling
Butlerview Master Shock-ET
3rd, 12.3%
Curr-Vale Detective Adeen-ET, 17.8%
Spring Yearling
Go-Sho Detect Revenge-ET
1st, 19.5%
agreed
Winter Yearling
Butlerview Glitter Girl-ET
1st, 34.2%
agreed
Fall Yearling
Kamps-Rx Abercombi Abella
7th, 4.9%
Our-Favorite Endzone-ET, 22.5%
Junior 3-Year-Old
Crisdhome TStruck Abudahbi
7th, 6.0%
Millen Lambda Amelia, 22.2%
Senior 3-Year-Old
Cedar-Crown Tatoo Amelia
9th, 4.1%
Md-Locustcrest P Zuriniah, 18.6%
4-Year-Old
West-Adub Lambda Sadie
1st, 31.0%
agreed
5-Year-Old
Oby-Crest Victor Aria
3rd, 12.3%
Eixdale Pwrup Alongside, 28.5%
Aged Cow
Lo-Pine-Va Lady Crush
write-in only, ~1%
Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane, 46.6%
Share of Fantasy Exhibitor entries received as of September 20, 2026. Voting remains open until the day before the show.
All three classes where we agree are the ones nobody argues about: Glitter Girl, Revenge, and Sadie are the most-backed animals in the contest and the three most obvious calls in this preview. Everywhere the class is genuinely open, the room went somewhere else.
Two of our misses look like straightforward errors of weighting. We led the spring calves with Jax off a 22-head win and left out Petitclerc Airdrop Samantha, who won the spring heifers at Le Suprême Laitier bred and owned, and Cobequid Tatoo Calypso, who won the spring calves and took HM Junior Champion at the Atlantic Summer Classic. Both are now in that class section. We also had Abella as the fall yearling favorite with Endzone as her threat; the crowd inverted that pairing by more than four to one.
And in three classes the crowd is simply making a different argument than we are.
The crowd is betting on the ghosts, and that’s this whole preview
Look at where the disagreements cluster. In the junior three-year-olds, the senior three-year-olds, the five-year-olds and the aged cows — the four most loaded classes on Friday’s card — the crowd’s pick either hasn’t shown in 2026 or beat our pick in Madison last October:
Md-Locustcrest P Zuriniah, senior three-year-olds — first at 18.6%, unseen in 2026, HM Intermediate Champion of Expo
Micheret South Believe, same class — second at 18.4%, unseen in 2026, won her class at Expo with Best Udder
Those two are within two-tenths of a point of each other, and neither has been seen in a ring this year. Our favorite in that class is a 2026 Grand Champion, and she is ninth. A room of show people looked at a class containing three cows who won Grand somewhere this season and put its money on two cows nobody has laid eyes on since October.
It goes on. Crackholm Lambda Cleavage is second in the junior threes at 15.1%, unseen since finishing ahead of Abudahbi at Expo. Echo Glen Master Ivy is third in the senior twos at 10.1%, unseen since winning Junior Champion of the show. Altona Lea Unix Herminie is second in the aged cows at 23.6%. And in the five-year-olds the gap is the strangest on the board: Aria won Grand at Midwest Spring and Reserve Grand at Northeast Spring this year, and finished third at 12.3%, while Eixdale Pwrup Alongside draws 28.5% — even though Aria beat Alongside head-to-head in that Midwest Spring ring, with Alongside standing Reserve behind her. The crowd is backing the cow who lost the only direct comparison either of them has in 2026.
Nobody coordinated that. It’s the same conclusion this preview reached from the results sheets, arrived at independently: silence through a season isn’t decline; it’s a barn pointing at one date. If you only take one thing from this article, take that the market of people who watch these cattle for a living agrees with it.
The bred-and-owned cows nobody is backing
The voting rewards reputation, so the cows carrying real 2026 hardware without a famous prefix are sitting untouched:
Higherground Hancock 860 — 0.8% of aged cow entries. She won her class with Best Udder, Reserve Grand of the open show, Champion Bred & Owned Cow, and Senior and Grand of the Junior Show at Midwest Fall. Four banners, one family, less than one percent of the room.
Carlan D-Lambda Annita — 4.4% of senior three-year-olds, having won Midwest Fall’s Grand Championship outright, bred and owned.
Maiden-Kine Chief Cami — 3.3% of five-year-olds, with a class win, Senior Champion, HM Grand, and Bred & Owned Champion at Eastern Fall.
Knonaudale Miranda Lambert — 3.3% of senior three-year-olds, a class win with Best Udder, bred and owned.
Every one of those beat a field this year. If the room is backing reputation, that’s where it isn’t looking.
Two cautions on all of it. The contest splits classes differently than Expo does — it runs one Junior Two-Year-Old and one Senior Two-Year-Old class where Krohlow will judge four, so those rows can’t be compared and aren’t in the table above, and it has no Milking Yearling or Lifetime Production class at all. And an entry board is not an entry list: backing an animal doesn’t put her on a trailer, and these are Bullvine readers who chose to play rather than a market with anything at stake.
The Bullvine Bottom Line
Three questions decide Friday.
Does Kandy Cane come, and is she fresh? Krohlow crowned her Grand in Harrisburg in 2024 and in Hamburg in 2025 before Madison ever did. She’s EX-97 now and has been invisible for twelve months. If she arrives carrying bloom, the judge has no learning curve. If she arrives late in lactation, the aged cow class belongs to Lady Crush or Twigs — and Lady Crush has her own lactation question, because she was fresh since July 2025 when she won in March.
Does the four-year-old split go on frame, on quality, or on recency? Jacobs Chief Dina is the complication nobody’s talking about — she won the class and the Grand Championship in this same Coliseum on August 26. Eaton chose quality and made Sadie Reserve Grand of World Dairy Expo. Both cows are 2026 Grand Champions now, in different countries, under different judges, and they have not stood in the same ring since last October. Krohlow is on record wanting a hard-topped, square, free-moving cow and an udder with texture, symmetry, and seam definition. This class is where those two sentences collide.
Do the ghosts show up at all? Ivy in the winter senior twos, Believe and Zuriniah in the senior threes, Cleavage in the junior threes, Tootsie and Angel in the junior twos, Creme Brulee waiting in a class where Krohlow has already tipped his hand. Every one of them beat the field on these shavings a year ago. Silence through an entire season isn’t decline — it’s a barn pointing at one date.
And one thing worth holding onto while you watch him work: Krohlow isn’t only picking a class winner. Whoever he taps Friday morning has to walk back into that Coliseum at 4:00 p.m. for the Parade of Champions and stand for Supreme against the champions out of the Red & White, Jersey, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire, Guernsey and Milking Shorthorn rings. Last year the Holstein winner did exactly that and lost — Kandy Cane took the black-and-white banner and finished Reserve Supreme behind the Red & White champion, Golden-Oaks Temptress-Red.
That back half of the day tends to weigh on a judge, and it weighs in one direction. A mature cow with proven locomotion who has already held up through a long season is a safer thing to send into a 4:00 p.m. lineup than a spectacular young cow eight weeks fresh who might be tired by then. It’s an argument for the aged cows and the four-year-olds over the intermediate end, and it’s an argument that has nothing to do with which animal is better on paper at seven in the morning.
Square frame. Hard top. Walks free front and rear. An udder with texture, symmetry, and a seam you can see from the rail — and enough cow to still look like that nine hours later. It’s the same brief Krohlow used in Harrisburg two years ago on a cow nobody had crowned yet.
Everything above is just the odds.
Think You Can Call It?
With the first day’s entries in, the room already disagrees with us in nine of twelve classes — and voting stays open until the day before the show. Our picks are above with the reasoning shown, and so is every place we’re exposed — the fall yearlings, the junior threes, and a five-year-old carrying a Grand and a Reserve Grand that seven entries in eight walked past.
Classes go by birth date, not size — a senior three-year-old was born September 2022 through February 2023, a junior three the following March through August. Heifers haven’t calved; the moment a female milks, she moves to Friday’s cow classes. Banners come in three layers: class winners return for a divisional callout — Junior Champion from the heifers, Intermediate Champion from milking yearling through senior three-year-old, Senior Champion from four-year-old up — and those three stand together for Grand Champion, which is why a second-place cow can still win purple. Best Udder is awarded inside each class, and it’s the best tell in the building: at Le Suprême this year, all three Intermediate finalists arrived carrying Best Udder from their classes. Bred & Owned means the exhibitor bred her themselves.
Methodology
Favorites come from placings at fourteen 2026 Holstein shows with full class results — Atlantic Spring Showcase, Midwest Spring National, Northeast Spring National, Southern Spring National, Ontario Spring Discovery, Quebec Spring, Ontario Summer, Atlantic Summer Classic, Mid-East Summer National, Midwest Summer National, Le Suprême Laitier, Midwest Fall National, Northeast Fall National and Eastern Fall National — plus champion-level results from the BC Holstein Spring Show and Western Spring National, sixteen shows in total.
◆ animals are top-six finishers from the 2025 International Holstein Show, advanced one age bracket under Expo class definitions and checked against all sixteen. It means absent from those shows, not absent from all competition — county, district, state and European shows sit outside this dataset, and our first pass missed West-Adub Lambda Sadie’s April Grand Championship in British Columbia until we checked her pedigree, and missed Micheret South Believe, Axel Havenofear Camy, Petitclerc Airdrop Samantha and Cobequid Tatoo Calypso until we ran this preview against our own readers’ contest entries. Treat every absence as a reporting limit, not a fact about a cow.
Entry-share figures are an interim snapshot of Bullvine Fantasy Exhibitor contest entries received between the September 19, 2026 launch and September 20, reported as a share of all entries received to that point. Voting does not close until the day before the show, so every share quoted here is provisional and will change. Spelling variants and write-ins naming an animal already on the board are merged into that animal. It is a self-selected sample of our own readers, not a prediction market and not a survey. The contest’s internal point values are a game-design mechanic with no relationship to any animal’s market value, and no such figure appears anywhere in this article.
World Dairy Expo does not publish a public Holstein entry list. No animal named in this preview is confirmed entered. Backing an animal in the contest is not evidence she is entered. Lactation, freshness, and classification details are as reported at the show named and may have changed since. Corrections welcome — this piece will be updated as entries and late results confirm.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
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In 1967, three dairymen put their farms up as collateral on a $100,000 note so North America’s best cattle would have a ring worth hauling to. Buck Owens and Dolly Parton played the first few years to rows of empty seats, and Expo came within an inch of taking Crescent Beauty, Gray View and Norvic down with it. Next week, cattle from 37 states, seven Canadian provinces and one Australian state walk into that building again. Their names are on the trophies. Almost nobody reading them knows what they cost.
Madison, September 1967. The Dane County Coliseum was months old — 10,231 seats, a folded-plate roof, and a crowd in shirtsleeves drifting past an inflatable globe with Africa turned toward the camera. The show inside was called the World Food Exposition; nobody was calling it World Dairy Expo yet. And the Coliseum itself held food displays that first year, not cattle. Four Wisconsin men had borrowed against their farms for this. The building was finished. The show was not.
Norm Magnussen came home to Lake Mills in 1967 carrying news no farm wife wants to hear.
“I might have mortgaged the farm today.”
A farmer can insure a barn. He can book feed, cull hard, study a pedigree until the paper’s worn soft at the folds. What Magnussen couldn’t do was calculate this one. He and Allen Hetts and Gene Nelson were putting their farms behind a $100,000 bank note for a dairy show that had never opened a gate, sold a ticket, or judged a class. Howard Voegeli was down in Madison convincing the state that the same untested idea could sell Wisconsin genetics to the world. Wisconsin had pledged $50,000. The rest of the risk drove home at night and sat down at Wisconsin kitchen tables.
The line comes down through family recollection, and it’s the truest sentence in the whole founding story.
Because 1967 was no time to be guessing. Frozen semen was rewriting how genetics moved. Bulk tanks, pipeline milkers and mechanical barn cleaners were remaking every dairy that could afford them, and quietly finishing the ones that couldn’t. Cattle still rode to the big shows in railway boxcars — when a railroad could be bothered. A grand champion bull used to advertise himself standing on the tanbark; now a stud could sell him in ampules without walking him past a single breeder.
The registered cattle business was getting faster, more scientific, more international by the season.
And the show that had anchored it for half a century was falling apart.
What Waterloo Meant
You can’t understand why four solvent breeders would bet their ground unless you understand what they were trying to replace.
The National Dairy Cattle Congress opened in Waterloo, Iowa, in October 1910. Within a decade, its 7,000-seat Hippodrome had become the fall meeting place of American dairying — 87,000 people through the gates by 1919. In 1948, four national purebred dairy organizations named Waterloo the site of their national shows, and that settled it. Waterloo wasn’t a dairy show. It was where the breed decided what it wanted to look like.
Now, the thing about that era is that a national show didn’t just hand out ribbons. It set the price of your herd.
There was no video of a fresh two-year-old circling the world before morning milking. No genomic profile landing on a phone. No livestream carrying the aged cow class to a farm office in Brittany or a barn in Lancaster County. If you wanted the industry to see your cattle, you loaded them and you hauled them to wherever the industry happened to be standing.
For fifty-five years, that was Waterloo.
“The Dairy Capitol of the World” — Waterloo’s own billing, printed on a souvenir postcard. The domed Hippodrome at center was finished in 1919, the year 87,000 people came through these gates; the long hollow-tile barns below it held the cattle, and the fields of parked cars fanning out on every side are what that kind of gate looked like from the air. Fifty-five years of American dairying ran through this ground. The men in this story would spend the last of it watching the cars thin out.
The aisles smelled like every good show smells — fresh bedding, liniment, feed, and cattle that had been worked over since four in the morning. Fitters argued across stall partitions. Breed secretaries, AI men and judges wandered through pretending not to look hard at anybody’s udder, looking hard at everybody’s udder. Deals got started at the wash rack and finished over supper.
Then the math turned on them.
The Congress needed a bigger gate, so it stretched to nine days and went shopping for a crowd. Picture a fitted Holstein string standing in the alley, tails wrapped, waiting on a handler to walk them past a midway ride and a novelty stand to reach a ring that used to be the entire point of the week. The cattle accommodations got worse while the attractions got louder, and the railroads made shipping a show string slower, dearer, and less dependable every single year.
Allen Hetts smelled it before most.
By 1963 he was telling anyone who’d listen that Waterloo was losing what it had held since before his grandfather’s day. He was right, and the proof came fast. The major breed organizations pulled their national designations mid-decade. By 1966, only the Milking Shorthorn show still carried national standing at Waterloo — with cut classes and no premium money at all.
You can hear those conversations, because dairy people still have them in exactly the same tone. Did you see where they put the cattle this year? You hear what they’re cutting next fall? Who’s going to haul nine hours for that?
Hetts wasn’t fretting over ribbons. Strip away the national show and the best herds in North America lose the one place where genetics get valued, reputations get made, and the breed argues out what a good cow actually is.
So after the 1965 Dairy Cattle Congress, he pulled cattlemen into Waterloo’s Kit Kat Klub and said it out loud. Nobody drew up a business plan that night. What came out of that room was smaller and harder than a plan — a group of breeders deciding they weren’t going to stand there and watch it go.
They needed a show.
Four Men, One Problem
Allen Hetts was the one who wouldn’t let it drop.
He took over Crescent Beauty Farm at Fort Atkinson at eighteen, when his father died at forty-seven. That’ll finish a young man’s education in a hurry. The herd’s roots went back to the Crescent Beauty cattle registered by George Hart in Michigan in 1896, and to Crescent Beauty Buttermaid — bought by Allen’s grandfather and named National Grand Champion in 1913.
Allen’s contribution was blending: the stylish, clean-boned Crescent Beauty cattle crossed onto the scale and strength of the Admiral line. Then he proved it where proof counts. Crescent Beauty Lady Gloria stood Grand Champion Female at Waterloo in 1949. Da-co-ton Crescent Fannie did it again in 1958. Crescent Beauty Talent was Reserve Grand Champion Bull at that first Madison show and came back to win it outright in 1969.
And in 1970, his peers handed him the Klussendorf Award.
If you’re new to the business, here’s what that means. The Klussendorf isn’t voted on for wins. It goes to the person who carries himself the way the industry wants to be represented — sportsmanship, skill with cattle, character under pressure. Show people decide it about show people. There isn’t a higher compliment in this line of work.
So the men who knew him best had already said what they thought of him. Three years before he died, while the show he’d mortgaged his farm for was still fighting to prove it deserved to exist.
Here’s what matters about that record — Hetts wasn’t lobbying for a show from the safe side of the rail. He’d bred cattle that needed one.
In 1969, he and his brother Roy bought a three-year-old cow from Gene Acres Farm. Local records credit farm manager Ray Potter with the decision to let her go to Fort Atkinson, on the strength of what the Hetts brothers could do with a good one. Her name was Gene-Acres Felicia May Fury, and her biggest afternoon was still five years out.
Allen wouldn’t live to see it.
The family said that once Allen went into show mode, he stayed there all twelve months. But Crescent Beauty’s part in this wasn’t Allen alone. Doris Hetts handled the correspondence, typing the letters he dictated as the campaign spread across the country.
Hold onto that detail.
Institutions get announced by men at microphones. They get built by somebody at a kitchen table keeping the names, the letters, the appointments and the promises straight.
Gene Nelson brought a different kind of weight.
Gray View Farms sat in Racine County, out near Union Grove, and had been in the family since his great-grandfather started it in 1882. By the 1950s, the operation was Harvey Nelson and Sons — Harvey, Gene, and Pete. Gene took his agriculture degree at Wisconsin in 1941 and got cut from the university’s dairy judging team. So he went to livestock judging instead and helped take that squad to a national intercollegiate championship.
Think about what that does to a man. He’d been told by the people whose opinion he most wanted that his eye wasn’t good enough. He spent the rest of his life proving otherwise on somebody else’s ground, then came back to dairy and made his reputation the slow way — by being right about cattle, in public, for forty years. Breeders remembered him for total recall on pedigrees and an eye that didn’t miss much. That’s why they trusted him later, and why his name would eventually end up on an award for the cow that finishes second in the hardest Holstein class in North America. A man who’s been underestimated doesn’t hand out easy opinions, and he doesn’t forget what a close placing costs.
At Gray View, type had to earn its keep. Gray View B D Skyanne classified EX-95 and went three-time All-American, and family records credit her with putting up 29,780 pounds of milk with 1,128 pounds of fat in a mature lactation.
Twice-a-day milking.
Think about that for a second. That’s not a show cow excused from work. That’s a cow winning at the top of the breed while milking like the best cow in somebody’s herd. In 1960s Wisconsin, that combination was the entire argument.
Gray View B D Skyanne, EX-95, three-time All-American, bred by the Nelson family at Gray View Farms, Union Grove, Wisconsin.
And it paid, too. In 1959, her son Gray View Skyliner sold to Curtiss Improved Stud Service for $50,000 — reported at the time as a new high for a Holstein bull sold publicly or privately in the modern era. Later that same year, her son Gray View Skylighter topped a sale at $8,500 and followed his maternal brother to the same stud.
Fifty thousand dollars. In 1959. For a bull out of a Wisconsin farm cow.
That’s what a great one was worth when the whole industry could see her — which is precisely the argument Nelson would be making in a room eight years later.
Norm Magnussen asked the question the other three couldn’t answer: fine, but who pays for it?
Norm came to Brown Swiss through a 4-H project in 1925. He worked with good herds, including Judd’s Bridge Farm in Connecticut, then came home and started Norvic Farm at Lake Mills with his brother Vic in 1945. The prefix is in both their names, which tells you something about how that family operated.
As owner of Brown Swiss Sales Service, Magnussen managed sales in 39 states and across Canada over a thirty-year career. He knew exactly what a purple ribbon did to a catalog page four hours later. He also knew the thing breeders forget in the glow of a championship — admiration doesn’t cover the trucking bill unless something changes hands afterward.
Howard Voegeli brought the rest of the world into the room.
While Hetts, Nelson and Magnussen put their deeds behind the bank note, Voegeli pledged something just as scarce and just as hard to replace: the international credibility and political leverage to bring the State of Wisconsin to the table. Money can be borrowed. Access can’t.
Voegeli Farms near Monticello was homesteaded by Swiss immigrant Yost Voegeli in 1854, purebred Brown Swiss since 1895. Howard, a University of Wisconsin dairy science graduate by the family’s account, built international cattle contacts through Voegeli International — and his obituary credits him with helping start Expo in 1965 and serving as a director for more than 35 years.
He also played in local polka bands, which is where he met Alice.
Don’t skip past that. The man who could work a room, make a delegation from Mexico City feel welcome in Madison and talk a state agriculture secretary into believing in a cattle show — that man learned something standing on a bandstand in Green County on a Saturday night.
His line to Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Donald McDowell was the one that mattered. This wasn’t a cattle show asking for a handout. It was a shop window for Wisconsin genetics, Wisconsin equipment and Wisconsin know-how, and the buyers would fly in from everywhere.
Four different men, four different doors.
Which was the only reason the next part was even possible.
The Farms Behind the Note
Madison had what Waterloo had stopped having: a new building and a state willing to listen.
Dane County’s Veterans Memorial Coliseum sat on a 164-acre campus off John Nolen Drive — enclosed, climate-controlled, room for around 10,000. Add the University of Wisconsin, the state agriculture department, and a dense ring of dairy organizations and businesses, and you had the makings.
Minnesota was discussed. So were Illinois, Ohio, and Chicago. Wisconsin won because Wisconsin’s breeders, university people, businesses, and officials would actually show up to the meetings.
Showing up, though, is cheaper than signing.
The state put in $50,000. The organizers still needed $100,000 from the Bank of Sun Prairie. Expo’s own official history is careful here, and so should we be: recollections differ on exactly who pledged what, but the general consensus is that Hetts, Nelson and Magnussen put their farms behind that note.
There’s no way to make that sound quaint. Crescent Beauty. Gray View. Norvic. Not investment property — working farms, breeding programs, three families’ entire livelihood and three generations of decisions standing in the barns.
And here’s what a mortgage meant in 1967, in a business where the milk cheque is somebody else’s decision. A wet spring shortens the first crop. A bad month in the tank shortens everything else. Every farmer signing that note had lived through a year where the numbers went the wrong way through nobody’s fault, and every one of them knew that this time there’d be a second set of numbers underneath the first — a show’s gate receipts, in a city, in front of a public that had never been asked to care.
If Madison failed badly enough, the failure wasn’t going to stay in Madison.
It was going to follow them home, into barns their grandfathers built.
Magnussen went at the problem the only way a sale manager knows how. He ran a fundraising sale — 78 head, $21,156, a $271 average, with ABS donating breeding service on every consignment.
Read those numbers next to a modern genomic sale and they look small. Read them right and they’re breeders turning live cattle into working capital for a show that existed only as letters, meetings, and a promise. A heifer steps up, the auctioneer finds one more bid, and a little more of the Coliseum gets paid for.
Around the four gathered everybody else — breed men, veterinarians, bankers, university people, ag businesses, state officials, farm families. Nobody built Expo alone, and the founders would have been the first to say so. What the four did was give all those other people a reason to think the risk might be worth taking.
Ten Days in September
It opened September 15, 1967, and ran ten days.
The Arena Building, September 1967. A Holstein class strung nose-to-tail down the far rail, showmen in white shirts and white caps, bunting along the upper wall, a snack bar doing business at the top of the stairs. This was the first one — billed as a World Food Exposition, with banquets and forums bolted onto a cattle show. Look at the grandstand. There are people in it. The cattle were never the part that struggled, and that is exactly what made the next four years so hard to explain.
It wasn’t called World Dairy Expo. Not yet. The billing was World Food Expo, staged by the newly created World Food and Agricultural Foundation — cattle shows in the Arena Building, banquets, World Food Forums, a tractor pull, “Cinderella of the Dairy World,” entertainment, attractions.
The name tells you everything about what the founders knew and what they didn’t. They were certain dairy needed a gathering place. They weren’t certain dairy alone could fill ten days of one.
The cattle came.
They rolled in by truck and rail, unloaded near where the Sheraton stands now and led roughly half a mile across John Nolen Drive to the barns. Picture it: strings of clipped, blanketed cattle moving through Madison traffic, halters short, handlers watching the cars and each other — the city getting its first look at what these farmers meant by a world show.
The entry numbers landed hard. 1,433 head entered. 1,182 through the ring.
That gap matters. Entries are intentions. Cattle through the ring are the people who actually hooked up the trailer.
Inside the Arena Building, the whole idea finally stood up on its feet. Breeders leaned on the rail studying cows they’d only ever seen in a Holstein World ad. Judges worked deep classes. Sale talk moved up and down the aisles. And out front turned a great revolving globe, built out of two silo roofs, a motor and an axle off a ten-ton truck.
Wisconsin farm ingenuity, welding a world out of silo roofs. If you wanted one object to explain these men, that’s it.
Bayland Crescent Charmaine was named Grand Champion Holstein, and there’s a photograph of Allen Hetts standing at her head — the man who’d argued for the show, in the winner’s spot, at the first one. Crescent Beauty Talent, bred and shown by Hetts, stood Reserve Grand Champion Bull.
The cattle standard was there from day one.
And this is where it gets interesting — because the cows came, and the crowd didn’t.
The first one. Bayland Crescent Charmaine, Grand Champion Holstein at the opening World Dairy Expo, Madison, September 1967 — bunting on the rafters, a trophy, a paper crown on the cow, and two sashes in the frame: Alice in Dairyland on the left, the Cinderella of the Dairy World on the right. Every bit of ceremony the founders could stage, staged. The seats you can see behind them are the ones the country music acts would be playing to.
Too Much Show, Not Enough Audience
Early evening, shadows all the way across the track, the stack throwing black smoke — and maybe fifty people strung out along the rail to watch it. The man in the foreground has his back to the camera and a cigarette down at his side. Somebody had to book this, stage it, staff it and pay for it, the same as the banquets and the country acts, and it was all running on money three families had borrowed against their farms. Nobody in this picture looks like they’re at a world exposition.
The founders had solved the part they understood. They’d built a show good enough to pull elite cattle out of New York and Ontario and California.
They had not solved the gate.
Joe Gilbert, recruited as a volunteer by then-executive director Bev Craig and later central to the trade show, put those years about as plainly as they can be put: “Getting some interest, getting some money, getting anything.”
Then came the entertainment gamble. Big bands hired for nightly entertainment. Buck Owens. Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. Bobby Vinton. The Cowsills.
Stop and look at that lineup for a minute. That is a genuine late-1960s bill. Wagoner and Parton were on television every week. Vinton had a stack of hits. And in Madison, Wisconsin, they played to a house that didn’t come close to covering them. R. Dale Jones later joked that two people showed up — an exaggeration that survived fifty years because everybody who was there recognized the truth inside it.
Funny in hindsight. Not funny when the invoices came.
Dolly Parton, mid-song — the wig, the white-fringed western dress, a pedal steel player working behind her in the dark. This was the caliber of act the founders were paying for: a performer who was on television every week, hired to fill a 10,000-seat arena in a Wisconsin city in September. The bill came whether the seats filled or not. That was the whole problem, and it took them four years and a restructuring to solve it.
Sitting in those empty seats — and knowing now that this building would hold the best dairy cattle on the continent every October for the next sixty years — is the strangest thing about the whole story. Nothing about that room in 1968 promised it. The men who’d signed the note were looking at rows of nobody.
The commercial half of the idea. A MilKeeper bulk tank, Dairyland’s Milk-O-Matic, Dairy Equipment Company, the USDA, and the American Dairy Association of Wisconsin on the stage curtain — the trade floor laid out inside the Dane County Coliseum in the early years. The picture was almost certainly taken before the doors opened, the way trade show photographs always are. It is also, precisely, what the founders were afraid of: a very good idea, correctly assembled, in a building nobody had come to yet.
Here’s what the organizers had actually done. Chasing everybody, they’d nearly lost the only people who couldn’t be replaced. Waterloo had already demonstrated where that road ends: blur what a dairy institution is for, and it stops being one.
Looking back, the fix seems obvious. It was not obvious in the middle of it.
They cut to five days and sharpened the dairy focus. The national collegiate and 4-H dairy cattle judging contests brought farm families and young cattle evaluators onto the grounds for a reason that made sense to them. Commercial exhibits grew because they served the same people the cattle show served — producers shopping genetics, milking equipment, nutrition and animal health.
The bleeding didn’t stop. Dr. Robert Walton, who’d go on to thirty-eight years on the Expo board, said it without decoration: the show “struggled through not being successful as a Food Expo and was about to go bankrupt,” with three farms still behind that note.
The National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest, Madison, 1977 — thirty-six teams, a record, the first year it was held at World Dairy Expo. Every figure on that floor is holding a clipboard. The seats are empty because nobody came to watch; they came to compete. And note where the contest came from: Columbus, Ohio, before that, and before Columbus, the National Dairy Cattle Congress at Waterloo, where it had been held since 1916. Sixty-one years after it started on an Iowa fairground, the contest finished its journey on Madison shavings. High individual that first year was Gary Noble of Minnesota.Twelve years on, the same floor from the same angle — FFA’s first national contest at World Dairy Expo, 1989. Look for the blue corduroy in the crowd. The post-secondary colleges came the same year, so by 1989 every level of the industry’s judging programme was running in one building. And these students were in the Coliseum the same October that a Senior Two-Year-Old class got re-sorted after milk-out and founded three cow families still winning today. Some of them would have been at the rail for it.
The Meeting That Saved It
By 1971 the question was no longer whether four cattlemen believed in the show. It was whether the dairy industry would own it.
The answer was a corporation — World Dairy Expo, Inc. Dairy businesses and producers bought stock, and stock bought a seat on the board. Walton bought in on behalf of ABS and started the board service that lasted the better part of four decades.
That was the turn.
The first cow crossing John Nolen Drive in 1967 proved breeders would support a new national stage. 1971 proved the industry would carry it.
Wind Drift Countess Nora, owned by Allen Dairy Farms of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania — the first Supreme Champion in World Dairy Expo history, and the first cow to win the title twice. The trophy is a milk can. Two dairy princesses stand at the end of the line, one sash dated, the other not. Expo had not offered this award in 1967, 1968 or 1969; it invented the Supreme in 1970, and it turned out to be the thing nobody else had — one animal named best in a building full of every breed there was.
From there, the model finally made sense. Cattle show for aspiration and genetic prestige. Trade show for revenue and commercial purpose. Education so a producer without a show animal still had a reason to drive over. Youth contests so the next generation could test its eye against the best in the country.
The trade show took its own sweet time. It crawled along until general manager Tom McKittrick handed it to Gilbert in 1988. Gilbert protested that he knew nothing about selling exhibit space. McKittrick dropped a stack of farm magazines on his desk and told him there were a lot of ads in there — call those people. Inside a year, 300 booths became more than 600.
No strategy deck. No consultant. Here are the names; start dialing. Anybody who’s run a farm business recognizes that solution.
The show was going to live. What nobody in that room could have known was which cow would prove it — or whose name she’d be carrying.
The Afternoon Allen Never Saw
Allen Hetts with the Klussendorf Award, 1970 — the highest honour given to a dairy cattle showman in the United States, awarded since 1937 for character, sportsmanship and dedication to the shows. He was the twenty-ninth man to receive it. Note the hat, the work jacket, the grin. He had taken over Crescent Beauty at eighteen when his father died, and he had two years left himself. He never saw what the show became. But every Grand Champion named at World Dairy Expo since — in every breed, every year — has been handed the Allen Hetts Trophy.
Allen Hetts died of cancer on November 14, 1973. He was fifty-two.
Five years younger than his father made it, and Allen had been eighteen when that happened. Two generations of Crescent Beauty men gone before the work was finished.
He’d seen the danger first. He’d rallied the breeders, put the farm behind the note, watched the thing nearly fail and watched it steady. Six Madison shows. A Klussendorf on the wall. And then he was gone, at an age when most good cattlemen are just getting to the part where the breeding decisions pay off.
A year later, Roy Hetts led Felicia May into the Coliseum for the last class of the week.
Think about what that walk was. The barns half-emptied already, trailers loading outside, and the Supreme Champion selection still to come — every breed’s grand champion, one ring, one decision. Holstein beside Jersey beside Brown Swiss beside Guernsey beside Ayrshire beside Milking Shorthorn. Six cows that had each already beaten everybody who looked like them.
She was eight years old, and she’d been with Crescent Beauty five of those years. Two-time All-American Aged Cow. Four-time Reserve All-American. Eventually scored EX-97-5E — a number that still stops a Holstein breeder mid-sentence, and one earned the hard way: five times through classification as an Excellent cow, by a system that made you prove it again with every re-score, in a decade when a 97 was close to the ceiling of what anyone believed a Holstein could be.
By 1974 she’d been doing this a long time. An aged cow that deep into a show career doesn’t win on freshness. She wins because everything is still in the right place — the udder still carried high and level after five campaigns, the frame still clean, still moving like she meant it on the last day of a long week. Anybody who has tried to hold a great cow together through a fifth show season knows precisely how rare that is.
Hand-tinted for the breed magazines, the way every good cow was photographed then — set up square on the grass, head up, the light put deliberately on the udder because that is what a buyer was being asked to look at. This is the cow the prose is trying to describe: rear attachment still high and wide at the end of a long career, the fore udder still blended, nothing about her breaking down. Allen Hetts bought her in 1969 and never saw her best afternoon.
The associate judges conferred. Roy set her up one more time — the way Allen had taught him, the way he’d done since 1969 — and waited with a hand on the halter while a man walked a line of six champions deciding which one was the best animal at World Dairy Expo.
He stopped at the Holstein.
Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo, 1974. Gene-Acres Felicia May Fury, Felicia May Associates, Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.
Not grand champion of her breed. Supreme — the top of the entire thing, any breed, any color.
Allen Hetts had spent the last decade of his life fighting to build a ring worthy of North America’s best dairy cattle.
One year after he was buried, a cow he’d bought stood above every other animal in it.
The record doesn’t need help from anybody.
The winner’s circle, 1974. Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo — and Gene-Acres Felicia May Fury is the black-and-white shoulder behind the trophy, all but buried in her own photograph by the presentation party, the dairy queen in her sash and a cup nearly as tall as the man steadying it. That was the job Allen Hetts mortgaged a farm to create: a ring where a Fort Atkinson cow could be worth this much fuss. He had been dead eleven months when they took this picture.
What Their Names Mean Now
Walk into the Coliseum on the Saturday of Expo, and you’ll hear all four of them, whether you know it or not.
Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane, Grand Champion of the International Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo, October 2025 — first in the Five-Year-Old class, Senior Champion, then Grand, out of 468 Holsteins shown over two days. Exhibited by Alicia and Jonathan Lamb of Oakfield, New York; bred by Michael and Jessica Lovich at Balgonie, Saskatchewan. The grandstand behind the handshake is full to the top row. And the trophy she took home that afternoon is the Allen Hetts Grand Champion Trophy — the same man, in the hat, two photographs ago.
Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane won the Five-Year-Old class in 2025, took Senior Champion, and then Grand Champion of the International Holstein Show — 468 head judged by Aaron Eaton. The Saskatchewan-bred cow, exhibited by Alicia and Jonathan Lamb of Oakfield, New York, went on to stand Reserve Supreme Champion of the entire show, behind the Red & White Grand Champion, Golden-Oaks Temptres-Red-ET (owned by Milk Source, Fischer, Steincrest, and Crescentmead of Kaukauna, Wisconsin). With the Grand banner came the Allen Hetts Grand Champion Trophy.
Golden-Oaks Temptres-Red-ET, EX-95, exhibited by Milk Source, Lorie Fischer, Steincrest and Crescentmead of Kaukauna, Wisconsin — Grand Champion of the International Red & White Show and then Supreme Champion of the whole show, October 2025. Fifty-eight years after four Wisconsin men borrowed against their farms for a show that did not exist, a Wisconsin cow stood in a spotlight in Madison and was named best in the building. Look at the man on the halter. He isn’t watching the crowd.
Fifty-one years after Felicia May stood Supreme in that building, a cow standing Reserve Supreme in the same ring carried home hardware named for the man who put his farm behind the bank note so there’d be a ring at all. How many exhibitors have heard that name read over the loudspeaker without ever knowing what it cost him?
Gene Nelson and Norm Magnussen left the two halves of the same conviction — that good cattle have to be both judged honestly and sold well.
Nelson’s half is the standard. Cattle evaluated seriously on a respected stage, type measured against production instead of excused from it, breeders confident in the people running the thing. His name goes to the Reserve Grand Champion of the International Holstein Show, and in 2025 that was West-Adub Lambda Sadie, the Intermediate Champion, exhibited by Butlerview Farm of Chebanse, Illinois.
But Gray View’s real footprint isn’t a trophy. It’s in pedigrees.
Alongside Skyanne, the Nelsons bred Gray View B D Crissy, and out of Crissy came a bull calf on May 14, 1959, by Bond Haven Rag Apple Maple. They called him Gray View Crisscross.
Gray View Crisscross, born at Union Grove on May 14, 1959 — EX-96, Gold Medal, out of Gray View B D Crissy by Bond Haven Rag Apple Maple. Strohmeyer shot him square and full-length, chest forward, nothing coy about it: a bull is sold on scale, a cow on dairyness, and the photographer knew the difference. His sons and daughters took over the show rings of the 1960s and the Crissy breeding went worldwide. An Illinois herd has since recorded an eleventh-generation Excellent descendant.
He scored EX-96 himself and earned Gold Medal status.
Now, if you’re under fifty, that second part needs unpacking — because Gold Medal wasn’t a show award and it wasn’t handed out for a pretty head. A bull earned it when his daughters came back with the numbers and the type. Both. Proven in other men’s barns, on other men’s feed, by other men’s management.
Which is to say that the man who got cut from the university’s judging team bred a bull whose daughters settled the argument he’d spent his whole life making.
His sons and daughters worked the show rings hard through the 1960s, and his breeding sold worldwide. In 2002, Wisconsin Holstein named Crisscross its Bull of the Year and Skyanne its Cow of the Year, honoring Harvey, Eugene and Pete Nelson of Union Grove.
And the Crissy family kept going. Holbrich Farm in Illinois earned Excellent recognition on an eleventh-generation Crissy descendant.
Eleven generations of Excellent cows out of a Racine County barn.
Magnussen’s half is the commerce. The World Premier Brown Swiss Sale, and that whole understood relationship between a championship on Thursday and what a pedigree’s worth on Friday, traces back to a man who knew breeders can’t keep hauling elite cattle unless excellence turns into opportunity.
His name went to the young stock, and in 2025 the Norman E. Magnussen Memorial Junior Champion Award in the Holstein ring went to Echo Glen Master Ivy, the winning Winter Yearling owned by Ronald Grandy of Beaverton, Ontario.
An Ontario yearling heifer carrying the name of a Lake Mills Brown Swiss man who signed away his farm in 1967. That’s what an institution does with a memory.
Nelson lived until 2004 — long enough to watch the whole gamble come good, which of the four is the one who most deserved to. Magnussen died October 22, 1976, nine years in, before any of it matured.
Howard Voegeli’s legacy doesn’t have a trophy. It has an address on an envelope.
He died August 21, 2003, at seventy-two, after more than thirty-five years as a director. What he left is the reason a Wisconsin cattleman, a Quebec breeder, a Latin American buyer, and an equipment engineer all end up in the same aisle in October. His son Bryan later served on the Expo board and the Dairy Cattle Executive Committee, and handled the Brown Swiss cow at the 2023 signing that kept Expo in Dane County long-term.
That’s how it moves in farm families. Not a speech about succession. Somebody’s son takes the chair and does the work.
Lavender Ruby Redrose-Red, EX-96, with Mark Rueth of Rosedale Farm, Oxford, Wisconsin — Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo in 2005, the first Red & White ever to take the title and, twenty-one years on, still the only one. He wore a red beret to lead her in. Two years later she came back to Madison and won the 125,000-pound cow class. A cow who could stand above every breed in the building and still fill a tank that many times over — which is precisely the argument Gene Nelson was making in a Union Grove barn forty years before anyone gave her a sash.
The Warning They Left With It
Here’s the part of this story that isn’t comfortable.
In 2014, 77,204 people came through Expo’s gates. In 2025, using the new counting technology Expo itself adopted that year, the estimate was 51,525 — down roughly a third. The trade floor that held 884 companies in 2017 listed around 461 in 2025, as farm consolidation and direct-to-farm selling changed how suppliers reach producers.
That doesn’t mean Madison has stopped mattering. In 2025, the cattle show still drew 2,625 head from 1,829 owners across 37 states, seven Canadian provinces and one Australian state — and the International Holstein Show put up the largest class in Expo history.
The gates open again on September 29 this year, with the cattle show starting September 27 and running through October 2. Fifty-nine years on from the note.
And on Wednesday the 30th at six o’clock, the gavel falls in the Tanbark for the 37th World Classic in 38 years — the last one Tom and Sandy Morris will manage. Twenty-one documented World Classics between 1999 and 2024 moved $24.1 million across 955 lots. Magnussen would have understood exactly what’s ending. He built the same thing in Brown Swiss, one catalog at a time, and he’d have told you what these four learned the hard way: an institution is only ever as permanent as the people who keep showing up to run it.
But history doesn’t hand out exemptions for being famous.
Waterloo went down because it lost track of what it was for. Madison nearly went down doing the same thing.
Four years in, with three farms on the line. It survived because somebody had the sense to shorten the show, hand ownership to the industry, and build the whole operation around the people who actually milk cows.
The founders’ lesson was never “build a great show and it stays great.” It was: keep deciding what you cannot afford to lose, and be willing to tear up the program to protect it. Every board, every breed association, every farm business restructuring right now is working the same problem the four of them worked in 1971.
Old Mill E Snickerdoodle — a Brown Swiss from Upperville, Virginia, exhibited by Allen Bassler Jr., Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo in 2003 as a four-year-old. Look at how this is lit. Black ring, one spotlight, the handler already walking off with his back to the camera. Thirty-six years earlier the same event was daylight, bunting and a snack bar at the top of the stairs. She is the only cow ever to win every milking class at Madison, and when Bassler later took a cheesemaking job in Florida, he made it a condition that she came too.
Why the Ring Still Has to Exist
Ask around long enough and somebody will tell you the show ring is a costly antique.
They’ve got an argument. Genomic mating programs flag a heifer calf’s index before she’s dry behind the ears, and they’ll build her whole mating plan without anybody laying a hand on her. Robots milk her, score her gait, weigh every kilogram she eats, and email the results before breakfast. Consolidation has replaced hundreds of the registered herds that used to fill a show string with a smaller number of much larger operations, and the trade floor numbers show exactly where those suppliers went. Ten days out of the parlor at the worst time of year, the entry fees, the fuel, the bedding, the hired help covering chores — every August, somebody runs those numbers and concludes the whole exercise is sentiment.
They go anyway.
Because the ring is still the only place in this industry where pedigree, balance, functional conformation and public accountability all meet in real time, in front of witnesses, with somebody obliged to stand up and say out loud why one cow beat another.
No index does that. No robot report does that. An algorithm never has to defend its reasons to 468 head worth of breeders leaning on a rail.
They want to see her walk. They want to hear the judge say why. And they want to find out, in front of everybody, whether the good one at home can stand up to whatever Quebec and New York brought this year.
That part never changed.
Brookview Tony Charity at Madison, 1982 — the banner is in the frame, and this was the first of four Supreme Championships she would take, in 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1987. No cow has matched it in the fifty-six years the award has existed. She was never once beaten in her class. Note the sashes: the Ontario Dairy Princess on the left, Alice in Dairyland beside her, and an Ontario herd holding the trophy. Three years after this photograph she sold for $1,450,000, the first dairy animal ever to bring a million dollars — fourteen times what four men borrowed against their farms to build the ring she is standing in.
Three Farms Beneath the Ring
Fort Atkinson put Felicia May on a street corner.
She stands there now in fiberglass, painted in the likeness of the Crescent Beauty champion, part of a trail of cows through the town where Allen Hetts took over his father’s herd at eighteen. A cow that won one October afternoon in 1974, still being looked at by people who have no idea what a Supreme Champion is.
That’s the thing about what those four men built. It got into the ground.
Stand at the rail during the Holstein show and listen. Pedigrees getting argued. A judge getting second-guessed before he’s finished his reasons. Somewhere in the barns, a fifteen-year-old asleep in the straw beside a heifer she’s been washing since May. Somewhere on the grounds, a breeder shaking hands with a buyer from a country he’ll never visit. Somewhere in that crowd, somebody seeing a cow that resets what they thought a dairy animal could be.
That’s what Hetts, Nelson, Magnussen and Voegeli were trying to keep.
They weren’t prophets. They overreached badly — ten days, a tractor pull, a country music bill and a globe made of silo roofs. They misjudged the public. They ran up debt and came within an inch of losing the whole thing. Other people restructured it in 1971, and later generations built most of the trade show, the education program, and the youth contests anybody recognizes today.
Their greatness sits somewhere more believable than perfection. They saw the loss coming before the rest of the industry did. They gathered the right men around it. And they signed their names to the risk back when nobody could promise them it would work.
Every autumn, the cattle walk into a Madison ring their industry came close to never having.
Over them hang the lights, the banners, and names that now get read aloud to crowds who mostly don’t know where they came from. Under them — under every championship, every international handshake, every kid learning to defend a placing out loud — are three Wisconsin farms once pledged to a bank, a fourth cattleman who talked a state into believing, and four families who let an uncertain idea leave the kitchen table.
World Dairy Expo stands because Gene Nelson, Norman E. Magnussen, Allen Hetts and Howard Voegeli decided dairy cattle still deserved a stage — and when nobody could promise that stage would survive, they put their own ground underneath it.
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Eight primary documents, one modeled 500-cow herd, and a correction to our own March numbers.
Two federal series, same year. One says the margin improved. The other says the fuel bill got away.
Period
Start
End
Change
USDA FSA — DMC margin
Jan to Jun 2026
$7.81/cwt
$10.88/cwt
+$3.07 · +39.3%
U.S. EIA — on-highway diesel
Feb 23 to Sep 14 2026
$3.809/gal
$6.285/gal
+$2.476 · +65.0%
January’s $7.81 margin triggered a $1.69/cwt indemnity at the $9.50 Tier 1 level. By June the margin reached $10.88, and the payments had been off for four months.
Diesel isn’t in the formula. Run it on a modeled 500-cow herd growing its own forage, and one excluded cost line comes to $31,980 against $4,317.50 net from the program. What follows is Bullvine’s own join of the two series, with the ERS cost line that sits between them.
What the FSA documents establish
Go to FSA’s own Prices and Updates table, not the trade-press recap of it. It publishes every input and output of the calculation, month by month. Notice DMC-99 confirms January’s result independently, along with the February 27 payment release.
How the program works. DMC pays when the margin between the national all-milk price and average feed cost falls below a coverage level the producer elects. Coverage runs from $4.00 to $9.50 per hundredweight in fifty-cent steps, on 5% to 95% of established production history. Tier 1 covers the first 6 million pounds in 2026, with production history based on the highest of 2021, 2022, or 2023. Tier 2 handles anything above that and isn’t offered above the $8.00 level, which means every herd over 6 million pounds is uninsurable at the coverage level Tier 1 herds buy. Payments are calculated monthly on one-twelfth of covered production history, so no two enrolled farms get the same dollars from the same national margin.
Premium at $9.50 in Tier 1 is $0.1500/cwt. Catastrophic coverage at $4.00 carries no premium beyond the $100 annual administrative fee, and FSA waives that fee for limited resource, beginning, socially disadvantaged, and veteran producers. The 2026 enrollment period closed February 26. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act reauthorized DMC through 2031, and as of September 18, FSA hadn’t announced the 2027 window. Treat any indemnity as taxable farm income and settle the reporting treatment with your accountant before you book it against a 2026 expense.
How the feed number is built. The formula sits in 7 CFR §1430.411, and it’s short enough to read in one sitting. National average feed cost per hundredweight of milk is three products added together: 1.0728 multiplied by the price of corn per bushel, plus 0.00735 multiplied by the price of soybean meal per ton, plus 0.0137 multiplied by the price of alfalfa hay per ton. The regulation sets the hay price as the full-month U.S. price received for high-quality alfalfa, which it defines as premium and supreme grades, from USDA NASS’s monthly Agricultural Prices.
Read it as a recipe. To make 100 pounds of milk, the formula assumes 60.08 pounds of corn at a 56-pound bushel, 14.70 pounds of soybean meal and 27.40 pounds of alfalfa hay, all at national averages. That’s 102.18 pounds of feed as fed. No line for diesel, hauling, nitrogen, electricity, labor, or interest.
Cost line
Formula coefficient
Assumed per 100 lb milk
2026 movement
Corn
1.0728 × $/bu
60.08 lb (56-lb bu)
Eased into June
Soybean meal
0.00735 × $/ton
14.70 lb
Eased into June
Alfalfa hay (premium & supreme)
0.0137 × $/ton
27.40 lb
Included in +5.5% feed line
Diesel
None
0
+65.0%
Hauling & marketing deductions
None
0
Netted out of all-milk before it enters
Nitrogen fertilizer
None
0
Urea benchmark +80% Feb→Apr
Electricity
None
0
~+5.0%
Labor and interest
None
0
Not measured in the formula
University of Minnesota Extension put it plainly during 2026 enrollment: the margin is calculated “by a predetermined USDA formula that is the same nationwide and is not determined by your dairy farm’s margin.”
The revenue side has its own gap. University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension noted in August that the formula uses the NASS All-Milk Price, a gross figure collected before hauling, cooperative dues, marketing assessments, and promotion deductions. The margin is built from a milk price above what lands in the tank check and a feed cost that excludes most of what it takes to make the feed.
That’s the boundary the program was built with. What the document settles is what gets measured, not whether anyone oversold it.
What our own spring coverage got wrong, and what that shows
Bullvine’s spring analysis of Hormuz and dairy input costs ran its model on $4.16 diesel. That was our scenario input at the time, not a market forecast, and the EIA weekly series has since printed $6.285. We were $2.13 low.
The direction was right, and the magnitude was off by half. A cost input can double the gap between a farm’s budget and its invoices inside two quarters while the federal margin that farm watches moves the other way.
We’re labeling that March page’s $4.16 diesel and $18.95 milk forecast as March 2026 scenario inputs before this piece links to it.
Is the DMC margin still tracking your margin in 2026?
FSA’s published series for the 2026 program year. National, USD per hundredweight, retrieved September 17. The all-milk price underlying it comes from USDA NASS and is subject to revision. FSA hadn’t published August as of that retrieval.
Month, 2026
All-milk
Feed cost
Margin
Tier 1 indemnity at $9.50
January
$17.50
$9.69
$7.81
$1.69/cwt
February
$18.30
$9.84
$8.46
$1.04/cwt
March
$19.70
$10.13
$9.57
none
April
$20.80
$10.26
$10.54
none
May
$21.30
$10.68
$10.62
none
June
$21.10
$10.22
$10.88
none
July
$20.30
$10.37
$9.93
none
Six consecutive monthly increases from January through June, then a $0.95 retreat in July that left the margin 43 cents above the trigger. Six points in one direction clears the four-point test comfortably. March was the first month of the program year above $9.50, and the payments stopped there.
The milk price did the lifting. Across January to June, all-milk rose $3.60/cwt while the feed calculation rose $0.53. June ran the other way: all-milk eased from $21.30 to $21.10 while feed fell from $10.68 to $10.22, so cheaper corn and soybean meal carried that month. June’s $10.88 sat $1.38 above the trigger, the widest gap of the program year so far.
April shows how fast the switch flips. All-milk jumped $1.10, from $19.70 to $20.80, pushing the margin to $10.54 and generating no payment at any coverage level for a second straight month.
The forecast record is its own small story. Penn State Extension’s January 21 enrollment article, working from projections then available, put the 2026 full-year average margin at $8.84/cwt. Bullvine calculation: the seven published months average $9.69/cwt, $0.85 higher. Anyone who budgeted off January’s outlook has been carrying a better milk price than expected and a fuel bill the January outlook didn’t include.
Against the longer record, 2026 isn’t an outlier. A University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension review of 84 months from 2019 through 2025 found an average margin of $9.48/cwt, with 39 of those months below $9.50. The same team’s August 2026 read is the sentence worth pinning above the desk: feed costs were elevated, but milk prices kept pace through most of the run, so the formula margin compressed less than producers’ on-farm costs did.
Running the Numbers: the modeled 500-cow scorecard
Modeled 500-cow herd at 24,000 lb, 120,000 cwt shipped, forage grown on-farm, 95% coverage, Tier 1 at $9.50.This is a model, not a farm’s books. No named farm, no invoices, no milk statements.
500-cow model
Financial value
Basis and constraint
DMC net indemnity received
+$4,317.50
$12,967.50 on 57,000 covered cwt (Jan and Feb below trigger), less $8,550 premium and the $100 fee
Conservative added fuel cost
−$31,980.00
120,000 cwt whole-herd exposure, 50% fuel share of the $0.82/cwt ERS line, moved by +65.0%
Net operational gap
−$27,662.50
7.4 to 1 excluded-cost-to-payout deficit
At the 25% six-year lock-in discount, the program side improves to $6,455.00, and the gap narrows to $25,525.00. At 60% and 70% fuel shares, the added cost runs $38,376 and $44,772.
Published evidence:
January margin $7.81/cwt, February $8.46/cwt — USDA Farm Service Agency, DMC Prices and Updates, national, USD, retrieved September 17, 2026
Tier 1 first 6 million lb; $0.1500/cwt premium at $9.50; $100 annual administrative fee — USDA FSA, DMC fact sheet and premium schedule, January 2026, in force
Diesel $3.809/gal February 23 to $6.285/gal September 14, 2026, up 65.0% — U.S. Energy Information Administration, Weekly Retail Gasoline and Diesel Prices, U.S. national, on-highway
Fuel, lube and electricity combined, $0.82 per hundredweight sold, Southern Seaboard region, no size breakout, 2025 estimate — USDA Economic Research Service, Milk Cost of Production, regional estimates, row read directly off the ERS dataset. This is an operating-cost line item, not ERS full economic cost, which imputes owned land and unpaid family labor and can run 40% or more above a farmer’s cash cost
Bullvine math, program side: 6,000,000 lb × 95% = 57,000 cwt/yr, or 4,750 cwt/month. January ($9.50 − $7.81) × 4,750 = $8,027.50. February ($9.50 − $8.46) × 4,750 = $4,940.00. Premium $0.15 × 57,000 = $8,550.00.
Why the on-highway price is the conservative input
Two objections land on this calculation from anyone who buys dyed fuel by the transport load. Both cut in the article’s favor, and here’s the arithmetic.
Off-road diesel is cheaper in absolute terms, not in percentage terms. IRS Publication 510 puts the federal tax on diesel at $0.244 per gallon, and only the $0.001 leaking-underground-storage-tank levy applies to dyed diesel, so the federal differential is $0.243 before state fuel taxes that also don’t apply and vary by state. On-farm and off-highway business use are listed as nontaxable uses. The farm tank price therefore sits below the EIA retail number all year.
But the exemption is a fixed amount per gallon, not a discount rate. Take an illustrative $0.40 off both ends of the EIA move, and $3.409 becomes $5.885 — a 72.6% increase, not 65.0%. The tax-free base is smaller, so the same cents-per-gallon jump is a larger percentage. Using the on-highway percentage understates what the dyed-fuel buyer absorbed.
Electricity sits in the same ERS bucket and moved nowhere near 65%. EIA’s May 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook has U.S. residential electricity averaging 18.2 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2026 against 17.30 cents in 2025, which EIA describes as a nearly 5% increase. That’s why the conservative case assumes petroleum fuel and lube are only half the $0.82 line. Applying 65% to the whole bucket would treat a 5% electricity move as a 65% one.
Why the next four months matter more than the last seven
July’s margin sat 43 cents above the trigger. The Center for Dairy Excellence, a Pennsylvania industry organization, projected in its June 30 market review that all-milk would fall to $19.43 in August before recovering to $21.11 by December, with feed costs climbing from $9.32 in June to $9.60 in December.
Milk down and feed up is what walks the national margin back toward $9.50. Every operation enrolled at that level is about to find out whether the program switches back on in the same months its diesel bill is still running above February. The two have no mechanical connection.
Two links in the chain stay unevidenced here. How much of the 2026 diesel move traces to the Gulf conflict rather than refinery, inventory, and demand factors is not established. Neither is whether higher fertilizer costs have already moved into 2027 corn, meal and hay bids, which would put part of this shock inside the formula and turn the signal around again.
Nitrogen or potash: which line does the 2027 fertilizer call hinge on?
Nitrogen, and it isn’t close. The Food and Agriculture Organization put the affected Gulf region at roughly one-third of globally traded urea and one-fifth of ammonia. The World Bank reported the urea benchmark above US$850 per metric ton in April, 80% above February. Its 2026 forecast for muriate of potash is a rise of about 12%.
Potash rides a different supply chain. The U.S. Geological Survey reports Canada supplied 79% of U.S. potash imports across 2021 through 2024, with Russia at 12% and Israel at 3%. Freight and energy costs still travel. The chokepoint doesn’t.
If you’re pricing one nutrient hard this fall, price the nitrogen. And if your hauling deduction moved this year too, that’s the same diesel showing up in a second line the formula can’t see.
The 90-day playbook for herds enrolled at $9.50
30 days.
Put your actual monthly operating margin per cwt beside FSA’s published margin for the same month, twelve months back. Net milk revenue after hauling and deductions, minus accrual-adjusted feed, minus defined non-feed operating costs. Requires twelve milk statements and twelve months of expense detail. If you don’t have twelve, run six, or pull four quarters from your accountant’s working papers. The shorter series will diagnose a divergence, but it won’t set a band you can trust. Threshold: if the two moved opposite directions in two consecutive months, the national margin has stopped working as your proxy. Sharper trigger if you carry term debt: if your lender’s own debt-service coverage calculation has sat below its covenant floor for three consecutive quarters, this goes to the front of the list, because you no longer have room to absorb a gap you haven’t measured. Backfires if you use check-book cash flow, where a January tank fill reads as a January cost.
Put a name and a monthly due date on that reconciliation. Requires a decision, not a purchase. Threshold: if nobody owns it by month-end, it won’t happen. Watch for it drifting to whoever is least equipped to produce it.
Compute your own mailbox-to-all-milk gap from six consecutive checks, then set it against the right published number. Net pay divided by cwt shipped, compared with your own federal order’s monthly uniform price or producer price differential, not the national all-milk figure, which is collected gross and averaged across every order. Requires six milk statements and your market administrator’s monthly report. Threshold: whatever your six-month gap is, that’s a second basis you carry on top of the first, and it belongs in the same worksheet. Backfires if you benchmark against a national number and conclude your handler is the problem when the order is.
90 days.
Price 2027 nitrogen in dollars per pound of actual N, delivered and applied, netting out a current manure analysis. Requires written dealer quotes with expiry dates, your acres, and a nutrient plan. Threshold: act when a quote’s expiry falls inside your cash-flow window, not on a calendar rule. Backfires by converting price risk into prepay, storage, and counterparty risk.
Decide what job Tier 2 is doing. At the $8.00 level, FSA’s 2026 premium schedule sets Tier 1 at $0.1000/cwt and Tier 2 at $1.8130. That’s 18.1 times the price for identical coverage on milk from the same tank, and $8.00 is the ceiling. Threshold: under three months of fixed-cost runway, Tier 2 is survival coverage. Over six months, it’s a resizing conversation with your lender. Requires your accessible cash and your true monthly fixed costs, not an estimate. Our full breakdown of the Tier 2 premium election runs the 84-month version of that math.
Get your 2027 forage acres costed at current nitrogen prices before you finalize the cropping plan. Requires the dealer quotes above plus your agronomist’s rates. Threshold: if homegrown feed is still carried at last year’s fertilizer cost, your breakeven is wrong and so is every margin you calculate off it.
365 days.
Write a trigger for the farm-versus-DMC gap. A dollar limit and a direction limit, each with an attached action. Requires 36 to 60 months of matched data to set the band honestly, which is the real reason to start the reconciliation now. Opportunity signal: current fertilizer benchmarks point toward higher 2027 feed replacement costs, and if that moves into corn, meal and hay bids, the formula starts seeing part of this shock. Coverage economics at $9.50 improve for whoever kept the matched series current and can prove where their own margin sat.
Key Takeaways
FSA’s margin formula recognizes three feed inputs — corn, soybean meal and alfalfa hay, per 7 CFR §1430.411. Diesel, hauling, nitrogen, electricity, labor, and interest aren’t in it, and never were.
On a modeled 500-cow herd, one excluded cost line ran $31,980 against $4,317.50 net from the program to date in 2026. Different denominators, and only one of them shows up on your invoices.
The all-milk price feeding that formula is collected gross, before hauling, dues, assessments, and promotion, so the margin is built from a milk price above what lands in your tank check.
FSA doesn’t offer Tier 2 above $8.00, so every herd over 6 million pounds is locked out of the $9.50 level Tier 1 herds buy. At $8.00, Tier 2 costs 18.1 times Tier 1 for identical coverage.
Two statements, one check
The trade-off isn’t whether to carry DMC at fifteen cents. It’s whether you keep reading a national milk-over-feed number as a verdict on your own business while the costs it excludes move faster than the ones it includes.
So pull your January 2026 milk statement and your July 2026 statement. Net pay divided by cwt shipped, both months. Set them beside FSA’s published margins, $7.81 and $9.93. If the federal number improved more than yours did, what does your own expense ledger say moved in the gap?
Audit Your Herd: DMC Safety Net vs. Uncovered Fuel Deficit
Plug in your production history, actual cow numbers, and local forage baseline to test if 2026 DMC payments bridged your fuel bill.
Milking Herd Size500 cows
Production Per Cow / Year24,000 lbs
Diesel Price Increase (%)+65%
ERS Base Fuel & Electricity$0.82/cwt
2026 DMC Net Payout
+$4,317
Capped at Tier 1 (57k cwt)
Added Fuel Cost
-$31,980
Whole-herd volume (50% share)
Net Cash-Flow Gap
-$27,663
Deficit: 7.4 to 1
The Denominator Reality: Your herd ships 120,000 cwt, but DMC Tier 1 caps at 57,000 cwt. For every $1.00 this program deposited in net margin help, your operation absorbed $7.41 in unhedged fuel inflation.
*Math applies official 2026 FSA published margin indemnities through July (Jan $1.69, Feb $1.04, Mar–Jul $0.00). Assumes conservative 50% petroleum fuel/lube allocation of ERS baseline to isolate electricity. Whole herd production is modeled on farm-grown forage.
Methodology and limitations
All dollar figures are USD unless otherwise noted.
Sources. DMC margin, all-milk price, and feed cost figures come from USDA Farm Service Agency’s DMC Prices and Updates table, 2026 program year, retrieved September 17, 2026, national scope. The all-milk price underlying that table originates with USDA NASS and is subject to revision; it’s collected gross, before hauling, cooperative dues, marketing assessments, and promotion deductions. The feed formula and the premium-and-supreme alfalfa pricing basis are stated in 7 CFR §1430.411. Diesel prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly retail on-highway series, U.S. national, February 23 and September 14, 2026. Federal diesel tax rates and the dyed-fuel treatment come from IRS Publication 510 (rev. 12/2025); the statutory exemption sits at 26 U.S.C. §4082. Electricity prices come from EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook, May 2026 edition.
The fuel line. Fuel, lube, and electricity combined, from USDA Economic Research Service’s Milk Cost of Production regional estimates (2025), Southern Seaboard region, no size breakout, based on the 2021 ARMS survey updated annually for price changes. It’s an operating-cost line item, not ERS full economic cost. The Southern Seaboard is the higher of the two regions we pulled, so these figures are not a national low; a lower-cost region produces a smaller number. We’re not publishing a second regional case because the second row wasn’t confirmed in this pass, and one verified input beats two where one is an estimate.
The model and its limits. The 500-cow calculation assumes forage grown on-farm; a dairy buying all its feed carries almost no field diesel, and its exposure sits in the hauling deduction and the delivered feed price instead. Substitute your own gallons before you use any figure here. The program side counts only the two months below trigger, so it’s complete for 2026 to date, while the fuel side annualizes the current price gap and therefore overstates a partial-year exposure. The program net is earned on 57,000 covered cwt against fuel spread over 120,000 shipped cwt, two different denominators reported side by side rather than netted into a single rate. No hauling, fertilizer, or electricity increase is added, which avoids double counting against either the ERS line or the DMC feed formula. The fuel-and-lube share of the ERS line is an assumption, varied across three cases, with the lowest used in every headline figure. The $0.40 per gallon used in the off-road comparison is illustrative, not a market quote. National averages may not reflect your region, herd size, management system, debt position, or market access.
If your own numbers differ, send them. We publish producer data and case studies, and we correct factual errors visibly at the top of the article rather than editing silently. Corrections and data: editor@thebullvine.com
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Four Iowa consent orders held the penalty between $5,000 and $8,000, whether the kill was zero fish or 126,469, on herds from 330 cows to about 4,200. Restitution ran 6.7 times higher. In Ohio, roughly 789 dead fish produced a federal conviction, 15 months of probation and a $25,000 fine for one man.
A creek in Mercer County tested between 120 and 150 parts per million of ammonia on December 12, 2022. Thirteen ppm is considered chronic toxicity to aquatic life and 1 ppm is normal, according to Mercer Soil and Water Conservation District officials. Daily Standard Three years and nine months later, in a dairy Clean Water Act sentencing that named one man, U.S. Magistrate Judge Darrell A. Clay handed down 15 months of probation, a $25,000 fine and 100 hours of community service.
The judgment names Teunis Jan Willemsen, 54, who was serving as manager of Heartland Dairy in December 2022. USAO-NDOH The operation at 3101 Tama Road southwest of Rockford, formed in 2010 and formerly known as Rockford Dairy, is run by Heartland Dairy Holdings, LLC. Daily Standard, 2017Lima News He pleaded guilty on May 8, 2026, to negligently discharging a pollutant under 33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a) and 1319(c)(1)(A). DOJ Environmental Crimes Bulletin Read that provision closely, because it is the part most operators get wrong: it reaches a person who “negligently violates” the Act, so the government does not have to prove intent, a plan, or a willful act. It carries $2,500 to $25,000 per day of violation, up to a year in prison, or both.
Now put that beside Iowa. A January 2026 consent order in Winneshiek County carried a $5,000 penalty and $33,470.39 in restitution and investigative costs, $38,470.39 in total, for 126,469 dead fish over 10.2 miles. Iowa DNR order 2026-AFO-02 Ohio’s federal case produced a $25,000 criminal fine and 15 months of probation on a kill of roughly 789 fish. USAO-NDOH The operations most exposed are in delegated-permit states, with a leachate or manure structure within hose reach of a swale, tile inlet, or culvert.
What the records establish, and where they disagree
DOJ’s two publications give the outcome. The mechanism comes from the Mercer district’s own field investigation, presented at its January board meeting and reported January 6, 2023, by Leslie Gartrell in The Daily Standard. Bullvine requested the district’s minutes and complaint file on September 17 and had not received them before publication, so the account that follows is that newspaper’s report of a public meeting.
The account runs on a clock. Then-Ohio DNR Mercer County wildlife officer Brad Buening called then-district technician Matt Heckler at 8:25 a.m. on December 12, 2022, reporting discolored water and dead fish where Little Black Creek crosses Erastus Durbin Road. Heckler notified Dave Schilt, then at Ohio EPA’s Division of Environmental Response and Revitalization, and Frances Springer, then at ODA’s Division of Soil and Water. Crews walking the creek found a 10- to 12-inch tile discharging foaming water above 10 ppm ammonia. At the facility, they found a pump in the silage leachate collection system with a hose running over the collection wall and discharging into the clean water swale on the north side of the operation.
Heckler described silage leachate as a corn byproduct, high in nutrients and land-applicable, and called it one of the worst potential pollutants. By 12:35 p.m., a manure applicator working for the dairy told officials he had plugged the tile in the catch basin and closed the inline water control structure. Total contamination: 5.1 miles of creek. The district found a valid pollution complaint and referred it to ODA-DLEP and Ohio EPA for enforcement. Daily Standard No state enforcement outcome has been verified, and the district had not responded before publication to a September 17 request for comment.
Three places where the records do not line up, stated rather than smoothed. DOJ’s May bulletin locates the dairy in “Rockland, Ohio,” while the county-level record puts it at Rockford in Mercer County. DOJDaily Standard DOJ describes wastewater pumped from a settling basin into a nearby ditch, consisting of manure and silage leachate, while the district found a pump in the leachate collection system feeding a clean water swale. And the May bulletin puts the non-fish toll at 1,370 animals, attributed to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, while the September release says 1,371. DOJUSAO-NDOH Neither DOJ publication states the discharge volume.
Nor does either explain how they counted the roughly 789 dead fish. Iowa publishes its method: in the Winneshiek County matter, DNR Fisheries staff Theresa Shay, Josh Hefflefinger, Caleb Schnitzler and Steve Pecinovsky surveyed 10.2 miles between March 11 and 14, 2025, using the “Narrow Stream, Incompletely Accessible” method from American Fisheries Society Special Publication 35, and the order names the method on its face. Iowa DNR order 2026-AFO-02 Iowa also runs a public fish-kill database that logs each event’s mechanism and the surveyed distance in yards, with GPS coordinates for the endpoints. Iowa DNR Fish Kill Database Ohio’s count arrives without a method.
The federal record establishes the bridge to the defendant. The bulletin says Willemsen “stated he was responsible for employees pumping the contents from the settling basin into a nearby drainage ditch.” DOJ Special Agent in Charge Allison Landsman of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Ohio said in the sentencing release: “The defendant oversaw a discharge of ammonia-laden wastewater to Little Black Creek in the Maumee River, Ohio watershed that poisoned the water for miles and killed thousands of fish and other aquatic animals.” “Reckless and careless business practices that threaten Ohio’s environment and wildlife will not be tolerated,” U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer said.
Employees ran the pump. The manager carried the charge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Simko prosecuted with EPA Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel Sasha Reyes assisting. USAO-NDOH The reviewed federal materials identify no corporate co-defendant, which is not the same as DOJ clearing the company: Bullvine has not read the judgment, the charging document, the plea agreement, or the full docket in No. 3:26-mj-08002, and no public document explains the charging decision between entity and individual.
How does a clean water swale become a Clean Water Act charge?
Your state permit did not keep federal investigators out of this barn. Ohio EPA has held authority over the base NPDES permit program since March 11, 1974. EPA EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Ohio EPA’s Special Investigations Unit still worked this file with support from Ohio DNR.
The pathway had three links and no independent check on any of them. A pump sat in a leachate collection system. A hose crossed a wall into a swale built for clean water. That swale fed an outlet tile connected to Little Black Creek. Daily Standard The statute reaches negligence, and the tile worked exactly as designed.
Two details raise the stakes for anyone whose permit file looks clean. Springer sent Heckler a Mercer County auditor aerial image from March 2021 showing a pump and hose already present in the leachate collection system, and the district said it cannot verify whether contamination had been continuous since then. Daily Standard No document reviewed establishes when that pump was placed, how often it was used, or whether it discharged before December 2022. Worth sitting with: that image came from the county auditor’s aerial photography, so the yard was documented years before anyone walked it. Ohio county auditors publish aerial imagery, and many county assessors elsewhere do the same. Check what your county publishes, then look at what a hose, a pump, or a stained swale would show from above.
Separately, then-ODA-DLEP program administrator Nancy Cunningham said in December, during a five-year permit-to-operate renewal, that the facility had no infractions since its permit was first granted. Daily Standard Heartland Dairy Holdings, LLC was asked on September 17 to respond to each of those findings, including the aerial image and the referral, and to say whether the company was ever charged or resolved any civil or administrative matter. It had not responded before publication. ODA-DLEP was asked the same day for the outcome of the December 2022 referral, the facility’s current permit status, and whether the no-infractions characterization was accurate. It had not responded.
Ohio already requires you to name the people who will execute your plan. Administrative Code 901:10-2-17 requires an emergency response plan identifying those responsible for implementing it, and 901:10-2-14 requires manure management procedures that minimize loss or spillage in transport with prompt cleanup.
What Bullvine got wrong in 2024, and the exact correction
On August 27, 2024, this publication told operators to designate an incident leader and split shutdown, containment, and communication duties. Bullvine, 2024 The instinct was right, and the four-hour gap between Buening’s 8:25 a.m. call and the 12:35 p.m. containment report shows why somebody has to own the response.
The wording was not right. That piece framed the assignment as settling “who is liable for what,” and internal assignments do not decide who a regulator or prosecutor may charge. Section 1319(c)(1)(A) does not read your org chart, and the Alternative Fines Act at 18 U.S.C. § 3571 means the $25,000 daily figure should not be treated as a universal individual ceiling. That page requires correction before this article links to it.
The replacement rule has four roles instead of one: an authorizer, a second trained verifier who is not the pump operator, anyone on the crew with authority to stop the pump, and a named incident leader for the response. Cornell Cooperative Extension recommends that every employee, including those not running waste equipment, know the system and how to shut valves. Cornell CCE Purdue’s response order starts with controlling the source by stopping pumps, closing valves, and breaking the siphon.
Iowa’s orders show what regulators ask for after the fact, and it is close to the same list. Foresight Farms was ordered to develop a standard operating procedure for employee training and equipment inspection. Iowa DNR order 2026-AFO-01 Jochum Agri-Services was ordered to produce five years of manure-application training records and to write mandatory release reporting into its updated procedure. Iowa DNR, Feb 27, 2025 The Winneshiek County operator was ordered to submit a professional engineer’s report on manure storage capacity, rework the grass waterway feeding the tile intake, and write a feedlot maintenance plan.
Does an LLC keep your manager’s name off the caption?
Across one federal case and five resolved state actions read from the orders, consent-order bulletins, and releases themselves, all of them Midwestern, the actor named changes with the conduct and the forum, not with the corporate form.
Action
Who was named
Documented event
Money
Legal form
Willemsen, N.D. Ohio, sentenced Sept 8, 2026
Individual dairy manager
Discharge reached Little Black Creek; roughly 789 fish and 1,371 other aquatic animals
$25,000 fine, 15 months probation, 100 hours service
Criminal conviction on guilty plea
Jochum Agri-Services, Inc., Iowa DNR, penalty due Feb 18, 2025
Sioux County respondent, ordered to produce five years of manure-application training records
Manure release
$5,000 administrative penalty
Consent order
Foresight Farms, L.C., Iowa DNR order 2026-AFO-01, signed Jan 7, 2026
Dairy LLC, 1,098 animal units at signing, Garnavillo
Umbilical hose coupler separated Oct 4, 2025; manure reached an unnamed tributary of Buck Creek; four dams and two pumps kept it out of Buck Creek, which showed no ammonia
$5,000 administrative penalty, no restitution
Consent order, appeal rights waived
Iowa DNR order 2026-AFO-02, signed Jan 30, 2026
An individual dairy operator, Winneshiek County, 330 mature dairy cattle at signing
Open-feedlot runoff entered a tile intake and an unnamed tributary of Dry Run Creek, March 2025; 126,469 fish killed over 10.2 miles; earthen basin below two-foot freeboard
$5,000 penalty plus $33,470.39 restitution and investigative costs, $38,470.39 total on a four-payment plan
Consent order
Roorda Dairy LLC, Iowa DNR, incident July 2024, enforcement Jan 16, 2025
Dairy LLC, roughly 4,200 dairy cattle per Iowa Capital Dispatch reporting on DNR records, Paullina
Blown tile during land application sent manure to Mud Creek; 107,373 fish killed, with dead fish logged along 16,900 yards, or 9.6 miles, to the Mill Creek confluence src
$8,000 penalty plus $30,791.07 fish restitution, $38,791.07 total
Consent order
Spring Valley Holsteins, Inc. and its operator, Monroe County Circuit Court, approved Dec 23, 2025
Norwalk, Wisconsin dairy corporation and its operator at the time of the judgment
Complaint alleged a faulty manure transfer system let manure escape into an unnamed tributary and Moore Creek; dead brown trout, white suckers, and dace reported May 13, 2024
$120,000, including $90,000 to Wisconsin DNR to remedy fish-kill effects
Stipulated judgment resolving alleged violations
Read the Iowa column down, and the pattern is hard to miss. The administrative penalty sits at $5,000 for a manure release in Sioux County, $5,000 for a contained release with no fish kill at Foresight Farms, $5,000 for a kill of 126,469 fish in Winneshiek County, and $8,000 for a kill of 107,373 at Roorda. Iowa DNRForesight orderWinneshiek orderRoorda The penalty barely moves, and it does not track herd size either: $5,000 on a 330-cow operation, $8,000 on one running about 4,200. What moves is restitution, which ran 6.7 times the penalty in Winneshiek County and 3.8 times at Roorda.
Iowa priced that kill at $30,923.54 for 126,469 fish, about 24 cents a fish, and added $1,750.63 in Fisheries costs and $796.22 in field office costs. Winneshiek order Apply that rate to Ohio’s 789 fish, and the natural-resource value is roughly $190. On a kill Iowa’s own rate would value near $190, Ohio’s outcome was a $25,000 criminal fine.
Metric
Winneshiek Co., Iowa
Roorda Dairy, Iowa
Willemsen, N.D. Ohio
Fish killed
126,469 over 10.2 miles
107,373 over 9.6 miles
roughly 789
Count method published
Yes — AFS Special Pub. 35, “Narrow Stream, Incompletely Accessible,” four named DNR staff
The Winneshiek County operator and Spring Valley Holsteins were both asked on September 17 to comment on the figures reported here, including Bullvine’s calculation that restitution ran 6.7 times the penalty. Neither had responded before publication.
Different statutes, different forums, different standards of conduct. That is the point. A negligent discharge charged criminally under federal law produced a personal judgment on a small kill, while administrative water-quality violations on kills more than 130 times larger produced payment plans against two operations and one operator.
Running the Numbers
Bullvine calculation: one resolved manure discharge on a 500-cow dairy. USD, U.S. Midwest, single incident, before any capital work.
Stated assumptions, kept separate. Fifty, 150, and 300 defense hours are Bullvine assumptions, not case figures. Every scenario assumes a single incident and no trial.
Bullvine math. Low: $5,000 plus 50 × $177, or $8,850, giving $13,850. Central: $38,470 plus 150 × $349, or $52,350, giving $90,820. High: $120,000 plus 300 × $349, or $104,700, giving $224,700.
Scenario
Incident total
500 cows
1,200 cows
3,000 cows
Low
$13,850
$27.70/cow
$11.54/cow
$4.62/cow
Central
$90,820
$181.64/cow
$75.68/cow
$30.27/cow
High
$224,700
$449.40/cow
$187.25/cow
$74.90/cow
Excluded, deliberately. Capital retrofit, the professional engineer’s report Iowa ordered in the Winneshiek County matter, the grass-waterway rework, permit and consulting response, lost milk, business interruption, premium increases, and lender reserve demands.
The cleanup line nobody has priced. Ohio State University Extension advises being prepared to pump 20 to 25 times the volume of manure that entered a stream. OSU Extension Heartland pumped water from Little Black Creek from December 12 until December 30, 18 days elapsed. Daily Standard Neither DOJ publication states the discharge volume, and no agency published the pumping cost, so this one stays an equation rather than a number: recovered volume equals released volume times 20 to 25, and cash cost equals that volume times your contractor’s per-gallon transfer rate. Both inputs are yours to obtain. Call your vacuum or dragline contractor for the per-gallon figure before you need it, because it is the only line in this article you can price today, and nobody has priced it for you.
Carry the conservative figure: $13,850, or $27.70 per cow at 500 cows. That case assumes a contained release, no fish kill, no restitution, and no trial. The moment fish die, Iowa’s own arithmetic says the bill multiplies by four to seven.
Against that, the control. Assume 100 transfers a year and 12 minutes for authorization, independent route verification, and first-flow confirmation. That is 20 labor hours, and at an assumed loaded $30 per hour, it is $600 a year, or $1.20 per cow on 500 cows. The $25,000 Ohio fine alone equals 41.7 years of that figure. To be exact: $600 is a Bullvine labor-time model on the two assumptions just named, not a Heartland cost and not evidence that any protocol would have changed this case.
A $600 protocol is not immunity, and nothing in these records says it would have stopped this discharge. What it buys is the ability to prove who authorized a transfer, who independently checked it, and who could stop it, on a day when a regulator is standing in your swale. Here is how to audit your transfer line over the next quarter.
The 90-Day Playbook for Herds Moving Manure in a Delegated-Permit State
30 days
Walk every clean water swale, catch basin, and outlet tile and write down where each discharges. Requires two hours and a map. Threshold: any swale within hose reach of a leachate or manure structure, the configuration documented at Rockford. Backfire: a map filed and forgotten, so post it at the pump.
Split the transfer decision. One authorizer, one independent verifier who is not the pump operator, logged with a time. Threshold: any transfer within sight of a tile inlet, ditch, or culvert. Backfire: an unfilled log is worse evidence than none, so audit five entries monthly.
Put stop-work authority in writing for every worker on the place, in every language your crew reads. Write the non-retaliation clause so the person holding the valve does not have to weigh his job against a shutdown, and name who guarantees it. Cornell Extension recommends that every employee, including those not running waste equipment, know the system and how to shut valves. Cornell CCE Threshold: new hire, new hose route, night pumping. Backfire: a policy the day shift can read and the night crew cannot is not a policy.
Pull five years of manure-application training records and see whether they exist. Iowa ordered exactly that from Jochum Agri-Services. Iowa DNR Red-flag trigger: if you cannot produce three of the last five years, this moves to the top of today’s list.
Find your own reporting window in your permit to operate and ODA’s published discharge procedure, and post the number by the pump.
90 days
Get two answers from your insurer in writing: whether the pollution exclusion reaches manure and silage leachate, and whether a named manager’s criminal defense is funded. Requires the policy, your broker, and one hour. Threshold: renewal date. Decision rule: if either answer is no, you are self-insuring that exposure, and the figure to reserve is the $90,820 central case rather than the $13,850 low one. Backfire: an oral assurance a claims file will not honor.
Ask your lender which environmental events trigger notice, default, a borrowing-base cut, or an added reserve. USDA’s Farm Service Agency treats environmental risk screening as due diligence before taking a security interest in real estate, and FDIC agricultural-lending procedures cover identifying environmental concerns and on-farm inspections. FSAFDIC If your loan documents carry an environmental covenant, the notice clause fires before the penalty is even assessed; if they carry none, the same event lands as a straight liquidity draw. Threshold: if your DSCR has been under 1.25 for three consecutive months on your lender’s calculation, a $90,820 central case is a covenant conversation, not a check.
Get a per-gallon transfer quote from your vacuum or dragline contractor and put it in the emergency file next to the storage volumes. Requires one phone call. Threshold: before the wet season. Backfire: a quote with no volume beside it, so record both.
365 days
Commission a professional engineer’s report on manure storage capacity before a regulator orders one. Iowa ordered one within 30 days of signature in the Winneshiek County matter. Iowa DNR order 2026-AFO-02 Opportunity signal: an operation that arrives at a permit conversation with drawings and a price negotiates timing; one that arrives empty negotiates nothing.
Build a five-record incident standard: structure levels, pump logs, employee assignments, weather, notifications. Threshold: any transfer season where staffing turns over. Backfire: records that contradict each other, so assign one owner per file.
The number check
Pull your permit to operate, your last three transfer records, and your liability policy onto one desk tonight, then walk the swale on the north side of your own facility and find out what its tile is connected to. Heartland Dairy Holdings, LLC held a permit that ODA-DLEP described in December as carrying no infractions since it was first granted, and a hose over a collection wall still put 5.1 miles of Little Black Creek above 100 ppm ammonia and one man’s name on a federal judgment. Daily StandardUSAO-NDOH What does your own emergency response plan actually say about who can stop the pump without asking permission?
Footnote on scope. This comparison is limited to U.S. Midwestern actions, where federal Clean Water Act authority and delegated state administrative programs operate on the same facility. For a non-U.S. reference point outside that framework: Lacpatrick Dairies (NI) Ltd, a Lakeland-owned processor, was fined £115,000 at Strabane Magistrates’ Court on August 13, 2026, after guilty pleas to 16 offenses affecting the Glenmornan River, £70,000 on seven permit offenses and £45,000 on nine water-pollution offenses.
This article is based on court and agency records available as of September 17, 2026. Comment was sought from every party named critically on September 17, with a stated deadline.
Key Takeaways
The Clean Water Act’s negligent-discharge provision reaches any person, not just the permit holder. Intent isn’t an element, which is how Willemsen drew a $25,000 fine and 15 months’ probation on a guilty plea.
Across four Iowa consent orders the penalty never left $5,000 to $8,000, whether the kill was zero fish or 126,469, on herds from 330 cows to about 4,200. Restitution is what moved, running 6.7 times the penalty.
Roughly 789 dead fish in a federal criminal case cost more in fine than 126,469 did in Iowa state penalty. The forum you land in prices the harm more than the body count does.
ODA-DLEP described Heartland’s permit as carrying no infractions since it was first granted, yet a March 2021 county aerial already showed a pump and hose in the leachate system. A clean file isn’t a clean yard.
Run Your Numbers
Farm Benchmark Snap Check — The DVI Risk Check reads your hedge position, debt load, feed share, and working capital, then bands you Strong, Watch, or Risk. Run it before you decide whether a $90,820 incident is a covenant conversation or a cash crunch.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
The National Dairy Cattle Congress owned October from 1910 to 1965. Then it dropped “Dairy” from its own name and bet the building on a greyhound track. This month its fair closes two days before Expo’s gates open.
The short version, for anyone reading this in the parlor
The audience left first. World Dairy Expo attendance fell every year from 2014 to 2019 — down 19% before COVID existed — while the trade floor held near its peak.
Then the vendors followed. The floor went from 887 in 2018 to 461 in 2025, a 48% loss, with 211 of it in the three years after the farm shakeout slowed.
Cattle sit at 108% against 2016. Waterloo died the opposite way and ended up in the same place. Read the inversion below.
Norman Nabholz can still smell it. “I was captivated by it,” he told The Bullvine in 2013, remembering the National Dairy Cattle Congress in Waterloo, Iowa. “I remember everything, from the smells to the sights, sounds, and the people. It’s why I’m in the business that I’m in today.”
That’s not idle nostalgia. Nabholz has been showing since his first champion in 1974, and he wrote the book on Waterloo — literally, Millionaires in the Cornfields: The Glory Days of the National Dairy Cattle Congress. So when he read our reporting on World Dairy Expo’s decline this summer and reached for a warning in the comments, it carried weight. “Sixty-one years ago this October we were heading to Waterloo and thought we would be doing it forever.”
Do that math. Sixty-one years back from this October is 1965, the exact year the dairy establishment walked out of Waterloo. And when the gates open September 29, the 59th World Dairy Expo runs at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, on a venue contract that extends through 2028, which makes this the moment to ask an uncomfortable question about permanence.
What Waterloo actually was
Don’t picture a county fair. Picture the center of the dairy universe.
The National Dairy Cattle Congress opened October 9–10, 1910, built by the Iowa State Dairy Association as a nonprofit exposition to grow the industry. It swung big from day one: roughly 5,500 people the first day, about 40,000 over the opening weekend, and it still turned a profit. By the accounts compiled in the National Cattle Congress’s own published history, attendance reached 87,000 by 1919, pulled in by a new Hippodrome seating around 7,000 and the growing prestige of the Belgian Horse Show.
“The Dairy Capitol of the World.” Waterloo printed that on postcards and mailed them. Look at how much of this ground is parked cars rather than barns — at Waterloo the gate was the asset. Remember that when you reach the attendance column.
The credibility followed the crowds. In 1948, four national dairy breed organizations made Waterloo their official National Show, and the National FFA dairy contests had already moved there the year before. This was where the breed sorted itself out. Best cattle, best judges, best people, one barn, every October.
Waterloo, 1928. Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor banners for Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, Ayrshire and Brown Swiss — every dairy breed in America, competing in one Iowa city. Four national breed associations wouldn’t name Waterloo their official National Show for another twenty years. The hardware got there first.
Nabholz doesn’t hedge on what that meant. He’s called it “the world’s greatest dairy cattle show from 1910 to 1965.” Read that end date twice. The man who loves the place most is the one telling you when the clock started running out.
How a legend talks itself into a slow death
Big institutions rarely die in one loud crack. They erode in decisions that each sounded reasonable at the time.
Waterloo’s turn came in the 1960s, when the show started “refocusing.” The University of Northern Iowa’s Black Hawk County history is blunt: the dairy focus was slipping. Farm machinery ate more floor space. Horse shows grabbed more billing. The event stretched to nine days. Every step got sold the same way — the public wants variety, farming’s changing, give people more show. Sounds sensible. It usually does, right up until the mission gets watered down past recognition. You can watch it happen in the show’s own advertising.
Read what Waterloo was selling. This undated Dairy Cattle Congress advertisement headlines circus acts, a saddle horse show, power farm machinery, kitchen appliances, a flower show and waterfowl. Not one of its three featured attractions is the dairy cattle show. The name still said National. The billing had already moved on.
The problem wasn’t that management adapted. It’s what they adapted toward. The breed associations that had bankrolled Waterloo for decades watched a dairy show trying to be everything to everybody, and they walked. The UNI history says their frustration “came to a head in 1965,” when the National Dairy Association pulled its support and moved its shows to Madison, Wisconsin.
That’s the hinge. Everything before it was a warning. Everything after was a consequence. And here’s the part that should make every breeder wince. With the dairy backing gone, the National Dairy Cattle Congress became simply the National Cattle Congress. They dropped “Dairy” from the name. That’s not rebranding. That’s a coroner’s note.
Maurice Telleen, the secretary-manager who lived through it and later founded the Draft Horse Journal in Waterloo, said the show was no longer national but regional, and pointed to the crumbling economics of shipping cattle long distances by rail as service declined. Real enough. But only half the story. Waterloo also lost its ability to convince the dairy world it was the one show nobody could skip. Lose that, and the trucks stop coming no matter how good your rail spur is.
Madison wasn’t an accident – it was the autopsy
Here’s the twist that should rattle every Expo loyalist. World Dairy Expo exists because Waterloo failed to hold the center.
The Bullvine’s own founders’ history says Gene Nelson saw Waterloo’s “dwindling popularity” firsthand when he and three others launched a new exhibition. The first World Dairy Expo ran in 1967, two years after the dairy establishment abandoned Iowa. The biggest dairy show on earth was born straight out of the moment the old giant stopped being enough.
One detail worth clearing up, because it came up in the same comment. Nabholz pointed readers toward a book called We Need a Show. The book is real, though it tells the other half of the story: We Need a Show: A 50 Year History of World Dairy Expo, published in 2015 by W.D. Hoard & Sons and co-edited by Corey Geiger and Steve Larson. It’s Expo’s history rather than Waterloo’s autopsy. His point survives the correction, though, and the title makes it for him. Expo’s whole reason for existing was a room full of people looking at a drifting institution and saying, flatly, we need a show. That’s the verdict on Waterloo, printed on a cover.
Now the part that cuts the other way. Expo wasn’t born bulletproof either. Dairy Agenda Today’s history shows the early years were shaky, and the trade floor only took off after leadership changes in the late 1980s, when Tom McKittrick and Joe Gilbert rebuilt the commercial engine. When Madison wobbled, people made hard choices and fixed it. Waterloo drifted. Madison fought. Hold onto that difference.
The long fade – from dairy cattle to dog track
After 1965, Waterloo didn’t vanish. That’s exactly what made the decline easy to ignore. The grounds still ran. The fair still opened. The name still carried a century of history. The institution kept moving, which let everybody pretend it was still the same institution. It wasn’t.
The 1970s pushed the same diversification logic into farm implements, more horse shows, and big-name entertainment. The UNI history’s language is brutal: the National Cattle Congress was starting to look like a small-time carnival with sideshow attractions, with people showing up to ride the midway and eat the food while the livestock took a back seat. That reads as a diagnosis of a show that forgot which audience built it.
Then the money ran out. By 1984 the organization was in serious financial trouble, and the rescue plan was pari-mutuel greyhound racing. Waterloo Greyhound Park opened October 15, 1986. For exactly one year it looked like salvation: roughly $600,000 in track profit and a $519,000 gain for the Cattle Congress, figures carried in both the UNI history and the Waterloo Courier’s published NCC timeline. Sit with that. An institution built to crown the world’s best dairy cattle was betting its survival on dog racing.
The bet went bad fast. By 1989, management admitted the track was in trouble and warned that if it failed, the banks would own both the track and the Cattle Congress. In December 1992, the Meskwaki Casino opened in Tama, half an hour away, with gambling the track couldn’t touch. A 1993 bankruptcy auditor concluded the organization would have folded eight years earlier without the track’s yearly cash infusions. The Meskwaki Nation later lent the NCC bailout money and eventually foreclosed on the property. The dogs only stretched out the dying.
Then came the headline that says everything. When the Waterloo Courier ran “Cattle Congress Cuts Cows,” the show once built on elite dairy cattle could no longer afford to hold the livestock shows. That’s the cleanest definition of institutional death you’ll read: the day your institution can no longer afford to do the one thing it was built to do.
Here’s the part that should stop you cold, and it’s happening this month. The National Cattle Congress is still there. The 116th National Cattle Congress Fair runs September 24 through 27, 2026, on the same Waterloo fairgrounds, with a carnival, ranch bronc and bull riding, general admission at $15, and the tagline “Still Our Story.” The Hippodrome still stands, rented out at 20,000 square feet. The financial difficulties described above belong to that organization’s 1980s and 1990s management, and the National Cattle Congress today operates under different leadership. Their fair closes on a Sunday. Expo’s gates open two days later. The grounds survived. The National Dairy Cattle Congress, as North America’s premier dairy show, did not. The buildings outlived the mission.
Waterloo’s Hippodrome today. Somebody still mows this, still flies the flags, still repaints the trim, still rents the floor at 20,000 square feet. Institutions rarely die because nobody cared for the buildings.
Is World Dairy Expo actually turning into Waterloo?
No. But the specific mechanism is worth understanding, because it isn’t the one people watch for — and the full twelve-year record tells a different story than the headline number does.
Start with what was never in doubt at Madison. The Expo cattle show is healthy. The breeders held their end, and every year the families still hitched up and hauled the best genetics on the continent to Wisconsin. If you’re waiting for someone to say the cows have gone soft, this isn’t that article.
This is the line that went up. Fresh straw, clipped cattle, framed photos on the drapes, a crew still working the aisle — and nobody made them do any of it. Cattle on the grounds sit at 108% against 2016 while attendance sits at 67% and the trade floor at 52%. The only number still climbing is the one exhibitors pay about $3,800 a head to put there.
Here is the complete record, from Expo’s own published show and event summaries. Index values in brackets: exhibitors against 884 in 2017, cattle against 2,434 in 2016, attendance against 77,204 in 2014.
Year
Commercial exhibitors
Cattle on grounds
Attendance
2014
835 (94)
2,334 (96)
77,204 (100)
2015
871 (99)
2,296 (94)
72,427 (94)
2016
881 (100)
2,434 (100)
74,572 (97)
2017
884 (100)
2,356 (97)
68,710 (89)
2018
887 (100)
2,338 (96)
65,136 (84)
2019
859 (97)
2,331 (96)
62,240 (81)
2020
cancelled (COVID-19)
—
—
2021
663 (75)
2,306 (95)
48,502 (63)
2022
672 (76)
2,663 (109)
54,525 (71)
2023
563 (64)
2,571 (106)
56,250 (73)
2024
551 (62)
2,527 (104)
55,209 (72)
2025
461 (52)
2,625 (108)
51,525 (67)
Read the attendance column down before you read anything else. It falls in 2015. It falls again in 2017, 2018, and 2019. By the last show before the pandemic, Expo had lost 14,964 people, down 19% from 2014 — and not one of those years can be blamed on COVID. The crowd was leaving for six years, and the industry talked about it as if it hadn’t started.
Now read the exhibitor column next to it. Through all of that, the trade floor held. It peaked at 887 companies in 2018, the fifth consecutive year of falling attendance. Vendors were still buying booths at a show whose audience had already shrunk by a sixth.
That’s the finding, and it isn’t the one we expected. The audience left first. The vendors followed. They followed in two waves: 196 companies gone across the shutdown gap between 2019 and 2021, then another 211 in the three years from 2022 to 2025 — about 70 a year, in a stretch when the farm shakeout had largely run its course. The first wave has an obvious explanation. The second doesn’t.
These are not contested numbers, and Expo isn’t hiding them. Its own website currently describes the trade show as “over 450 companies from 15 countries,” which squares with the 461 it published for 2025. The disagreement here is about what the trend means, not what the figures are.
And the cattle held throughout. Head on the grounds peaked at 2,663 in 2022 and sits at 2,625 today, index 108 against 2016 and up 12% on 2014. Set that beside a trade floor at 52 and an audience at 67. Same show, same week, one line up and two lines halved or worse.
The inversion worth sitting with. Waterloo choked because management chased trade-floor novelty and entertainment at the expense of the cattle, until the breed associations stopped believing it was a dairy show. Madison faces the opposite trap: a ring full of elite cattle whose audience thinned for six years and whose commercial floor then walked. The symptom is inverted. In our view, the fatal outcome is the same: a show whose economics no longer support the thing it exists to do.
Dimension
Waterloo (National Dairy Cattle Congress)
Madison (World Dairy Expo)
Peak era
1910–1965; 87,000 attendance by 1919
2014–2018; 77,204 attendance in 2014
What management protected
Trade floor, horse shows, entertainment
The cattle ring (2,625 head in 2025, index 108)
What management lost first
The dairy mission — breed associations walked in 1965
The audience — down 19% between 2014 and 2019
The visible symptom
Dropped “Dairy” from its own name
Commercial exhibitors down 48% since 2018 (887 → 461)
Unresolved — sponsorship model not yet restructured
Terminal sign
“Cattle Congress Cuts Cows” — could no longer afford its own livestock shows
Trade-floor economics no longer support the ring they exist to fund
Meanwhile, the herd behind those numbers didn’t shrink. Farm counts fell hard, from 39,303 in 2017 to 24,094 in 2022, yet the U.S. still milks roughly 9.4 million cows, producing more milk than ever, around 226 billion pounds. Same cows. More milk. Emptier building. For the fuller picture of what dairy’s consolidation is doing to the whole show week, the pattern is the one Waterloo lived: a strong core on an eroding base nobody wanted to name.
What does a shrinking trade floor actually cost a show like this?
Run it like your own operation. The floor went from 887 companies in 2018 to 461 in 2025, so 426 gone in seven years, with the current bleed near 70 a year. Now price what one vendor represents: a booth fee, yes, but also sponsorship dollars, hospitality spend, and the reason a share of attendees fire up the truck at all. Organizers expect more than 50,000 guests from nearly 90 countries this year, and the show generated $31.8 million in local economic benefit last year. Strip half the commercial base out of an engine that size and what you lose is gravity.
This is what a full floor looks like. Expo’s commercial exhibitor count peaked at 887 in 2018 and stood at 461 in 2025 — 426 booths gone. A booth is never only a booth. It’s a sponsorship line and somebody’s reason to keep coming back.
Expo’s trade show currently runs Tuesday through Friday. Whether four selling days against Madison hotel and facility costs still pencils for a mid-size supplier is a question worth asking out loud — and one only the exhibitors who left can answer. We don’t have that reporting yet. Nobody does, which is part of the problem.
World Dairy Expo at the Alliant Energy Center, Lake Monona and downtown Madison on the horizon. Barns in the middle, cars around the edges — the same composition as Waterloo’s postcard. The lots are full. Fifty thousand people are expected. And nothing here shows you a trade floor that has lost nearly half its companies since 2018.
Here’s the piece romantics skip. A great show ring doesn’t finance itself. Prestige doesn’t cover the power bill, and legacy doesn’t make payroll. Every big show needs an economic engine, and at Expo the trade floor has long been a huge part of that engine. Waterloo’s engine shifted away from cattle and ended up at a dog track, and by the time anyone called it a crisis, the identity damage was done. Different route, same arithmetic.
The disanalogies are real, and they matter. The 1965 break came when the National Dairy Association physically walked, and Madison has no equivalent walkout. Waterloo slid from national to regional while Expo still draws from nearly 90 countries. Rail-era transport economics aren’t Madison’s problem. And where Waterloo’s management answered decline by diversifying away from dairy cattle, Madison has done the opposite, and the cattle numbers prove it. This is a complacency warning, not a collapse prophecy. Say it plainly so nobody twists it.
This is the World Dairy Expo Holstein Show — the marquee event of dairy’s premier week. The best cattle on the continent are in the ring. Look at the seats around them.The 2025 International Holstein Show at the Alliant Energy Center Coliseum, Madison. The stands sit barely a quarter full for one of the most prestigious classes in the world. Photo: The Bullvine.
So what do you actually do if it’s your show that’s fading?
Waterloo’s decline wasn’t fate. It was a stack of choices, which makes the fixes choices too, and some shows are already making them. If you sit on a committee, a breed board, or an association that runs an event, these are your live options.
Fix
What triggers it
What it costs to try
How it fails
Watch the gate before the floor
Two consecutive years of falling attendance
An afternoon consolidating existing gate data
One weather-driven year proves nothing; you need three data points before you act
Reconcile numbers to marketing copy
Any published claim older than 3 years
One editor, one afternoon
Fixes credibility, not revenue — and a sponsor’s lead data may find the gap first
Build year-round sponsorship program
Trade-floor revenue falling faster than attendance
12-month sales calendar, naming-rights inventory, education programming
Denver’s model leans on capital-campaign scale that dairy suppliers may not match
Audit the 93% you don’t invoice
Exhibitors complaining about cost
Block hotel rates, scheduling tie-ins, logistics coordination
$3,800/cow figure is composite, not audited — build policy on your own string first
Path one: watch your gate before you watch your floor. Expo’s own record shows the audience turning six years before the vendors did. Attendance is the leading indicator and booth count is the lagging one, which means a show reading only its exhibitor revenue is reading the slower number. When it works: you track gate and floor as separate series, year over year, and treat two consecutive attendance drops as a trigger rather than weather. What it requires:publishing your own numbers consistently enough to have a series at all. Risks and limits: gate counts move with weather, calendar, and ticket policy, so one bad year proves nothing. Three do.
Path two: check whether your own numbers still match your own story. Waterloo kept the word “National” in its name and on its letterhead for years after the national shows had left for Madison, right up until “Dairy” came out in 1965. The paperwork described an institution that no longer existed. When it works: you compare ten years of published figures against what your website, venue copy, and sponsor decks currently claim, and fix the gaps yourself. What it requires: one afternoon and a willingness to be embarrassed in private. Risks and limits: it fixes credibility, not revenue. If a sponsor’s own lead data finds the gap first, you lose the renewal and the credibility in the same meeting.
Path three: build a year-round sponsorship program. The National Western Stock Show in Denver paid its debt in full for the first time in decades and reached $120 million toward a $150 million capital campaign. Then it packed 750,039 people through the gates over 16 days this January, an all-time record that broke a mark standing since 2006. In the ring, the first Auction of Junior Livestock Champions in the new CoBank Auction Arena set a record at $822,500 for the top eight champions, up $185,000. Read the venue name again. A lender put its name on the arena. When it works: your commercial base is eroding but the brand is still worth investing in. What it requires: naming rights, hospitality, and scholarship alignment sold on a twelve-month calendar. Risks and limits: Denver leans on a multi-year capital campaign and named-facility partners, while dairy equipment and genetics suppliers run on tighter margins and shorter budget cycles. The operating principle survives the difference. You cannot treat commercial partners like booth-renters for five days in October and expect them to behave like stakeholders the other eleven months. Worth testing: the sponsors most likely to stay are the ones buying year-round category alignment, education programming, and naming rights rather than floor space. That’s a hypothesis about where the money is going, not a claim about what any company has said.
Path four: fix the cost math before you blame loyalty. Bullvine’s accounting puts the true cost of showing at Madison near $3,800 a cow in a five-cow string, with Expo’s own fees only about $280 of it. The other 93% is fitting, hotels, travel, and relief milking. When it works: you attack the costs you don’t invoice for, through block rates, scheduling, and tie-in logistics. What it requires: treating exhibitor cost as your problem rather than theirs. Risks and limits: the $3,800 figure is a composite drawn from exhibitor testimony, not audited accounts, so run your own string before you build policy on it.
The 30-day action. Before your next board meeting, pull ten years of attendance and vendor counts from your own published summaries and put both series on one slide. Not one line. Two, so you can see which turned first. This month, while Expo week is fresh enough to argue about. Waterloo’s fatal habit wasn’t ignorance. Plenty of people saw the slide, and nobody made the room stare at it while there was time.
Key Takeaways
Two consecutive years of falling gate is a trigger, not weather Expo’s attendance dropped in 2015, then again in 2017, 2018, and 2019 — 19% gone before COVID. The trade floor was still at peak through 2018. If your gate is sliding while your booth revenue holds, you are reading the lagging number.
If the decline outlasted consolidation, “structural” is an excuse Madison’s floor lost 211 companies in the three years after the farm shakeout slowed, roughly 70 a year. Herd size held and milk output hit records over the same stretch.
Index your three lines against each other before you call anything healthy Cattle at 108, attendance at 67, exhibitors at 52. A full ring is not an all-clear, and the ring is the only line that’s up.
Reconcile your published figures with your promotional copy this week Waterloo kept the word “National” long after the nationals left. Find the gap yourself before a sponsor’s lead data finds it in a renewal meeting.
Ringside banners will not carry a sponsorship program Denver retired its debt, raised $120M toward $150M, set a 750,039 attendance record, and posted an $822,500 junior auction, all off year-round partnership and named-facility deals.
If exhibitors complain about cost, audit the 93% you don’t invoice At roughly $3,800 a cow, only about $280 is Expo’s fee. The rest is fitting, hotels, travel, and relief milking, and a show can move more of that than it thinks.
Stella Schmocker and Luck-E Merjack Asalia, Supreme Champion of the 2205 Junior Show. No exhibitor count measures this. It is also the last thing a failing show gives up — Waterloo held its cattle classes until it could no longer afford them.
Before you decide it can’t happen here
The 116th National Cattle Congress Fair closes in Waterloo on Sunday, September 27. Two days later, the gates open in Madison for the 59th time. Carry this question through them: which of your show’s two lines turned first, and how many years ago? Pull the series before you answer, and pull it from the published summaries rather than the brochure.
Waterloo, 1958. Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor in the Jersey Show, a silver service, and a row of ribbons going carefully into a box. Seven years later the national dairy associations moved their shows to Madison.
Waterloo wasn’t some weak little fair nobody loved. It was enormous, prestigious, woven into generations of October traditions, and it still lost the plot, then the center, then the cattle. Nabholz wrote his book to preserve what a great show had been before the memory thinned out. The people invoking Waterloo around Madison are trying to make sure nobody has to write the eulogy.
Editor’s note: This is an opinion piece. The historical record of the National Dairy Cattle Congress is documented and sourced; the comparison drawn to World Dairy Expo, and the recommendations that follow, are solely those of the author and The Bullvine. They are not a position or viewpoint of World Dairy Expo, which did not request, authorize, or contribute to this article. We consider the long-term health of North America’s principal dairy exhibition a matter of legitimate public interest to the exhibitors, breed associations, sponsors, and producers whose time and capital it depends on. Every attendance, trade-show, and cattle-entry figure cited comes from World Dairy Expo’s own published annual show and event summaries, 2014 through 2025; the indexed comparison and loss rates are The Bullvine’s own calculations based on those published figures, and our interpretation is our own.
Learn More
The True Cost of Showing at World Dairy Expo — Pinpoints the real capital burn of competing in Madison, exposing why overhead outside entry fees drives strings to roughly $3,800 per head and forces exhibitors to audit their marketing budgets.
Is the Show Ring Still Relevant to Commercial Dairying? — Dismantles the widening divide between purebred aesthetics and commercial parlor profitability, revealing whether modern production herds still source genetics from the colored shavings or look entirely to genomic pipelines.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
7.15 cents a pound. That’s what USDA added to the nonfat dry milk make allowance on cost data processors volunteered. On 500 cows, our math puts it at $97,750 to $105,800 a year — every year, at any milk price.
USDA raised all four FMMO make allowances effective June 1, 2025, and its own economic impact analysis states the plain version: those allowances had been “set in 2008 and determined using two surveys.” The decision raised them to $0.2519 per pound for cheese, $0.2272 for butter, $0.2393 for nonfat dry milk, and $0.2668 for dry whey.
The American Farm Bureau Federation then measured the result. Across the first three months, Class I prices fell 89 cents per hundredweight, Class II 85 cents, Class III 92 cents, and Class IV 85 cents — a 4–5% drop “attributable solely to higher make allowances,” totaling $337 million in lost pool revenue.
Here’s what should sit uncomfortably with anyone whose milk was voted in those referenda. Farm Bureau’s review states USDA set those numbers using “a self-selected sample of self-reported manufacturers’ cost data, not an all-inclusive, audited representation of all processors.”
The audited version was meant to follow. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 requires USDA to survey processors’ actual manufacturing costs for cheese, butter, and nonfat dry milk. As of today, USDA’s program page for that survey lists one document: an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued Feb. 27, 2026. Not a proposed rule. Not a survey.
What USDA Changed, and by How Much
Product
Set in 2008
June 1, 2025
Change
Increase
Cheese
$0.2003
$0.2519
+5.16¢
25.8%
Butter
$0.1715
$0.2272
+5.57¢
32.5%
Nonfat dry milk
$0.1678
$0.2393
+7.15¢
42.6%
Dry whey
$0.1991
$0.2668
+6.77¢
34.0%
All values per pound, USD, national scope, all 11 orders. Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service economic impact analysis, Class III and IV pricing decisions. Percentage change is a Bullvine calculation on those figures. Increase is the change in the allowance itself, not the effect on milk price — for that, see the per-class declines above.
A make allowance is what USDA subtracts from each product’s wholesale price before calculating what your Class III and IV milk is worth. Raise it, and less value reaches the producer pool. The whey line works differently again — a dozen companies’ reported sales set the survey price that drives your other-solids line, a mechanism worth understanding on its own.
This is a U.S. Federal Order mechanism. Canadian producers have no direct equivalent under supply management, though the fight over whether processor cost data gets audited is the part that travels.
What Does the Change Cost at Your Herd Size?
One detail in Farm Bureau’s numbers matters more than the headline. Every class landed inside the same narrow band — Class II and IV at 85 cents, Class I at 89, Class III at 92. Your blend price dropped by roughly the same amount whether you ship into cheese, powder, or fluid. Utilization changes the mix, not the magnitude.
Class
Price decline (¢/cwt)
Annual impact, 500 cows @ 230 cwt
What ships here
Class I (fluid)
89¢
$102,350
Bottled milk
Class II (soft)
85¢
$97,750
Yogurt, ice cream, cream
Class III (cheese)
92¢
$105,800
Cheese and dry whey
Class IV (butter/powder)
85¢
$97,750
Butter, nonfat dry milk
Running the Numbers — Bullvine calculation
Published evidence: AFBF measured per-class declines of 85–92¢/cwt attributable solely to the make-allowance change. Market Intel, Sept. 22, 2025, U.S. national scope, USD.
Stated Bullvine assumption: 230 cwt shipped per cow per year. Ours, not sourced — substitute your rolling herd average.
Method: cows × 230 cwt × per-cwt decline. Low uses 85 cents (the Class II/IV figure); high uses 92 cents (Class III).
Herd
Annual cwt
Low (85¢)
High (92¢)
200 cows
46,000
$39,100
$42,320
500 cows
115,000
$97,750
$105,800
1,500 cows
345,000
$293,250
$317,400
Per cow: $195.50 to $211.60 every year, at any milk price. The 500-cow line runs 500 × 230 = 115,000 cwt, then 115,000 × $0.85 = $97,750.
Budget off the low column. Where a verified figure is a range, the conservative end is the honest one.
“Both sides of this argument want the survey. Only one side already got its number.”
What Came Back the Other Way
Most coverage of this fight stops at the $337 million. It shouldn’t, because the same AFBF analysis prices the offsets and they’re real.
Class I differentials rose in most counties, averaging +$1.24/cwt nationally and adding an estimated $137 million to pool values across June through August — led by the Northeast at $34 million and the Mideast at $30 million. Farm Bureau’s regional breakdown shows the mismatch plainly. California and the Upper Midwest absorbed the largest allowance losses at $55 million and $64 million, and gained only $6 to $8 million each.
The return to the higher-of Class I mover subtracted $31.1 million over the same period, though AFBF notes that the formula proves its worth in volatile markets rather than calm ones.
Net all three amendments together and pool revenues fell $231.9 million in the first three months, not $337 million. Use the net figure in a boardroom. The gross number is true, and the net number is harder to dismiss. (Farm Bureau’s component figures are rounded as published, so they won’t sum precisely to the net.)
One offset arrived later than the rest. The allowance increase took effect June 1, 2025. Updated milk composition factors — the change recognizing the components you actually ship — followed on Dec. 1, six months behind, and AFBF estimates that change adds roughly $200 million a year to pool value while the interval cost producers about $100 million.
Why Did the Cut Come Before the Proof?
The processors’ underlying case was legitimate. Those allowances had sat unchanged since 2008, and converting milk into cheese takes labor, cultures, energy, testing, and packaging that all cost more than they did then. The National Milk Producers Federation, which represents dairy cooperatives, filed the proposal and testified that USDA should “provide an interim increase to alleviate the acute problems and disorderly market conditions created by the current, clearly insufficient make allowances.”
Harder to defend is the sequence. USDA set the numbers on volunteered, unaudited data, and Congress authorized the audited survey afterward. The ANPRM’s comment window ran 30 days and closed March 30, 2026. The American Dairy Coalition asked for an extension, arguing 30 days was insufficient for a rulemaking that directly determines regulated milk values.
The road back is longer than most producers assume. AFBF is explicit that even once survey data exists, any adjustment to make allowances “would still require a full hearing process before USDA to implement.” Survey rulemaking, then the survey, then the report, then a hearing.
Date
Step
Status as of Sept. 15, 2026
June 1, 2025
All four FMMO make allowances raised (25.8%–42.6%)
In force — money moved
July 2025
One Big Beautiful Bill Act requires audited processor cost survey
Enacted
Dec. 1, 2025
Updated milk composition factors take effect
In force, six months late
Feb. 27, 2026
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued
Only document on USDA’s survey page
Mar. 30, 2026
30-day comment window closes; extension requested
Closed; no extension reflected
Still ahead
Proposed rule → survey → report → full USDA hearing
Not started
AFBF economist Danny Munch told Brownfield the law is meant “to justify the nearly dollar-a-hundredweight make allowance deductions.” Fifteen months after the deduction took effect, that justification sits at the notice stage.
Worth noting: NMPF isn’t defending the absence of audited data. The association calls mandatory biennial plant-cost studies “a key component of NMPF’s Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization proposal,” and President and CEO Gregg Doud has publicly backed legislation requiring them. Both sides of this argument want the survey. Only one side already got its number.
Who Actually Cast Your Ballot?
Federal referendum procedure is specific. Under 7 CFR § 900.304(a), “each producer shall be entitled to only one vote,” and under § 900.304(c), voting “by proxy or agent” is not permitted.
Then comes subsection (b). Except as provided in section 8c(5)(B) of the Act, “any cooperative association eligible under § 900.302 may, if it elects to do so, vote and cast one ballot for producers who are members of, stockholders in, or under contract with, such cooperative association.” The board votes your milk.
There’s a detail in that same subsection worth knowing. A cooperative casting a bloc ballot “shall submit, with its ballot, a certified copy of the resolution authorizing the casting of the ballot.” That resolution exists. It’s dated, and it records what your organization decided on your behalf.
Which matters because the cooperative model puts one organization on both sides of this formula. Cooperatives market their members’ milk and, in many cases, operate the plants that buy pooled milk. As your marketing agent, the organization wants a higher milk price. As a plant operator, it does better when that price falls.
Nobody outside those boardrooms can say whether a particular cooperative’s processing margin widened at members’ expense. The per-cwt margin figure a member would need isn’t broken out in publicly available cooperative reporting. A processing margin isn’t improper, and no cooperative has been shown to have acted against its members’ interests. The open question is whether member-owners can see how, or whether, the benefit returns.
If you’ve never seen a ballot for an order you ship into, that’s not an oversight — it’s how bloc voting decided this for you.
The Playbook
30 days — find your own number. Set one milk check from before June 2025 beside one from after, and isolate the blend-price gap after backing out obvious market movement. Requires: two statements, twenty minutes. Threshold: a residual gap near 85–92¢/cwt is the allowance, not the market. Backfire: components and utilization moved too, so don’t credit the whole delta to the formula.
30 days — ask for the resolution. If your cooperative bloc voted, request the certified copy of the board resolution that authorized the ballot. Section 900.304(b) required one to be filed. Requires: one written request. Threshold: if the resolution records no member-communication step before the vote, that’s your governance question for the annual meeting. Backfire: expect it framed as routine, because legally it was. Ask anyway.
30 days — red flag on debt service. Run the low-column figure for your herd size through your coverage ratio. Requires: your lender’s DSCR method, not yours. Threshold: DSCR under 1.2 for three consecutive months on the lender’s calculation moves this to the top of the list. Backfire: don’t stack it on a breakeven that already absorbed lower 2025 class prices; that double-counts.
90 days — check the composition-factor line. The updated factors took effect Dec. 1, 2025 and should be adding value to your solids. Requires: a post-December statement and your component tests. Threshold: if you can’t find the change reflected anywhere, have your field rep walk the line items. Backfire: the gain is smaller than the allowance loss, so finding it doesn’t make you whole.
90 days — price your components elsewhere. Ask a smaller cooperative or an independent what they’d pay. Requires: a second buyer within haul distance. Threshold: a spread that survives freight and contract terms. Backfire:hauling, volume commitments, and exit terms can erase it. Run the full pay-price comparison before you call anyone.
365 days — get into the survey rulemaking. The opportunity is real: an audited cost survey is the first mechanism that could push allowances down rather than up, and AFBF calls it “a critical step toward grounding future make allowance decisions in verifiable data.” Requires: docket monitoring at regulations.gov and willingness to submit your own cost reality. Threshold: comment the day a proposed rule publishes. Backfire: survey, then report, then a full hearing — position for the next cycle, not this one.
Where the Organic Suits Fit — and Where They Don’t
On April 28, 2026, members of the Coalition for Organic Dairy Exemption — Aurora Organic Dairy, Horizon Organic, and CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley — filed three federal lawsuits challenging their required participation in the FMMO program as unconstitutional. Aurora and Horizon filed in the District of Colorado; CROPP filed in the Western District of Wisconsin. Seven Organic Valley farmer-members filed a separate class-action takings claim seeking compensation for six years of marketing-order payments.
Read the remedy. The coalition seeks exemption from pooling, not the dismantling of the orders and not a rollback of make allowances. Nothing has been ruled on the merits. The grievance rhymes; the legal theory doesn’t transfer, and a conventional producer has no organic-specific pooling claim. For the filings and what a pooling exemption would mean at the farm level, see the $19.89 risk on your farm.
Check Before Your Next Statement
The trade-off sits in USDA’s own documents. Processors got increases of 25.8% to 42.6% built on a self-selected sample, producers absorbed a $231.9 million net pool reduction plus a six-month wait for their own offset, and the survey that both AFBF and NMPF say should ground these numbers hasn’t reached a proposed rule fifteen months on.
So pull your two statements this week. Then ask your cooperative for the certified resolution that authorized your ballot — what does it say the board decided on your behalf?
Key Takeaways
USDA lifted the nonfat dry milk make allowance 7.15 cents a pound, a 42.6% increase, on what AFBF calls a self-selected sample of self-reported processor costs. The audited survey it was meant to rest on still hasn’t made it into a proposed rule.
At 230 cwt per cow per year, AFBF’s measured 85–92¢/cwt decline works out to $39,100–$42,320 on 200 cows, $97,750–$105,800 on 500, and $293,250–$317,400 on 1,500. Budget the low column.
The honest pool figure is $231.9 million net, not the $337 million everyone quotes. Class I differentials and the higher-of mover clawed some back, but California and the Upper Midwest lost most and gained least.
Both AFBF and NMPF want the audited cost survey. Only one side already got its number, and any correction runs through a full USDA hearing after the survey exists.
Run Your Numbers
Dairy Farm Corridor Score Calculator — This article gives you the national make-allowance number. The Corridor Score adds the part that differs by location: your state’s attrition zone and your hauling cost per cwt, then shows total structural drag as a share of gross milk revenue. Red, Yellow, or Green before you talk to your co-op.
$19.85 Milk: Your Base Year Decides If You Can Grow Into It — Exposes how cooperative fixed-base rules penalize uncommitted barn expansions, warning that stagnant nominal prices shave up to $204,765 in real purchasing power across a 400-cow herd by 2030.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
$128,320 a year on 1,000 cows, and 35 cents a cow a day you don’t get back. The first U.S. dairy methane credit ever sold came off a different product entirely — and the difference is the contract.
Start with the number that belongs on every whiteboard in every barn office. A 2025 economic analysis in the Journal of Dairy Science modeled a 1,000-cow dairy feeding 3-nitrooxypropanol, the methane additive sold as Bovaer and made by DSM-Firmenich. Feeding it cut income over feed costs by roughly $0.35 per cow per day, which on that herd works out to about $128,320 a year the farm has to find somewhere other than the milk check . That’s not a worst case. That’s the modeled outcome.
Now set it beside what happened the first time an American dairy farmer got paid for methane. In January 2024, Texas dairyman Jasper DeVos generated nearly 1,150 metric tons of verified carbon credits, the first sale of its kind in the U.S. livestock market, purchased by Dairy Farmers of America through a marketplace called Athian . Here’s the detail most coverage flattened: DeVos used Athian’s first accepted protocol, built on Rumensin, Elanco’s monensin product, FDA-approved to improve milk production efficiency and cut roughly half a metric ton of CO₂e per cow per year, depending on the herd’s animals and management .
Read those two paragraphs together and you’ve got the hinge of dairy’s next twenty years. The first farmer paid for methane reduction used a tool that improves feed efficiency — it was already earning its keep before the carbon check showed up. The tool the whole industry is now being pitched costs money every day and doesn’t. So the question was never whether you can cut methane. It’s who pays when the cut doesn’t pay for itself, and that’s a contract question headed for your desk.
Why now, in 2026? Because the buyers at the other end of your milk have public deadlines. Nestlé, one of the largest dairy purchasers on the planet, has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions 50% by 2030 against a 2018 baseline and reaching net zero by 2050, with roughly 95% of its footprint sitting in Scope 3 . Dairy and livestock ingredients are its single largest Scope 3 source at about 30% of total emissions, and its roadmap targets 21 million tonnes of reductions from that category by 2030 . When a buyer that size sets a public target that depends on farm-level methane cuts, the cost of achieving those cuts becomes a supply-chain question. Producers are part of that chain.
The win nobody outside the barn talks about
Here’s the part that should make you stand up straighter. Between 1971 and 2020, U.S. dairy farms cut greenhouse gas emissions per unit of milk by 42% while milking about 20% fewer cows and producing roughly twice the milk. That isn’t a marketing line. It’s peer-reviewed work from Rotz and colleagues in the Journal of Dairy Science, 2024 .
The rest of that study holds up just as well: fossil energy use per unit of milk down 54%, water-use intensity down 28%, and modeled nitrogen and phosphorus runoff per unit of milk down between 27% and 51%. Cornell’s Northeast analysis lands in the same place, with milk carbon intensity down 42% across the same span and absolute emissions in that region down 24% .
So why does your kid come home from school saying cows are bad for the planet? Because the public conversation never got the memo. Two research teams, one national and one regional, landed within a point of each other on intensity.
Why “per glass” and “in total” are both true
This is the line that won’t fit on a bumper sticker. Total emissions from all U.S. dairy farms still rose about 14% across those five decades, because total production climbed and a good share of it moved west into dry regions that lean hard on irrigation. Per glass, way down. In total, up. Both real.
Why does that matter to you? Because a critic reaches for the 14% and a checkoff ad reaches for the 42%, and if you can’t hold both in one breath you sound like you’re hiding something. You’re not. The footprint of each glass fell while the country drank more of it, which is productivity, not a cover-up. The Northeast figure is your best friend in that argument: in that region, absolute emissions came down 24% while intensity fell 42%. Regional stories differ, and saying so out loud is what makes you credible.
What drove the per-glass gains wasn’t a trick, and it wasn’t hormones. USDA’s Economic Research Service reported in February 2026 that the share of milk sales from farms using bovine somatotropin fell from 35% in 2000 to 2% by 2021 . The progress came from genetics, nutrition, reproduction, and management. More milk out of every cow, every acre, every gallon of diesel, and it paid for itself on the way. That’s exactly what DeVos’s credit was built on: Rumensin improves production efficiency, and the methane reduction rode along with it. The old deal, with a carbon check stapled on. The next round breaks it.
What does feeding 3-NOP actually cost you?
The science isn’t the problem. A meta-analysis in the Journal of Dairy Science found 3-NOP reduced methane production, yield, and intensity by 30.9% to 32.7% at an average dose of 70.5 mg/kg of dry matter . Van Gastelen and colleagues followed Holstein-Friesians over a full lactation and reported 21% lower daily methane, 20% lower methane yield, and 27% lower methane intensity, with a positive effect on production characteristics — Journal of Dairy Science, volume 107, 2024. It works.
The economics are the problem, and two different numbers get confused here. Bovaer’s price has been reported in trade coverage at roughly $0.30–$0.40 per cow per day, or about $93–$105 per cow per year on a lactating-cow basis . Separately, the 2025 JDS analysis found a net income-over-feed-cost decline of about $0.35 per cow per day, driven substantially by reduced feed intake and milk yield in the trials modeled . Similar-looking figures, different metrics. The second one matters because it’s what lands on your bottom line after the production response.
Read that twice before you sign anything. You’re not simply buying a feed additive — you’re absorbing a modeled production effect. Trial results vary, and some studies report no significant yield penalty, which is precisely why you run the number against your own herd instead of against a brochure.
So run it. At the published $0.35 per cow per day net decline, here’s what your operation needs handed to it annually to stand still, applying that figure across herd scale:
Herd size
Break-even need at $0.35/cow/day
200 cows
~$25,550/yr
500 cows
~$63,875/yr
1,000 cows
~$128,320/yr
Table note: the 1,000-cow figure is the JDS-modeled annual shortfall, the study’s own number. The 200- and 500-cow rows are Bullvine’s barn math, scaling the published $0.35/cow/day across 365 days, giving $25,550 and $63,875. A straight-line 1,000-cow calculation returns $127,750, fractionally under the study’s $128,320; that difference is in the model, not a typo.
That money comes from a credit, a premium, or a buyer’s check. It isn’t coming from more milk in the tank. USDA AMS put the announced August 2026 Class III price at $16.64/cwt, up $1.12 from July , and Class III opened this year at $14.59 in January before working up through $16.16 in March . There’s no slack in that milk check to quietly absorb 35 cents a cow a day.
On the premium side, the arithmetic is thinner than the pitch. A $0.12/cwt sustainability premium on a 75-lb cow returns only about $33 per cow per year, and Elanco has publicly projected carbon-market returns around $20 per cow per year on top of that — which against a $93–$105 additive bill still leaves a gap of roughly $40–$73 per cow . We’ve walked that contract math clause by clause in the $73-a-cow gap hiding in your 2027 Bovaer contract.
Line item
Per cow / year
Per 1,000-cow herd
Source
Bovaer additive cost
−$93 to −$105
−$93,000 to −$105,000
Trade-reported price, $0.30–$0.40/cow/day
$0.12/cwt sustainability premium (75-lb cow)
+$33
+$33,000
Bullvine barn math
Elanco projected carbon-market return
+$20
+$20,000
Elanco public projection
Net gap left on the farm
−$40 to −$73
−$40,000 to −$73,000
Bullvine calculation
Modeled net IOFC decline (separate metric)
−$128
−$128,320
JDS 2025 economic analysis
Who actually keeps the carbon money?
The money is large. It just mostly isn’t yours.
Start with what a digester costs to build, because the regulator publishes its own arithmetic. CARB sets out the cost formulas it uses for dairy manure digesters in Appendix F of its Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, and the ICCT’s 2023 California renewable natural gas outlook applied them: capital expense scaling with herd size, operations and maintenance at 6% of capital, pipeline at $200,000 a mile, biogas upgrading at $8 per MCF, and a $2 million interconnection fee on a single-farm project against $5.5 million on a centralized one, plus $250,000 a truck where the gas has to move by road. theicct
Now the per-cow view. UC Davis agricultural economist Aaron Smith, in a 2022 analysis, put a digester at roughly 22.5 MMBTU of biogas per cow per year at a cost of about $636 per cow, operating cost plus capital amortized over ten years, with the gas worth about $112.50 per cow at $5/MMBTU . On the gas alone, you’d never build it.
Then come the credits. Smith calculated that the same cow’s biogas earns approximately $1,834 per cow in California Low Carbon Fuel Standard credits and another $993 per cow in federal Renewable Identification Numbers, about $2,827 per cow in policy-created value . That’s more than four times the value of the gas. Don’t read it as a guaranteed margin on a deal you’re offered today: LCFS and RIN credits are market-set instruments, their value moves with program rules and market conditions, and Smith’s figure is a snapshot of one period rather than a fixed return . What doesn’t move is the underlying dynamic — the regulatory credits, not the methane molecules, drive the cash flow. A 2025 Terrain Ag analysis found the fuel is typically the smallest share of the revenue stream, which is the same finding from the lender’s side of the table .
Project scale tells the same story. Writing in October 2024, Smith reported that data provided to CARB put a typical 2023-built digester on a 2,500-cow dairy at $8.6 million to construct, about $1.2 million a year amortized over a decade, and roughly $1.1 million a year to operate, against gas sales of approximately $230,000 at 2023 city-gate prices. Net operating cost before credits: about $870,000 a year, plus another $500,000 if the gas has to be trucked. Over the first ten years he puts the net cost of building and running a digester at $2,730 to $3,380 per ton of methane abated, and notes that California grants can cover up to half of capital costs. agdatanews.substack
None of that credit stream is hypothetical. LCFS credit generation from manure digester projects has grown roughly 1,000% since 2020 and has produced more than a billion dollars’ worth of credits. California has put about $214 million of state money into 131 dairy digester projects in the San Joaquin Valley alone, and CARB’s own August 2024 dairy sector workshop draws its project data from CDFA’s grant records, EPA AgSTAR, and verified LCFS and cap-and-trade filings. sciencedirect
So the decisive question on any digester deal isn’t whether the project pencils. The question is who holds the credits, and the contracts are written on that point. Guidance published for developers in Biomass Magazine in 2022 advises that the agreement should state the developer owns all rights to the environmental credits, tax credits, and similar benefits arising from the project; lenders and offtakers want clean title in the project entity. Compeer Financial’s 2025 producer guidance puts it plainly: understanding the fine print is crucial . DeVos got a check because his tool earned on performance first, and the carbon was upside. Digester operators sit on top of substantial public subsidy value and mostly don’t hold title to it. The difference isn’t the science. It’s the contract. Our earlier breakdown of a larger covered-lagoon project runs in $1,130 per cow, $128 back.
When does a methane tool actually pencil?
The decision rule is simple even when the answer isn’t. A methane tool pencils only when the outside payment reliably clears the break-even gap and stays cleared after the marketplace or developer takes its share.
Lever
Recurring cost to you
Who keeps the created value
Proven payout to a farmer?
Time to effect
Rumensin / monensin (efficiency + credits)
None — earns on feed efficiency
Farmer held the credit
Yes — 1,150 t sold, Jan 2024, DFA via Athian
Immediate
3-NOP / Bovaer
−$0.35/cow/day net IOFC($128,320 per 1,000 cows)
Depends entirely on the premium clause
No banked U.S. dairy credit to date
Immediate, ~31% methane cut
Manure digester
$636/cow/year to build and run
Developer-side templates assign LCFS, RINs and tax credits to the project entity
Gas only: ~$112.50/cow vs ~$2,827/cow in credits
Multi-year build, 10-year amortisation
Methane Efficiency genetics (Lactanet)
$0 on DHI-enrolled females
Farmer — it’s in the herd
No credit protocol yet; 23% heritability, >70% reliability
5–7 years to herd-level expression
For 3-NOP: you need a locked premium above $0.35 per cow per day net, roughly $25,550 a year on 200 cows and $128,320 on 1,000. A $0.12/cwt premium returning $33 a cow doesn’t reach it. A handshake or a one-year pilot price is not a floor.
For a digester: ask who holds the LCFS credits and the RINs before you ask anything else, and ask it again about any state grant that covered construction. That clause decides whether the project is your asset or your neighbor’s.
For an efficiency tool that also earns credits: a different question entirely. If the product pays its own way on performance, the Rumensin case, carbon revenue is upside rather than justification.
For genetics: the one lever with no recurring bill. Lactanet’s Methane Efficiency trait runs 23% heritability with better than 70% reliability on genotyped young animals and costs nothing extra on DHI-enrolled females, though herd-level expression takes five to seven years.
What can you do before the contract hits your desk?
Plenty, and most of it is free. The highest-value move isn’t financial: get the story straight before a reporter, a neighbor, or your kid’s teacher gets it wrong for you. A 2025 Dairy MAX consumer survey found that consumers see farmers as the most trusted source of information on dairy sustainability . Use that standing before somebody else fills the silence.
The second move is to treat every carbon pitch as a contract problem, not a science problem. The science on 3-NOP is settled enough at roughly 31% methane reduction. The open question is who keeps the value when it works. For the genetics side of that answer, see why methane-efficiency breeding beats Bovaer’s $73 gap.
The Producer Playbook: What to Do Before Signing
Run 35 cents a cow a day against any additive offer before you sign — $25,550 a year on 200 cows, $128,320 on 1,000. If the premium doesn’t clear that with margin, the answer is no.
Check what the premium actually pays. A $0.12/cwt sustainability premium returns about $33 a cow a year, roughly a third of a $93–$105 additive bill. That’s why the gap keeps landing on the farm.
On a digester, find the credits clause before you read anything else. The regulatory credits, not the gas, carry the cash flow, and developer-side contract templates assign them to the project entity.
Ask what the grant paid for. California grants can cover up to half of digester capital cost, and who took that money shapes who owns the output.
Copy the model that actually worked. The only U.S. dairy methane credit ever banked came off Elanco’s Rumensin protocol, not Bovaer: a tool already paying for itself on feed efficiency, with carbon as upside.
DeVos got a check because his tool worked twice, once on efficiency and once on carbon. Most farms won’t get that deal. So where does your operation sit right now: positioned to get paid for the methane you’re being asked to cut, or about to absorb the cost alone?
That splits hard by herd size and region. We’re building the full cost-per-cow model — 3-NOP, digesters, and carbon programs by herd size and region — in next week’s Bullvine Weekly.
Methodology Note: Long-term greenhouse-gas, energy, water, and nutrient figures come from Rotz et al., Journal of Dairy Science (2024), a national U.S. life-cycle assessment comparing 1971 with 2020. These are national averages and will not match every region or operation. Northeast figures are from Cornell CALS reporting on the same body of work. The 3-NOP economics ($0.35/cow/day income-over-feed-cost decline; $128,320/year on a modeled 1,000-cow herd) are from a 2025 JDS economic analysis in which the decline reflected reduced feed intake and milk yield in the trials modeled; individual herd results will differ with feed cost, component values, and dose, and the published figure is a single modeled central value rather than a range. Bovaer’s reported price of $0.30–$0.40/cow/day and $93–$105/cow/year is a separate figure from that net IOFC decline and should not be read as the same number. The 200- and 500-cow rows are Bullvine’s barn math scaling the published per-cow figure across 365 days. Methane-reduction efficacy of 30.9–32.7% at 70.5 mg/kg dry matter is from a JDS meta-analysis; the full-lactation figures of 21%, 20%, and 27% are van Gastelen et al., JDS volume 107 (2024). Jasper DeVos’s January 2024 credit sale used Athian’s first accepted protocol, based on Elanco’s Rumensin (monensin); Bovaer/3-NOP is a DSM-Firmenich product and was not the tool used in that sale. Digester cost formulas are CARB’s own, published in Appendix F of its Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy and applied in the ICCT’s May 2023 California renewable natural gas outlook. Digester per-cow figures — $636 cost, $112.50 gas value at $5/MMBTU, $1,834 LCFS, and $993 RIN credit value — are Aaron Smith’s 2022 calculations at UC Davis; LCFS and RIN credit values are market-set and move with program rules and market conditions, so those per-cow figures describe one period rather than a current return. Project-scale figures and the $2,730–$3,380 per ton abated range are Smith’s October 2024 analysis, published at the Energy Institute at Haas and Ag Data News, drawing on data provided to the California Air Resources Board; Bullvine has not obtained individual project submissions. LCFS credit growth and cumulative credit value for manure digester projects are from peer-reviewed analysis of CARB program data; the $214 million across 131 San Joaquin Valley projects is CDFA data as cited in peer-reviewed work. CARB’s August 2024 dairy sector workshop presentation identifies its project data sources as CDFA’s Dairy Digester Research and Development Program records, EPA AgSTAR, and verified LCFS and cap-and-trade filings. Contract-structure findings are from 2022 Biomass Magazine developer guidance, a 2025 Terrain Ag/American AgCredit analysis, and Compeer Financial’s 2025 producer guidance. Class III at $16.64/cwt is the USDA AMS announced August 2026 price. Bovine somatotropin figures are from USDA Economic Research Service, February 2026. Methane Efficiency heritability and reliability figures are from Lactanet. Nestlé’s targets are from its published Net Zero Roadmap. Currency pass completed September 14, 2026. Dollar figures are USD. We welcome producer numbers and corrections.
The $73-a-Cow Gap Hiding in Your 2027 Bovaer Contract — Follows the money on processor sustainability clauses where a $0.12/cwt premium leaves up to $73 per cow in unfunded annual bills, mapping how to pair insetting with genetic indexes to defend margins.
Alberto Dairy’s $640K Worm Bet: Who Actually Gets Paid on a BioFiltro Deal? — Dismantles alternative manure vendor models by analyzing vermifiltration economics, revealing how vendor-held climate attributes shift capital risk to the barn while export contracts determine whether whole-farm nitrogen drops 4% or 38%.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
A 180-acre farm near Lancaster, Ontario. A Scottish cow bought with her best calf already inside her. And the bull who turned a half-dozen villages by the Quebec line into the source of the Ayrshire breed.
The telephone calls came the following year, and each one asked the same thing.
Ayrshire breeders across the American Northeast were ringing officials at Waterloo, Iowa — home of the National Dairy Cattle Congress, the show that mattered most on that side of the border until the dairy associations pulled their support in 1965 and took the big shows to Madison. The callers weren’t asking about entry deadlines or stall assignments.
Are the LaFranchis coming to Waterloo this year?
Yes, they are.
We won’t be there, then. What’s the use?
Grown men who’d given their lives to Ayrshire cattle, men whose prefixes carried real weight — Lippitt, Meredith, the staid old Northeastern establishments — deciding it wasn’t worth loading the truck. All because three brothers from Calistoga, California had come to Iowa the previous fall with Oak Ridge Farm and walked out with seven class winners and most of the grand championships.
Norman Nabholz, who wrote Millionaires in the Cornfields about the herds that dominated Waterloo and who never owned an Ayrshire in his life, said it about as plainly as anybody could: “Probably the finest group of dairy cattle that ever existed.”
Here’s the part nobody said out loud on those phone calls, because everybody already knew it.
The LaFranchis hadn’t invented those cattle. They’d bought the engine. Six of their herd sires were bred at one place — a farm in Glengarry County, Eastern Ontario, four miles northwest of the village of Lancaster, where people still spoke with Scottish burrs and the Ayrshire cow was, as the old accounts have it, religion. Some of their foundation females came from there too.
The prefix was Glengarry. And this is how a family of Scottish immigrants working 180 acres, hauling cows between two barns on a stoneboat behind a pair of Clydesdales, ended up supplying the genetics that emptied the trucks of an entire show circuit.
ACT I: THE SCOTS BY THE QUEBEC LINE
Livestock historian E.W. Morwick, who preserved most of what we know about this farm, heard the legend as a schoolboy in short pants. Somewhere down by the Quebec border, he was told, was a tight little community — half a dozen small villages — where all the good Ayrshires came from. Names got mentioned. Bonnie Brae. Burnside. Cherry Bank. Maple Crest. But the name he heard most was Glengarry.
Then, as a teenager hauling to the Canadian National Exhibition with Holstein show herds, he stopped to listen every time the Ayrshire results came over the public address. Selwood. Sanholm. Selwood again. Never Glengarry. Never Maple Crest.
So he said what any honest kid would say: maybe those herds down by the Quebec border aren’t as good as people claim.
His verdict, written decades later, runs three words. They were better.
Now, the thing about the Ayrshire in that era — you have to picture what these people actually had standing in the tie-stalls. This was the only major dairy breed to come out of the British Isles, developed in the county of Ayr in southwestern Scotland. Red and white, medium-framed, mature cows running just over a thousand pounds. Long, light horns with dark tips, back when nobody dehorned. Remarkably straight toplines carried level over the rump, and udders good enough that breeders bragged about them in print. Milk of fine curd texture that made first-rate cheese — which mattered enormously to Scottish farmers and, later, to the men shipping into Montreal.
Scottish settlers brought them over in the early 1800s. The Quebec importers organized in 1870, Ontario’s breeders in 1872, and the two amalgamated in 1898 into the association that still registers the breed today. So by the time this story starts, Canadian Ayrshire breeding had herd books, institutions, and a settled habit of going back to the old country for fresh blood.
John Cumming came out of Kintyre, Argyllshire, in 1825 and settled at Allan’s Corners near Ormstown, in the Châteauguay Valley southwest of Montreal. His son Donald was born there on April 18, 1844.
Donald’s name first appears in Volume 2 of the Ayrshire herd book, as owner of a female called Snowball 3854, born May 6, 1886, bought from James Cottingham of Ormstown. Volumes 3, 4, and 5 list many more.
About two decades after those first Ayrshires, Donald moved the whole outfit across the St. Lawrence into Glengarry County and took up 180 acres in the McLennan Settlement. Ten children. The eldest son was Malcolm — Mac to everyone. The youngest was Donald Jr.
Those two are where a good herd becomes a dynasty.
When the old man retired in 1915 — he’d die in 1927 at 83 — he split the farms and the herds between them. Donald Jr. took the home place. Mac set up on the next concession. Their father wanted two separate operations, and on paper that’s exactly what he got.
The brothers had other ideas.
They’d own the herd sires in partnership. Every calf born on either farm would be registered under the Glengarry prefix, bred by Cumming Bros., and anything shown at a fair went into the ring under that single name.
The milk went two ways. Malcolm’s farm sat close to the tracks, so his cans went onto the train for Montreal every day under contract. Donald, on the home place, ran Glengarry Dairy — pasteurizing and bottling on the farm and selling it door to door. He bought milk from three and sometimes four other Ayrshire herds to keep the route supplied, one of them a satellite herd the brothers set up on another farm they owned.
That business ran from the 1920s until the milk marketing board arrived and banned breed-specific milk, which shut it down in 1967. Forty-odd years of selling Ayrshire milk as Ayrshire milk, ended by a regulation.
One prefix. Two herds. Two milk cheques — and, for more than forty years, one bank account between the two farms.
Both farms had bulls. Both farms had milking cows. What they shared was the right to use each other’s sires — and when a brother wanted a particular bull, Cherry Bank Brown Bomber or Edgerstounes Sir Oliver, the cow went down the road to wherever that bull was standing. On a stoneboat, the flat sled farmers dragged over bare ground or snow, behind a team of Clydesdales.
And then there was the harder decision, the one that came around every autumn.
They showed one string. One. Picked out of two barns.
Think about what that means between brothers. Every fall, two men who kept separate herds had to agree on which cows were good enough to carry the family name into the ring — and which ones, from either barn, weren’t. Nobody got a sentimental pass because the cow came out of his own tie-stalls.
That’s a standard enforced at the one place standards usually collapse: where saying no costs you something personal. Everything Glengarry became grew out of that decision, made once a year, for decades.
And don’t mistake Mac for the junior partner in the argument. He held the presidency of the local Ayrshire club from 1931 to 1948, the better part of two decades, and by 1941 he was standing in the middle of the ring at the CNE as the man placing the Ayrshire classes — the same show where young Morwick had listened in vain for the Glengarry name. Think about the endorsement buried in that. The breeder who got sent home from his brother’s barn door was the breeder Canada’s biggest fair trusted to sort everybody else’s cattle.
Two men with the eye, then. Neither one folding.
Mac Cumming, Ayrshire judge at the Canadian National Exhibition, with Holstein fieldman Bob Holtby, 1941. Morwick spent his teenage years at this fair waiting to hear Glengarry called over the public address, and never did. What he missed was the man in the middle of the ring, deciding who won.
One thing the record gets wrong, and the family has heard it repeated for years. There was never a Belgian on the place. This was Scots Glengarry, and a continental horse was not welcome in it. The Cummings kept world-class Clydesdales — good enough that by their own farm books in the 1930s, a stallion standing at stud was netting about as much as the cattle. Friends who knew exactly how the brothers felt used to ask, straight-faced, how the Belgians were coming along. Somewhere along the way the joke got written down as fact.
The Scottish Pipeline
What separates Glengarry from a hundred other capable farms is that the Cummings never settled for the genetics that happened to be nearby. Year after year, they imported from Scotland themselves or bought out of other men’s shipments.
Understand what an import meant then. No semen tank, no embryo, no genomic test to tell you what you’d bought. You paid for a living animal, put her on a ship, and prayed. Sometimes she carried the next generation inside her, and that gamble was the whole point.
Their 1927 shipment brought in Dalfibble Narcissus. In 1928 she made 22,050 pounds of milk on yearly test — the highest cow in Canada that year, any breed. Ayrshire herd averages of that era ran nearer 10,000 pounds over a full lactation, so she was better than double her breed’s ordinary. Townhead Julia and Hobsland Nancy came over in the same lot, and both founded families that mattered. Her grandfather milked her four times a day, by hand, for that lactation. The production trophy is still in Ian Cumming’s house.
But the cow who paid for that whole era a thousand times over came later, and she reached Glengarry by a roundabout road through one of the great Canadian herds.
The Honourable Frank C. Biggs, proprietor of Glen Campbell Farm near Dundas, and Ontario’s Minister of Public Works and Highways from 1919 to 1923. His 1936 order for a dozen Scottish heifers is what sent Adam Montgomerie into the Threave barnyard. Biggs never owned the yearling he found there — the Cummings bought Threave Flirt 2nd when she landed.
Frank C. Biggs — the Honourable F.C. Biggs — served as Ontario’s Minister of Public Works and Highways in the Drury government from November 1919 to July 1923, the man under whose watch the province’s paved highway system got started. He kept Ayrshires at Glen Campbell Farm out past Dundas, and they were known on both sides of the line. His cow Ardgowan Valda, bought from her Scottish breeder Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart, took grand champion at the CNE in 1936 and then laid down 31,156 pounds of milk and 1,356 pounds of fat as an eight-year-old — a world championship Ayrshire record.
Ardgowan Valda, bought from her Scottish breeder Sir Hugh Shaw Stewart and shown by F.C. Biggs. Grand champion at the CNE in 1936, and in 1937 she recorded 31,156 pounds of milk and 1,356 pounds of fat as an eight-year-old — a world championship Ayrshire record, in an era when herd averages ran nearer 10,000. The same year she won at Toronto, Biggs ordered twelve more heifers out of Scotland.
Biggs sent his son Dick to Scotland to buy, and used agents there, too. One agent was Adam Montgomerie of Lessnessock, the man the Ayrshire world would eventually call the Laird — and then, simply, the Ayrshire King.
In 1936, Biggs ordered a dozen heifers. Montgomerie, hunting something above the ordinary, went first to Colonel Houldsworth’s Threave herd at Kirkmichael in South Ayrshire.
In that barnyard he stopped walking.
Style and dairyness — that’s all the record gives us for what pulled him up in front of a yearling heifer. It doesn’t say which line caught him first. But in a Scottish barnyard in 1936, dairyness meant an open, angular sort of femininity, a level top on an animal still growing into herself, and an udder attached high and tight enough to promise she’d still be sound at ten. Whatever he saw, he stood there long enough to ask about her breeding.
Her dam was Threave Flake 3rd, the herdsman told him, and her sire was Lessnessock Corra Boy — a bull Montgomerie had bred himself out of Linhead Cora Linn 2nd, one of the celebrated cows of the 1930s, by Lessnessock Sunny Jim.
Her name was Threave Flirt 2nd.
Montgomerie bought her. And while she stood waiting for her ship, he bred her to his own herd sire, Burton Atlantic, a son of Lessnessock Atlantic.
That mating was anything but casual. Sunny Jim was Flirt’s paternal grandsire, and Sunny Jim had also sired Lessnessock Atlantic — so the calf she’d carry across the Atlantic came with two crosses to one bull. Concentrated on purpose. Montgomerie’s own sale catalog spells out the thinking: line breeding to intensify a double cross of the great cow Friendlesshead Nannie White Legs and her three sons, of whom Sunny Jim was one. The catalog claimed that cow had wider influence on Ayrshires worldwide through her sons than any other female, living or dead.
Flirt landed in Canada. The Cummings bought her.
And in early 1937, in a Glengarry County barn, she dropped the bull calf she’d been carrying since Scotland.
They registered him as Glengarry Sir Burton.
Here’s a thing worth pausing on. The same year Montgomerie stood in that Threave barnyard, a Calistoga high-schooler named Henry LaFranchi bought two Ayrshire heifers for an FFA project. Neither had any way of knowing the other existed. Twenty-four years later, their two decisions collided in an Iowa show ring.
ACT II: TWO BULLS AND A SWEEP
Sir Burton wasn’t the first great bull those brothers owned. He was the second half of a one-two punch — and the first half had already taught them a lesson they paid for once and never forgot.
Edgerstounes Sir Oliver was born in 1925 in Princeton, New Jersey, on the farm of Mrs. John Winant. His sire was Hobsland Air Pilot. His dam, Garloff Miss Olive, had topped the three-year-old class at the parish show in Ayr before Winant imported her.
A Lancaster-born herdsman named Ray Watt was working at Edgerstoune then — the Watts were another Scottish family who’d come over about when the Cummings did, settled in Châteauguay County, then crossed the river and founded Maple Crest. The story that’s come down is that Watt pulled Mrs. Winant’s son off a runaway horse, and the grateful mother handed him the bull calf.
Watt brought him home and showed him in the yearling class at the 1926 Royal Winter Fair. Picture him leading that bull out afterward — a young herdsman with a staff in one hand and the best gift he’d ever been given on the other end of the lead, walking past the rail where two brothers from Glengarry County had stopped to watch.
They took him home after the show for $700 — serious money in 1926, split between two brothers who kept their milk cheques separate. Serious money in 1926, split between two brothers who kept their milk cheques separate. And understand what they were buying: a yearling bull with no daughters anywhere, judged entirely on how he looked walking in a ring. If he’d bred nothing worth keeping, there was no A.I. contract to bail them out and no way to spread the loss. They’d have paid a serious piece of a year’s milk money for a mistake and gone on milking.
Two years later, Sir Oliver stood senior and grand champion at that same Royal.
Edgerstoune’s Sir Oliver, foundation sire of the Glengarry herd. Mac and Donald Cumming bought him out of the yearling class at the 1926 Royal Winter Fair for $700, and he came back two years later senior and grand champion. His lasting mark was quieter: an inbred daughter, Glengarry Lady Cony, whose son by Glengarry Sir Burton fused the two lines the herd was built on.
But here’s the line that tells you what kind of breeders these were. Years afterward Donald said acquiring Sir Oliver “was a great boon for our herds” — then added, “but perhaps not so good for him.” Two earlier herd sires had left daughters that weren’t what they should have been, and Sir Oliver got mated to some of them. “Had he been mated with better cows,” Donald said, “he would have made an even better showing.”
A man crediting his bull and convicting himself in the same breath. You don’t hear that often, then or now.
Get of Edgerstoune’s Sir Oliver — second prize at the 1929 Royal Winter Fair. From left: Glengarry Miss Julia, Glengarry Lady Cony, Glengarry Lou and Glengarry Fluffs Oliver. A get class asks one question, whether a sire repeats himself, and these four answered it. Second from the left is the one who changed the herd: Lady Cony, dam of Glengarry Conys Burton.
His daughters had presence anyway. Four of them stood second as a get of sire at the 1929 Royal — that’s the class where a bull is judged on a group of his daughters shown together, the oldest and most brutal test of whether a sire can repeat himself. One of those four was Glengarry Lady Cony, and she was inbred: her dam, Glengarry Olivers Cony, was another Sir Oliver daughter. Much of the Cumming reputation was built on her work.
So when Threave Flirt’s son came along, Glengarry had better cows waiting than Sir Oliver ever got. They’d learned it the expensive way.
Burton Earns a Ribbon, Then Earns His Name
As a senior calf, Glengarry Sir Burton placed second in a class of 17 at the 1937 Royal.
Glengarry Sir Burton — the calf Threave Flirt 2nd carried across the Atlantic. Note the level top and the depth through the barrel: the frame Ayrshire men were chasing in 1938, when he won the senior yearling class and stood reserve grand champion against 300 head at the Royal. Fifteen years later, his progeny took both grand championships, both reserves and the get of sire at that same show.
He came back the next fall, won the senior yearling class, and stood reserve grand champion at a show with 300 head of Ayrshires entered.
Three hundred. That one number tells you how deep this breed ran in Canada then, and how little a single banner proved.
Because a show bull wins for an afternoon. A breeding bull keeps winning long after he’s gone, through sons and grandsons and matings made by strangers who never laid eyes on him.
The cross that did it was Sir Burton on Glengarry Lady Cony, the inbred Sir Oliver daughter. Their son was Glengarry Conys Burton, and with him the two Glengarry sire lines fused into one.
This is what the old men meant by “nicking.” Not stacking good pedigrees and hoping. Finding two lines whose transmission patterns complete each other, one supplying exactly what the other lacks. Sir Oliver’s visual appeal and established female families, meeting Sir Burton’s concentrated Scottish inheritance.
It worked so well that Morwick called Sir Burton’s sons the most influential group of paternal brothers in Ayrshire history.
Conys Burton served at Glengarry first, then sold at maturity to the Stansell family’s Selwood Farm at Aylmer — Selwood, one of those prefixes young Morwick used to hear announced at the CNE while Glengarry went unmentioned. There he sired Selwood Gretas Burton and Selwood Coras Burton and a long line of heavy producers topped by Glengarry Betty Ann, dam of Selwood Bettys Commander. And because Commander’s sire was Selwood Coras Burton, that bull came out a Conys Burton double grandson.
Read that twice if you like. Glengarry cattle were now improving the herd that used to beat them.
Then there was Glengarry Bit O’Fashion, and breeders argued for years over whether he or Conys Burton was the better bull. Nobody ever settled it, partly because Bit O’Fashion went east instead of west. He saw heavy service in the leading Prince Edward Island herds and finished out his working life on Colonel F.I. Andrew’s farm — a Glengarry bull ending his days on Island soil, leaving daughters in barns a thousand kilometers from the stoneboat road.
And Glengarry Burton Prince sired Glen Campbell Lou Burton — Biggs’s cow — grand champion at Waterloo in 1949. First time a Glengarry bull sired a U.S. national winner.
Nobody in Iowa knew it yet. That was the opening shot.
Toronto, 1953
The Royal again. Sir Burton had last stood in that ring as a senior yearling back in 1938, fifteen years earlier, and his own showing days were long behind him.
His progeny hadn’t been idle.
When the judging finished, Sir Burton’s offspring had the grand championship in the male division. And the grand championship in the female division. Then both reserves. Then the get of sire.
Every summit in the show. One sire family.
You can read that as a ribbon count, and plenty did. But watch what a Canadian Ayrshire man would have done with the information on the drive home from Toronto. If one bull’s descendants have just swept the national show, next spring’s breeding decision isn’t complicated.
You get Burton blood, or you get beaten by it.
Which is precisely what happened. At the 1955 Royal, Conys Burton sired the winning senior get for Colonel S.C. Oland of the brewing family. White Pansys Burton, a Sir Burton grandson, was second in the senior get for Cumming Bros. and first in the junior get for S.S. Rose & Sons — and a substantial share of the individual class winners that day were Sir Burton grandsons and granddaughters.
At the 1956 Royal, Glengarry Pansys Burton — Sir Burton’s great-grandson, by White Pansys Burton — won his second grand championship in a row for Richard Bros. of Red Deer, Alberta. The same afternoon, he sired the junior and reserve junior champion males and the first-prize junior get, and he and three half-sisters made up his own sire’s winning senior get.
Alberta. Prince Edward Island. Ontario. And the American Midwest coming up fast.
Sir Burton had stopped being an animal in a pedigree. He’d become the frame the breed was being built on.
Foundation Animal
Key Progeny
Legacy / Modern Impact
Glengarry Sir Burton
Glengarry Conys Burton
1953 Royal Sweep; transformed Selwood herd
Glengarry Dora (EX-93)
Glengarry Lloyd Royal
4,000 calves in Year 1 of ABS; 3x Waterloo Grand Champions
Glengarry Dora (EX-93)
Glengarry Worthy Conquest
Shipped to Oak Ridge (CA); sire of Connie Kathleen
Oak Ridge Bruis Bonnie
Palmyra Tri-Star Burdette-ET
7x Premier Sire at World Dairy Expo (2013–2019)
The Cows Behind the Bulls
Sire dynasties get the headlines. Female families make them possible, and Threave Flirt 2nd wasn’t finished.
Bred back to her own grandson — Glengarry Nancys Burton — Flirt produced Glengarry Renee, classified Excellent. Renee gave three Excellent daughters — Excellent being the top grade a trained association classifier could award on conformation. And in an era when a classifier reached your farm maybe twice a year if you were lucky, an Excellent cow was a destination. Neighbors drove over to look at her.
Glengarry Dora, EX-93 — Threave Flirt 2nd’s granddaughter, sired by Cherry Bank Brown Bomber. Two of her four sons took the family beyond Glengarry County: Lloyd Royal to American Breeders Service, where he sired 4,000 registered calves in his first Wisconsin year, and Worthy Conquest to Oak Ridge in California. Morwick credited the spread of the Flirt line to two animals — Glengarry Sir Burton, and this cow.
Renee’s best was Glengarry Dora, EX-93, sired by Cherry Bank Brown Bomber — a bull bred by A.E. McArthur of Howick, Quebec, who stood at Glengarry through the 1940s and left Dora, Glengarry Pearl Star and Kinnettles Bomber Alona of Selwood fame.A clipping in the Glengarry County Archives calls Dora the world’s highest lifetime milk producer. The family says that’s the wrong cow. The world’s lifetime record went to Middle Brook Fancy Madge, bought by Meredith Farms in Massachusetts — and she was sired by Glengarry Fancy Boy, another son of White Pansys Burton.
Which is worth stopping on, because Meredith was one of the herds that stayed home from Waterloo. The old Northeastern establishment that wouldn’t load the truck against Oak Ridge owned the world’s lifetime production record, sired out of the same Glengarry County barns.
She had four exceptional ones. Two changed the map.
Glengarry Lloyd Royal, by the imported Lessnessock Lloyd, started in Paul McDonald’s Mackayr herd in Illinois. Then his first sixteen classified daughters came in averaging 89.9 points. Nine Excellent, seven Very Good.
Sixteen for sixteen, not a poor one in the group. American Breeders Service bought him on the spot.
And here the whole story shifts gear, because artificial insemination had arrived. In his first year of service in Wisconsin, Lloyd Royal sired 4,000 registered offspring.
White Pansys Burton had other sons worth naming. Glengarry Fancy Boy went to Paul McDonald in Illinois, the same herd where Lloyd Royal started, and the two lines nicked — then Fancy Boy went into A.I. himself and sired the world’s lifetime production record holder.
And Glengarry Captain Carlson stayed home. A third of his daughters classified Excellent, and by the family’s account they lasted forever. Set that beside Shirley Ura, another Pansys Burton daughter still filling a pail at seventeen, and something is clearly running through that bull on the longevity side — decades before anyone had a term for it.
Four thousand. In twelve months. Out of a cow family that had been traveling between two brothers’ farms behind a team of horses thirty years earlier. His daughters won grand champion at Waterloo in 1969, 1971 and 1973.
Dora’s other great son was Glengarry Worthy Conquest, born November 12, 1953, by the imported East Raws Lucky Way.
He’s the one who went to California.
Calistoga
Massimino LaFranchi left Switzerland in 1888 at fourteen and milked cows around Sonoma County until he’d saved enough to buy land. In 1912 he bought 500 acres outside Calistoga, in Knights Valley, and named the place for the oaks on the hillsides. Horses, chickens, pigs, cattle. An ordinary farm of its time.
The Ayrshires started with the youngest boys. Henry bought his two heifers in 1936. His brothers Al and Nick joined him, and the three of them spent the next four decades building one of the most respected herds in the country — traveling to fairs and expositions by boxcar, of all things, and taking top honors wherever the boxcar stopped.
They also broke with tradition in a way that says something about them. The Ayrshire’s horns were the breed’s glory. Henry got hurt by a set of them, and Oak Ridge became one of the first herds anywhere to dehorn.
But the cattle themselves came largely from Canada. Six Glengarry herd sires. Glengarry Pearl Star as a foundation cow. Glengarry Bondsman — the Nancys Burton son — sired Oak Ridge Bonnie Bluebird, grand champion female at Waterloo in 1960.
Worthy Conquest came down from Canada in 1957, and the California paper that noticed him the following January described him the way a herdsman would: dark-colored and short-tempered. His most influential daughter was Oak Ridge Connie Kathleen, grand champion at Waterloo in 1962 — and look hard at her pedigree, because it’s the old nick running again. Her maternal grandsire was Oak Ridge Oracle, himself a grandson of Glengarry Conys Burton.
Mated to Oak Ridge Lightning, Connie Kathleen produced Oak Ridge Flashy Kathleen, Oak Ridge Flashy Klondike and Oak Ridge Flashy Kellogg. Pull up Klondike in a bull-search database this morning and there it still sits — Connie Kathleen as dam, Glengarry Worthy Conquest as maternal grandsire.
The recognition came before the ribbons. In 1959 the LaFranchis took the Constructive Breeder Award. In 1960 came another honor requiring excellence in both production and type — the fourth such award Oak Ridge had earned.
Then the fall of 1960 at Waterloo. Seven class winners. Most of the grand championships. Then the telephone calls.
And they weren’t done. In 1975, Oak Ridge Kellys Rosid became the first cow of any breed other than Holstein named Supreme Champion at World Dairy Expo. A red-and-white Ayrshire out of Knights Valley, standing above every cow in Madison.
ACT III: WHAT LASTED
Not everything here is ribbons, and the cow who proves it never set foot in Iowa.
Shirley Ura was a White Pansys Burton daughter the Cummings bought as a 17-month-old heifer. They went back later for her full sisters, Stella Ula and Burtons Barbara Ann.
Shirley Ura became the first Canadian Ayrshire to produce over 200,000 pounds of milk in her lifetime.
Shirley Ura — a White Pansys Burton daughter the Cummings bought as a 17-month-old heifer, and the first Canadian Ayrshire past 200,000 pounds of milk in a lifetime. At seventeen she was still turning in 21,978 pounds of milk and 840 of fat. No banner made her famous. She’s the other half of the Glengarry argument: the ideal that survives twenty winters in a working barn.
Her last record: 21,978 pounds of milk and 840 pounds of fat. At seventeen years of age. Family recollection says she was still calving at twenty. And she was milked by hand.
Picture what that looks like in a tie-stall barn — an old red-and-white cow rising hind end first the way they do, still filling a pail twice a day while heifers born after her granddaughters file past on the way to the water bowl. One imagines a hand running down that topline more often than strictly necessary.
Set her against the cows you culled at six because a foot or an udder quit. Show winners prove an ideal exists for one afternoon under one judge. Cows like Shirley Ura prove it survives twenty winters on real feed in a working barn. The Cummings bred both, and if you want the whole argument in one animal, she’s it.
They kept them like it mattered, too. In MacNaughton Cumming’s day two full-time hired men brushed the cows every day through the winter and washed tails every second day — which delighted the Montreal milk inspectors when they turned up unannounced.
The Man Who Told the Ayrshire King He Was Wrong
Adam Montgomerie — the Laird of Lessnessock, breeder of the bull who sired Threave Flirt and of the bull behind her calf, whose 1946 sale moved 49 bull calves at an average of 2,267 with a top of 8,176 in Scottish money — used to visit Glengarry Stock Farm.
MacNaughton Cumming, Mac’s son, was not overawed.
“He was a smart cattleman, no doubt,” MacNaughton said, “but not nearly as clever as he thought he was. Going down the row, he would point to cows he considered our best. But usually he was way off the mark.”
There it is. The most famous Ayrshire breeder on earth walks your barn, picks out your best cows, and a farmer from Glengarry County says he had the wrong ones.
Call that arrogance if you want. I’d call it the settled confidence of a family that had been reading these cattle for three generations and had the herd book to back it.
MacNaughton was that way about everything. He kept a Quebec milk quota while farming in Ontario, and justified it with a line his family never forgot: “If you own a Cadillac, you don’t switch to a Chevrolet.” He talked about free-stall housing before dairy leaders knew what he meant. He tile-drained every acre and got scorned for “burying good money in the ground” — then landed in the hospital with an ulcer from the stress of being the man who did it anyway.
When quota became the currency of Canadian dairying, he drove every month to a smoke-filled, French-speaking hall at Ste. Martine to bid. Farm leaders sneered to his kids about why their father bothered expanding when a man could make a fine living milking thirty.
At 86, standing in the bank in his barn clothes, out of patience with waiting, he hollered through a half-open door loud enough for the whole lobby: “We got the quota so we need $250,000.”
How long do you want me to term it?
“I’m 86. So I don’t give a damn.”
Somebody once asked him whether he ever went home regretting what he’d said at Ayrshire meetings. He thought about it. “No, but I’ve come home regretting not saying more.”
Three Endings
Malcolm Cumming died in 1967, and the herd he’d built with his brother didn’t carry on as one piece. When Donald and MacNaughton went their separate ways, the original Glengarry breeding operation stopped. MacNaughton started fresh under a prefix that carried his father’s name — Glen Malcolm — and that herd is still breeding Ayrshires today. The second unit, later run by Donald’s son Norman, sold as a going concern in the mid-1970s.
That’s how these things actually end. Not a dispersal poster and one dramatic afternoon, but farms dividing, prefixes pausing, brothers deciding.
The Biggs place had gone the other way, and faster. The Honourable F.C. Biggs died in the spring of 1942, and two years later his sons Dick and Tad dispersed Glen Campbell under advertising that called it Canada’s superior all-time Ayrshire herd dispersal. The 134 head averaged $385.50.
A pair of presidents compare notes: R.O. “Dick” Biggs, left, of the Canadian Ayrshire Breeders’ Association, with Ben Thomson of the Holstein Association, 1941. Three years later, Biggs and his brother Tad dispersed Glen Campbell — the herd their father built. By 1965 he was supervising Canada’s Holstein exhibition herd on a tour of Europe.
And Oak Ridge? On the first Saturday in August 1975 — the same year Kellys Rosid stood Supreme at Madison — the LaFranchi brothers held a dispersal and sold nearly all the Ayrshires. Beef cattle moved into those barns, mostly registered Black Angus, and they’re there yet. Think about that timing. The herd that had frightened the Northeast into staying home was sold at the very top.
Great herds are fragile that way. They last exactly as long as somebody keeps choosing to keep them.
Ian Cumming, MacNaughton’s son and, for years, a columnist in the Ontario Farmer, brought the Glengarry name back on a nearby farm. In 2010 he sold and moved to New York State — 23 miles, farm to farm — where his own son Mac took over.
In 2004, Ayrshire Canada handed MacNaughton a lifetime membership. On the night of that banquet, twenty minutes from Cornwall, better than 200 Ayrshire cows on three modern farms belonging to his three sons were being milked, with grandsons already coming on behind them.
He died at milking time on a Tuesday morning in December 2014, at 92, in the house his grandfather built — where he’d lived for 90 of those years, the first two in a whitewashed log cabin whose photograph hung on the wall. The barn was across the road. The lights came on that morning, as they always had.
His son wrote the plainest epitaph a farm family can write. Dad was a farmer.
Hagerstown, Maryland
Here’s where the thread comes out the other side.
Ralph Shank Sr. built his Ayrshire herd in western Maryland out of almost nothing — he and his brothers, short of funds, buying blemished cattle and the “behind the ring animals” that hadn’t sold. His father had started the farm’s Ginger family with a purchase back in the 1940s. Ralph Sr.’s ambitions weren’t modest, though: one of the largest Ayrshire herds in the country, a number one genetic bull and cow, and bulls sold to A.I.
In 1975 — the same year Oak Ridge dispersed — the family made what his daughter, Mary Shank Creek, still calls one of their best buys ever at the National Sale.
An Oak Ridge cow. Her name was Oak Ridge Bruis Bonnie.
“She made anything ‘B’ in the herd,” Mary says. “She made tremendous females and males, and is the foundation dam of Burdette.”
Three years later, Bruis Bonnie was standing senior and grand champion female for Palmyra Farm, and decades on, she still turns up on the roster of great cows in the All-American Dairy Show’s history. But it’s that last clause of Mary’s that matters.
Burdette. Palmyra Tri-Star Burdette-ET.
If you’ve stood at the Ayrshire ring at World Dairy Expo any time this century, you know the name. He was Premier Sire at Expo seven years running, 2013 through 2019, before another Palmyra bull, Palmyra Berkely Reagan, finally knocked him off.
Mowry’s Burdette Summer, EX-95 — a daughter of Palmyra Tri-Star Burdette-ET, born July 2011, with records over 32,000 pounds of milk and named All-American Component Merit Cow in 2022. At World Dairy Expo in 2017 she took both the Total Performance and the Nasco Type and Production awards. This is the Glengarry line in colour: her sire traces to the Oak Ridge cow bought in 1975.
And the same family that bought that Oak Ridge cow bred Palmyra Berkely P Ruth-ET, EX-94. Grand Champion at World Dairy Expo in 2017 and again in 2018. Unanimous All-American both years. A record over 32,000 pounds of milk with 1,256 fat and 960 protein, and the number one Elite cow of the breed at the time. Nine of the fourteen closest animals in her pedigree were Palmyra-bred. Her daughter Ruthless took Grand Champion in 2022.
Add up what that farm has done and the numbers stop being ordinary: 83 Ayrshire bulls sent to A.I., 162 All-American nominations with 52 named All-American, thirteen Premier Breeder banners at Madison, ten cows ranked number one on the breed’s Elite list, the Ayrshire Master Breeder Award in 2011 and the Whitey McKown Master Breeder Award in 2022.
Now, I want to be straight about the limit here. Trace Bruis Bonnie back through Oak Ridge Bruis and the maternal lines of Knights Valley, and the Glengarry imprint isn’t hypothetical—it is cemented across generations of maternal strength that culminated in Burdette. What isn’t in question is where she was bred. She came out of the Oak Ridge herd, and the Oak Ridge herd was built on six Glengarry sires and Glengarry foundation females. Oak Ridge’s own people put it plainly years later: most Ayrshires from coast to coast carry some lineage back to that California herd.
So follow the chain. A yearling heifer in a Kirkmichael barnyard in 1936. A calf born in Glengarry County in 1937. Six bulls shipped to Knights Valley. A cow sold out of California in 1975 and hauled to Maryland. And a bull born in 2005 who owned the Premier Sire banner at Madison for seven straight years.
That’s not a coincidence. That’s a breeding program outliving three of the farms that carried it.
Where You’ll Find Them Now
So what’s left, beyond trophies jammed in a bookcase and curled black-and-white show photos in a drawer?
Start with what Morwick concluded after all his digging: most present-day Ayrshires trace back to Threave Flirt 2nd, through her son Glengarry Sir Burton and her granddaughter Glengarry Dora. One imported Scottish yearling, bought because an agent liked the way she was made, standing behind a breed.
But the part you can actually use is the method.
The Cummings linebred hard. Flirt to her own grandson. Sir Burton onto an inbred Sir Oliver daughter. Worthy Conquest onto a cow with Conys Burton stacked behind her. What they never did was linebreed without correcting, and they never bred a cow they didn’t respect — which is the whole reason Donald sent his own brother’s cows back down the road. Concentrate on what works. Cull without sentiment. Then find an outcross in Scotland when the herd needs one, and keep going back, right through the 1950s and 60s, when Ayrshire sale managers still wouldn’t dream of holding a major auction without a few imported animals in the catalog.
Look where that discipline left the breed. Among Canada’s four major dairy breeds, Ayrshire heifers born in 2025 carry the lowest average inbreeding — roughly 7.1 percent, against 10.3 percent in Holsteins. Ayrshire breeders kept the base wide while intensifying what worked. That’s the Glengarry playbook, running a century after two brothers wrote it on a farm road, whether the people using it know whose it is or not.
The tools have changed past recognition. Genomic evaluations. Herd books you can search from a phone in the parlor. Sires from three continents available before breakfast.
What hasn’t changed is what Donald Cumming was doing in that barn doorway in the 1920s. Somebody still has to decide which cow is good enough. No index has ever made that call for you.
Key Takeaways
Glengarry’s rule wasn’t linebreeding — it was linebreeding with a correction: Flirt bred back to her own grandson, then an imported outcross when the herd needed one. Concentrate what works, then fix what it costs.
Ayrshire heifers born in Canada in 2025 average roughly 7.1 percent inbreeding against 10.3 in Holsteins — a wide base with hard selection inside it, which is the trade the Cummings were making in 1937.
The herd chain is documented even where the pedigree isn’t: Glengarry sires built Oak Ridge, and an Oak Ridge cow bought at the 1975 National Sale is the foundation dam of Palmyra Tri-Star Burdette-ET.
Donald Cumming turned his own brother’s cows away at the barn door if they weren’t good enough. Every index since has priced that judgment; none has made it for you.
This isn’t Toronto or Waterloo
There’s a moment in this story I keep coming back to, and it isn’t Toronto or Waterloo.
It’s two brothers on a farm road in Glengarry County. Mac has hitched the Belgians, loaded a cow on the stoneboat, and driven her down to his brother’s yard because that’s where the bulls are kept. Donald comes out and looks her over. And if she isn’t good enough, she goes home unbred. Brother or no brother.
Everything else came out of that. The Scottish imports. The banners at the Royal. Shirley Ura still filling a pail at seventeen. A California show string that made hard men stay home. An old cow in Maryland who made everything with a B in her name. Four thousand calves in one Wisconsin year, from a cow family that used to travel by horse-drawn sled.
Take Glengarry out of the twentieth century, and the Ayrshire breed is measurably poorer. Oak Ridge is a good herd, not a great one. Waterloo in 1960 is just another show. The sire lines of the fifties and sixties lose their spine, and cows in barns on two continents carry a thinner pedigree.
They came out of Kintyre with nothing but a way of looking at cattle, and they handed a Scottish breed back to the world deeper and truer than they’d received it.
In the end, the Cummings left what every real breeder hopes to leave. Not a trophy. A standard. It’s still in the pedigrees, still in the show ring at Madison every fall, and it still asks the only question that ever mattered on that Glengarry County road:
Is she good enough?
Continue the Story
Yellow Briar Farms: The Cows Are Sold But The Memories Are Priceless – Built in the same era of pure red-and-white devotion, this portrait captures what happens when multi-generational Ontario families hang up the halters, proving that the real wealth left behind was never the sale average, but the standard they kept.
Vieux Village Gentleman Joy: From Grand Champion to EX-97 – Tracing the line from those early Quebec-Ontario border herds straight to the modern tanbark, this look at an EX-97 international icon shows how the relentless pursuit of dairy strength and functional udders still commands center stage.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
Two six-hour relief shifts a week run $11,525 a year. To earn it back on mastitis, you’d stop 60 cases. Nobody stops 60. Teagasc found the money somewhere else entirely.
Two six-hour relief shifts a week, at the U.S. average milker wage of US$18.47 an hour, is 624 hours and US$11,525 a year. To recover that on prevented mastitis at US$192.36 a case, you’d have to stop 60 cases. Nobody stops 60 cases.
So the line item doesn’t pay for itself on disease prevention. We’re saying that first because we’ve argued the softer version of this on this site before, and the arithmetic didn’t hold.
What does pay is the thing almost nobody puts a dollar figure on. Teagasc measured two quartiles of Irish dairy farms running effectively identical herds, 112 cows against 113. The well-organized group worked 51.2 hours a week. The other group worked 70.0 hours a week. Bullvine calculation: priced at U.S. milker wages, that 18.8-hour gap is worth roughly US$14,263 a year. The hours are Teagasc’s. The dollar conversion is ours, and the inputs sit in the Methodology Note.
Before the numbers, one thing worth having in front of you.
Support Resources for Producers and Families
U.S. national — Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) · Farm Aid 1-800-FARM-AID
Canada — Crisis Services Canada / Talk Suicide Canada: 1-833-456-4566 · Do More Agriculture: domore.ag
The Counseling Line Item That Isn’t One
Wisconsin’s Farmer Wellness Program, launched with US$200,000 in Governor Tony Evers’ 2019–21 biennial budget through DATCP, provides farmers and farm family members with free in-person and telehealth counseling. The voucher program covers 210 participating providers across 60 Wisconsin counties. Tele-counseling is free, confidential, and unlimited. Ontario’s Farmer Wellness Initiative runs on the same principle.
There is no math to run on that decision. One call to 800-942-2474 and the cost side is zero.
Private rates matter only where no such program exists. In Canada, private therapy commonly runs CA$120 to CA$250 an hour by provider type, with flat-rate virtual options at CA$135 an hour in 2026, and registered psychotherapists and social workers at the lower end.
That’s the correction. The “budget US$400 a month for counseling” figure this site has run before overstates the cost of what it’s arguing for in every state and province where a funded program already exists.
How Much Does a Fatigue-Driven Miss Actually Cost?
Built from the bottom, with sourced unit costs rather than a dramatic total.
A clinical mastitis case runs US$120 to US$337 in direct costs, averaging US$192.36, based on work tracking 37 commercial U.S. dairies published in the Journal of Dairy Science in 2023. Most of that figure is discarded milk rather than drug cost. A left-displaced abomasum runs US$432.48 in first-lactation cows and US$639.51 in later lactations, from a 2016 JDS stochastic cost model. That’s the most current published estimate we could locate, and it’s a decade old, so treat it as a floor. On the cull side, our August 2026 analysis put a cull cow at US$2,340 against a replacement above US$3,500, a net swap near US$1,160. USDA AMS put replacement heifers at US$2,860 in January 2026, down from a record US$3,110 in October 2025.
Stack it all into one week, and you get US$4,000 to US$6,000. That stack combines independently sourced averages for three separate adverse outcomes, not a documented single incident. Subclinical ketosis progressing to DA is a documented pathway. Mastitis runs as a parallel risk rather than a downstream consequence of the same missed cow check. That total is a ceiling. A typical week looks like the first row below.
Line Item
Sourced Cost (USD)
Annual Exposure (1/mo)
Clears US$11,525 Relief Cost?
Clinical mastitis case
$192.36 avg (range $120–$337)
$2,308
No — needs 60 cases/yr
Left displaced abomasum
$432.48 (1st lact.) – $639.51 (later)
$5,190–$7,674
No
Cull-and-replace swap
~$1,160 net differential
$13,920
Only at 12 forced culls/yr — herd crisis, not fatigue
Counseling (WI / ON)
$0 — voucher or Initiative
$0
No cost to clear
Relief labor (the spend)
$18.47/hr × 624 hrs
$11,525
— threshold
Illustrative model. Incident frequencies are assumed for scale, not observed.
Bullvine calculation. A prevented DA at US$639.51 plus one avoided cull-and-replace at US$1,160 gets you to roughly US$1,800 against a US$11,525 spend. It doesn’t pencil at typical relief wages, and anyone selling relief labor on prevented-disease math is overstating the case. Relief labor justifies itself as continuity cover, against the risk that the one person who knows the operation is unavailable for six weeks. That’s a real argument. It belongs in front of a lender as a continuity question, not a herd-health one.
We could find no lender on record treating operator-resilience spending as a factor in a debt-service assessment. That absence is worth reporting rather than filling with a framework nobody has endorsed.
Are Your 70-Hour Weeks Buying Anything?
Teagasc’s June 2025 publication, Becoming the 50-hour farmer, reports a study of Irish dairy farms across a 150-day February-to-June window. A note on the system before the numbers: these are pasture-based, spring-calving herds, where that window is the annual workload peak, and Teagasc measured hours rather than confinement-barn routines. The study isolates work organization, and the specific practices it credits — automatic cluster removers, single-person milking, contracted calf rearing — are equipment and scheduling decisions that exist in year-round confinement barns too. The hour counts won’t transfer to a Wisconsin or Ontario freestall. The question the data poses will.
The top and bottom quartiles on work-organization effectiveness ran 112 cows against 113. The efficient quartile worked 51.2 hours a week, compared with 70.0. Labor input was 17.4 hours per cow against 20.9. Both groups started within thirteen minutes of each other, at 06:47 and 07:00. The efficient group finished at 18:25. The other finished at 19:58. The peer-reviewed treatment is The impact of work organization on the work life of people on Irish dairy farms, published in Animal in 2022.
Measure
Top Work-Organization Quartile
Bottom Quartile
Gap / Bullvine Valuation
Herd size
112 cows
113 cows
1 cow — effectively identical
Hours worked per week
51.2
70.0
18.8 hrs = 977.6 hrs/yr
Labor input per cow
17.4 hrs
20.9 hrs
3.5 hrs/cow = 392 hrs over 150 days
Start time
06:47
07:00
13 minutes
Finish time
18:25
19:58
93 minutes every day
Annual value of the gap
—
—
US$14,263 at $14.59/hr · $18,056 at $18.47 · $21,507 at $22
Same cows. Same start time. Ninety-three minutes’ difference at the end of the day, every day.
Bullvine calculation: the value of the gap. 18.8 hours across 52 weeks is 977.6 hours. Priced at U.S. milker wages — an assumption we’re stating rather than sourcing from the Irish data — that’s roughly US$14,263 at $14.59 an hour, US$18,056 at $18.47, and US$21,507 at $22. Run it Teagasc’s other way. The 3.5-hour-per-cow gap across 112 cows over that five-month window is 392 hours, about US$7,240 at $18.47.
The mechanism underneath is narrower than “work less.” Deming and colleagues, Journal of Dairy Science 102(9), 2019, found that contracting out milking cut more hours than any other single change, with only slight effects on profitability, and that the most profitable path paired efficiency gains with herd growth. Separate Teagasc Moorepark case-study work managed a 119-cow herd on under 3,000 hours a year, with the farmer contributing 77% of the labor.
University of Illinois farmdoc and USDA ERS projections put the U.S. all-milk price near US$18.95/cwt against total economic costs around US$23.66/cwt, a net economic return of roughly negative US$4.71/cwt. Be precise about what that measures. It’s full economic cost including depreciation and the opportunity cost of unpaid family labor and owned land, not cash cost. Most operators’ mental model of “my cost” is cash cost only, and the gap between the two can exceed 40%. A lender assessing your debt service coverage ratio isn’t looking at the full-economic figure. The $4.71 explains why the year feels thin. It won’t decide your loan.
Three structural pressures are landing on the same operator. The 2025 Federal Milk Marketing Order amendments raised manufacturing make allowances effective June 1, 2025, to US$0.2519/lb for cheese, US$0.2272 for butter, and US$0.2393 for nonfat dry milk. In the first three months, the American Farm Bureau Federation calculated Class III down about US$0.92/cwt and Class IV down about US$0.85/cwt from those allowances alone, with roughly US$337 million less in national pool revenue. CoBank flagged a replacement heifer shortfall near 800,000 head through 2026. A National Milk Producers Federation-commissioned 2015 survey estimated immigrants accounted for 51% of U.S. dairy labor, while farms employing immigrant workers produced 79% of U.S. milk. NMPF represents dairy cooperatives and advocates for agricultural labor reform, and that estimate is now more than a decade old. It establishes the exposure, not a current workforce count.
The consolidation figure is current. USDA NASS’s 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 24,094 U.S. farms selling milk. The 2,013 farms with 1,000 or more cows accounted for 66% of all U.S. milk sales, up from 57% in 2017. Price compression drains the cash cushion. A heifer shortfall removes the biological backup, and thin labor removes the human one. All three now sit inside fewer businesses, which is why one owner’s work organization carries more weight than it used to. Size alone doesn’t determine viability — management quality matters more than cow count — but it does concentrate the consequences.
The operator’s own load is documented. University of Guelph epidemiologist Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton surveyed roughly 1,132 Canadian farmers and found stress, anxiety, depression, emotional exhaustion, and suicidal ideation above general-population levels, with ideation at roughly twice the national rate. The National Rural Health Association puts male farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers at about 43.2 suicides per 100,000 on 2017 occupational data, and farmers’ overall risk at roughly 3.5 times the general population.
Who Actually Gets the Message Through
Numbers don’t move this decision on their own. Delivery does, and Wisconsin has a documented model for it.
Farmer Angel Network currently lists Randy Roecker as running Roecker’s Rolling Acres in Loganville, Wisconsin, a third-generation operation milking 275 cows on 700 acres. He committed to a major expansion in 2006. Two years later, the recession hit, and he told Spectrum News1 in June 2022 that he was concerned he’d lose everything. He fought the depression that followed for seven years before speaking about it publicly, according to our own February 2026 reporting, and he has since discussed farmer mental health on NMPF’s Dairy Defined podcast in January 2023.
Leon Statz died by suicide on October 8, 2018. He was 57, a neighboring dairy farmer, and according to our February 2026 reporting, he had battled depression for more than two decades and had sought help during that time. That detail matters for the argument that follows. In his case, the barrier our coverage documented was not a failure to seek care.
That fall, according to the New York Times in April 2023, monthly meetings began in a Sauk County church hall involving Brenda Statz, Leon’s wife of 34 years. Those meetings became the Farmer Angel Network, co-founded by Brenda Statz, Dorothy Harms, and Roecker, per the organization’s own materials.
Roecker then began training milk haulers, veterinarians, and nutritionists in QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), a gatekeeper method the network adopted rather than invented. AgriSafe Network delivers a 90-minute agriculture-specific version; contact Tara Haskins. The CDC has published an evaluation of a QPR-based agricultural pilot in which 17 initial gatekeepers went on to train 415 participants, and a 2023 study indexed by NIH examined scaling the approach. Our full account of the hauler training ran in February 2026.
Bullvine archive comparison. We first covered Roecker in August 2020 at a benefit breakfast, again in 2021, in 2023 on immigrant labor, and twice in early 2026. Every one of those ran as human interest. Meanwhile we’ve been publishing hard lender coverage since December 2025 — DSCR stress tests, covenant walkthroughs, debt-to-asset trigger points, five separate pieces through July 2026. Two registers ran in parallel on the same site for eight months. Neither one ever mentioned the other. That’s the gap this piece closes, and it was ours before it was anyone else’s.
What the evidence doesn’t contain, anywhere we could find it, is a documented case of a specific hauler starting a specific conversation that changed a specific outcome. The program-level evidence is real. The case-level evidence is absent, and we’d rather say so than fill it with an anecdote we don’t have.
Dairy Relief Labor Costs the Most. Here Are Four Cheaper Places to Start.
Step 1 — Zero-capital quick win, Day 1 to 30. Exhaust the free programs first. Call Wisconsin DATCP at 800-942-2474 or 888-901-2558, or Ontario’s Farmer Wellness Initiative, before you write a mental-health line into any budget. Where it fails: 210 providers across 60 counties still means travel in thin-provider counties, which is why tele-counseling sits inside the same program.
Step 2 — Operational audit, Day 30 to 60. Reclaim the 18.8-hour gap. Price automatic cluster removers, contracted calf rearing, and a single-person milking routine. This is where Teagasc’s evidence sits and where the US$14,263 sits. Where it fails: shedding the hours where your judgment genuinely is the variable costs more than it saves, and the capital goes out before the hours come back.
Step 3 — Continuity risk, Day 60 to 90. Build the three-person bench. Three names who could take a fresh-cow check or a milking on short notice, with the conversation had while you’re still functional. Lock the bench before you negotiate a rate. Where it fails: reliable relief is scarce, which is exactly why the bench precedes the budget line.
Step 4 — Network training. Get QPR in front of the people already in your yard. Point your bulk-tank hauler, nutritionist, or herd vet at AgriSafe’s 90-minute agriculture-specific course. Enrollment contact is Tara Haskins. Where it fails: the NRHA notes rural provider shortages, so the referral at the end of the chain has to exist locally. In Wisconsin, it does.
Step 5 — Recurring operating cost, only if Steps 1 to 4 leave a gap. Fund relief labor as a continuity shield.About US$11,525 a year at US$18.47 an hour, which is wage expense rather than capital. Take it to your ag lender as a solvency and continuity question. Where it fails: where the owner is the binding constraint on cow performance, buying hours off doesn’t buy equivalent value.
Key Takeaways
Relief labor needs 60 prevented mastitis cases to break even at US$11,525. Fund it as continuity cover or don’t fund it.
The 18.8-hour gap is worth US$14,263 to US$21,507 a year. Largest recoverable number here.
Wisconsin and Ontario counseling is already paid for. Make the call before you budget a dollar.
Price your last 90 days at US$192.36 a mastitis case and US$639.51 a DA. If you can’t produce that count, the gap is the finding.
Can’t name three people who could milk tomorrow? That’s the 30-day fix, ahead of every budget line.
QPR runs 90 minutes. Pick the person already driving into your yard.
Pull your last 90 days of herd records tonight, then check your own finish time against 18:25 and 19:58. Compare what you find against the hours gap rather than against a counseling invoice, because that’s where the recoverable money turned out to be. We’re building the full per-cwt resilience model by herd size, with the continuity-risk walkthrough for lenders, in next week’s Bullvine Weekly.
Methodology Note. Mastitis: Ruegg et al., Journal of Dairy Science, 2023, 37 commercial U.S. dairies, USD, mean $192.36 ± $8.90, range $120–$337 per case. DA: JDS stochastic cost model, 2016, U.S., USD, $432.48 primiparous and $639.51 multiparous, the most current published estimate located and treated as a floor. Replacement heifers: USDA AMS Agricultural Prices, January 2026, U.S. national, USD; cull-replace differential from Bullvine analysis, August 2026. Consolidation: USDA NASS 2022 Census of Agriculture, U.S. national. Labor force: National Milk Producers Federation-commissioned survey, 2015, U.S. national, dated and not current; NMPF advocates for agricultural labor reform. Milk price and cost: University of Illinois farmdoc and USDA ERS 2026 projections, U.S. national, USD, full economic cost including depreciation and the opportunity cost of unpaid labor and owned land — not cash cost. Labor hours: Teagasc, Becoming the 50-hour farmer, June 26, 2025, pasture-based spring-calving Irish dairy farms, 150-day February to June window, work-organization quartiles; peer-reviewed treatment: The impact of work organization on the work life of people on Irish dairy farms, Animal, 2022. The hour figures are specific to seasonal pasture systems and are not measured in year-round confinement. Wages: Indeed U.S. milker average US$18.47/hour, 36 job postings, updated August 21, 2026; range $14.59 to $22, the low end derived from Zippia’s reported $30,339 annual average over 2,080 hours. Applying U.S. wage rates to Irish hour counts is a stated Bullvine assumption, not a finding of either study. Counseling: Wisconsin DATCP Farmer Wellness Program, current as of August 17, 2026; Canadian private rates from GreenShield, 2026, in CA$. Dollar figures are USD unless marked CA$. The 977.6-hour valuation, the 392-hour per-cow calculation, the US$11,525 relief figure, and the break-even case counts are Bullvine calculations on those inputs, with assumed incident frequencies stated rather than observed. The $4,000 to $6,000 stack is a composite of independent averages for three separate outcomes, not a documented single incident. National or regional averages may not reflect your specific region, herd size, management system, or market access. If your experience differs, send us your numbers — we build future coverage from producer data. For factual corrections, reach the editorial team through the contact section at thebullvine.com/about-us.
Dairy Technology 2026: Robotics, Sensors, AI and Real-World ROI — Breaks down herd-size economics across sensors, robots, and automated feeding, revealing why 250 cows hits the 6.4-year payback sweet spot while 1,000-cow operations still rely on high-efficiency parlors below $22.91/hour labor.
The Sunday Read Dairy Professionals Don’t Skip.
Every week, thousands of producers, breeders, and industry insiders open Bullvine Weekly for genetics insights, market shifts, and profit strategies they won’t find anywhere else. One email. Five minutes. Smarter decisions all week.
The difference showed up in tissue, not on the scale — and only in calves already eating enough starter to use it. Here’s what to measure first.
When Jennifer Stamey Lanier, James Drackley and their colleagues at the University of Illinois ran Holstein calves on 18% and 22% crude-protein starters, they found something the marketing rarely mentions. Empty body weight gains between the two starter groups weren’t different.
Read that again before your next feed conversation. The study most often cited to justify a 22% starter did not produce heavier calves.
What it did show is more interesting, and more useful. The higher-protein starter drove greater visceral tissue gains and cut the fat content of gain during the post-weaning period. Same scale weight, different calf. That distinction is where the 18-versus-22 decision actually lives — and it only matters if calves are eating enough starter to make it real.
What the Illinois Trial Actually Tested
The design matters, because it’s the part that gets flattened in sales conversations.
Stamey Lanier, McKeith, Janovick, Molano, Van Amburgh and Drackley ran calves from birth to 10 weeks across both a conventional and an enhanced milk-replacer program, crossing that with two starter protein levels. The starters were formulated at 18% and 22% CP on an as-fed basis — the numbers you’d read off a tag. Analyzed, they came back at 22% and 26% on a dry-matter basis, equal to 19% and 23% as fed.
Body weight gain was greater for calves on the high milk-replacer program. It was unaffected by starter protein. Average weekly starter intake didn’t differ between the enhanced treatments either.
Where the higher-protein starter showed up was in composition and organ development — heavier reticulorumen tissue, more total protein in calves on high milk replacer plus high-CP starter, and greater plasma BHB supporting gastrointestinal development.
And here’s a line worth carrying into your next nutritionist meeting. The authors note that the NASEM model suggests 18% CP on a dry-matter basis should be adequate for calves fed enhanced milk replacer. The researchers testing the higher-protein starter said that out loud in their own paper.
Bullvine Bottom Line: The Illinois work supports 22% as a tissue-quality and rumen-development play under a high milk program. It does not support 22% as a weight-gain shortcut, and the researchers themselves flag 18% as potentially adequate.
The Long-Term Numbers Are Real — And Contested
The reason anyone cares about early-life nutrition at all traces back to Cornell.
Fernando Soberon, Michael Van Amburgh and colleagues examined test-day records in a 2012 Journal of Dairy Science study. In the Cornell herd, each additional 1 kg/day of pre-weaning average daily gain was associated with 850 kg more first-lactation milk. In the commercial herd, that figure came in at 1,113 kg. Their 2013 symposium analysis reported 42.9 kg more first-lactation milk per 100 g/day increase in pre-weaning nutrient intake.
Those are associations within study populations, not a promise attached to a feed tag.
The effect size is also genuinely contested. A separate meta-analysis of pre-weaned calf nutrition and growth produced more modest estimates of the same relationship. That disagreement isn’t a reason to ignore early-life nutrition. It’s a reason to stop treating one number as settled and start measuring what happens in your own barn.
The First Question Is Intake, Not Protein
Jim Quigley’s threshold gives you a better starting point than any tag.
His 15 kg cumulative non-fiber carbohydrate benchmark asks whether the calf has eaten enough fermentable carbohydrate for the rumen to carry more of the load once milk drops. For a starter running 50–55% NFC on a dry-matter basis at roughly 90% DM, that works out to about 30–33 kg — 67–73 lb — of cumulative starter as fed.
Daily benchmarks converge from four independent directions. AHDB puts a group ready to wean when calves are routinely consuming 1.5 kg per head per day of high-quality starter — about 3.3 lb as fed. Michigan State Extension puts early-weaned calves at 2–3 lb/head/day and accelerated-program calves at 4–5 lb/head/day. Call 3 lb your working floor.
That MSU split is the number most barns miss. The more milk you feed, the more starter a calf needs to be eating before you take that milk away.
On protein level, the NASEM 2021 guidance is a range rather than a single answer: 18–24% CP for large-breed calves, depending on the ratio of milk replacer to starter intake and your average daily gain goal. Which is another way of saying the tag can’t be evaluated without knowing the rest of the program.
Why Calendar Weaning Creates Trouble
Eight weeks is convenient. It lines up labor, grouping, deliveries, and calf movement. Convenience hides a weak transition when calves are still eating starter inconsistently.
Bullvine reporting on two Wisconsin calf programs, side by side, found the gap opens early: 1.73 lb/day pre-weaning gain on the stronger program against 1.39 lb/day on the weaker one, a 0.34 lb/day spread. The recommendation from that data was to switch the weaning trigger from age alone to starter intake plus age, stepping milk down over 7 to 10 days rather than pulling it.
Measure by pen if individual tracking isn’t practical. Offer a known amount, measure refusals at the same time next morning, divide by head count, write it on the pen board.
That gives your calf team something better than “they’re old enough.” It also tells you whether the protein you’re already paying for is being eaten in enough volume to matter — which is the only reason the cost math below is worth running. If you want the full mechanics, we’ve broken down how starter intake should guide weaning separately.
Is the Premium Worth It on Your Delivered Price?
The gap between 18% and 22% starter moves with supplier, ingredients, freight, medication, and region. There’s no honest national premium to print, so use your own quotes.
Scenario
Premium spread ($/ton)
Starter consumed (lb)
Added cost per calf
Share of a $3,100 heifer
Low-end quote, threshold intake
$35
68
$1.19
0.04%
Typical spread at the intake gate
$40
70
$1.40
0.05%
Wide spread, strong intake
$50
75
$1.88
0.06%
Fed through the post-weaning window
$40
100
$2.00
0.06%
Common planning error
$40
55 (assumed, not measured)
$1.10 — understates real cost
0.04%
Cost per calf = [(22% price per ton − 18% price per ton) ÷ 2,000] × total lb consumed.
Run it at the consumption level your intake gate actually implies. If calves are eating to that 67–73 lb cumulative threshold, a $40/ton delta over 70 lb is $1.40 per calf. A $35/ton delta over 68 lb is $1.19. A $50/ton delta over 75 lb is $1.88. Feed to 100 lb through the post-weaning window at $40/ton and you’re at $2.00.
The cost side stays small across the whole range. The milk side is where honesty matters.
USDA’s August 2026 Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook revised the all-milk forecast down 15 cents to $19.85/cwtfor 2026, with 2027 at $19.80. National benchmarks — not your mailbox price, component schedule, or basis. Use them as a sensitivity assumption:
Potential gross value per heifer = (milk response in lb ÷ 100) × your milk price per cwt.
The multiplication is easy. Choosing an honest response assumption is the hard part, and the Illinois data won’t hand you one for starter protein alone.
Now put a dollar of starter in context. USDA NASS’s January 1, 2026 Cattle report put milk replacement heifers at 3.90 million head, down again from the previous year and the smallest dairy replacement inventory in 48 years. USDA reporting had springing heifers at $3,010 nationally as of July 2025, with spring 2026 figures near $3,100 and Upper Midwest pens running $3,400–$4,400.
Against a $3,000-plus asset in the tightest replacement market since 1978, a dollar-forty of starter is not where your risk lives. The risk is a heifer that doesn’t arrive in good shape.
How Do You Run the Pen-Board Check This Month?
You don’t need a research station. You need consistent records on two comparable groups.
Day 1–30: Weigh calves at birth and weaning, or apply heart-girth estimates consistently. Track starter offered and refused by pen for at least three weeks around expected weaning. Record the milk step-down date and the actual intake number at that point.
Day 31–90: Audit treatment events through the transition window. Compare delivered feed cost per calf against weaning weights and average pen intake across both groups.
Day 91–365: Measure breeding readiness — stature and weight at 12–13 months — to see whether the earlier gains held. First-lactation milk belongs in that longer analysis, with enough animals per group that you’re not drawing conclusions from three standout heifers and one rough pen.
Don’t change every variable at once. Hold housing, calf-care routine, and weaning procedure steady, and document anything else that shifts. Otherwise you won’t know what moved the result.
Options and Trade-Offs
Stay with 18% and fix the first bottleneck. This fits when intake is inconsistent, calves transition roughly, or nobody’s built a reliable weight record yet. The Illinois authors themselves point to NASEM guidance that 18% CP on a DM basis may be adequate even under enhanced milk feeding. What it requires is unglamorous: clean water, fresh starter, dry bedding, measured intake, readiness-based weaning. The limit is real — as your gain targets climb toward the top of that 18–24% NASEM range, the adequacy assumption gets thinner. Within 30 days: establish baseline pen intake and weaning weights before changing a thing.
Move to 22% inside a defined growth program. This fits when you’re deliberately feeding for stronger early growth and calves already clear the intake gate. Expect what the research actually found — better visceral development and leaner gain composition, not a heavier calf on the scale. The risk is paying a premium while health, housing, or labor consistency does the real damage. It’s worth reading that against the full replacement-heifer cost model before you commit. Within 30 days: run one 18% and one 22% group under the same documented protocol, nothing else different.
Upgrade formulation quality before chasing the protein number. This fits when calves sort feed, leave fines, or eat erratically. Grain processing, protein source, palatability, and batch consistency can matter more than the guarantee on the tag. Premium textured starters use flaked grains and roasted soybeans for bypass protein, with prebiotic and probiotic package in both the 18% and 22% versions — so the comparison runs against your program and delivered cost, not the CP number alone. The trade-off: better physical form lifts acceptance but won’t fix a badly timed weaning. Within 30 days: put two samples side by side with your calf team and score form, fines, intake, refusals, and manure before converting the barn.
Sponsored Post
At a Glance: Matching Starter Protein to Your Program
ADG column shows observed field values from Bullvine program reporting, not recommended targets.
Liquid nutrition level
Observed pre-weaning ADG
Starter CP guidance
Weaning intake gate
Conventional
1.39 lb/day observed
18% CP, lower end of the NASEM 18–24% range
≥2–3 lb/day, 3 consecutive days
Enhanced / accelerated
1.73 lb/day observed
18% may suffice per NASEM; 22% shifts tissue composition, not gain
≥4–5 lb/day, 3 consecutive days
Cold-stressed
Maintenance demand rises before gain does
Prioritize intake volume over CP percentage
Hold weaning; add 50 g/day of milk powder for each 5°C below the thermoneutral zone
Key Takeaways
If a rep cites the Illinois study to sell you weight gain, the paper doesn’t support it — empty body weight gains didn’t differ between 18% and 22% starter.
If large-breed calves aren’t routinely eating about 1.5 kg — 3.3 lb — per head per day, fix intake before you touch the protein number.
If you feed a higher plane of liquid nutrition, your intake gate moves to 4–5 lb/day, not 3.
If you want the tissue-composition benefit, you need the high milk program too — the Illinois effects showed up under enhanced nutrition, not on their own.
If delivered price decides it, run cost-per-calf at your real consumption level — 70 lb, not 55 — and expect $1.20 to $2.00 at typical spreads.
The decision isn’t whether 18% is dated or 22% is premium. It’s whether the feed in front of the calf matches the program you’re actually running, and whether she’s eating enough of it to care.
That same fit question waits at the grower phase, where early gains either hold through breeding or quietly disappear. Next installment.
Before you pay for another point of protein, walk out to the pen board. What does it say your calves ate yesterday?
Complete references and supporting documentation are available upon request by contacting the editorial team at editor@thebullvine.com.
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