Before you clip another sale animal, four breeders from Pennsylvania’s marketing panel want you to think hard about which cow you’re leading on the truck — and how she looks when she gets off.
Chris Hill asked a room full of Holstein breeders in Mars, Pennsylvania, how many had ever consigned their best animal to a sale. Not their second-best. Their best. A few hands went up. Not many.
That moment set the tone for the Pennsylvania Holstein Association‘s “Market Like a Pro” panel at the 2026 convention on February 7 — a session that brought together four operations spanning 35 registered cows to about 11,000 milking head, five states, and nearly every marketing channel in the registered dairy cattle business. Between them, the panelists own the reigning WDE Grand Champion Holstein, today’s #1 Holstein sire Sheepster, over 200 All-American and All-Canadian nominations, and a cow family that’s been farming since 1777. The message was consistent and uncomfortable: if you won’t let your best one go, your registration papers are just expensive wallpaper.
The Panel: From a $3,000 Auction Barn to 8,500 Embryos a Year
Chris Hill — Klussendorf-MacKenzie winner, WDE judge, MD-Hillbrook sales manager — moderating the “Market Like a Pro” panel.
Hill — a Klussendorf-MacKenzie Award winner (WDE 2002) who has judged five different breed shows at World Dairy Expo and manages roughly 35 sales a year across the United States and Canada through MD-Hillbrook — moderated the discussion. Over 90 minutes, the panelists kept coming back to the same themes: the quality of the cattle you offer, the courage to sell your best, and how both the consignor and the sale manager present those cattle. Here’s who was at the table.
Jenny Thomas, Triple-T Holsteins & Jerseys, North Lewisburg, Ohio. Jenny and her husband, Nathan — a WDE and Royal Winter Fair judge — milk about 35 head from a registered inventory of over 100 Holsteins and Jerseys, and board the Vierra Dairy Jersey show string. The farm started roughly 20 years ago as what Jenny calls “a 4‑H project gone astray”: Nathan bought a standing building at auction for $3,000, tore it down, and reassembled it as a cow barn. The family purchased the dam that produced T-Triple-T Dundee Paige (3E-EX-96), and Paige became the cornerstone — producing three 95-point offspring, including MS Beautys Black Velvet-ET (EX-96), best bred-and-owned at World Dairy Expo two years running. Triple-T has now been behind over 180–200 All-American and All-Canadian nominations, a three-time WDE Grand Champion Jersey and 2025 Royal Winter Fair Supreme Champion in Stoney Point Joel Bailey (EX-97), and countless Excellent descendants. That track record built Thomas Marketing and Consulting, which manages sales like the Amplify Sale and the Spring Select Sale with Aaron Eaton.
Betsy Bullard — Brigeen Farms’ 10th generation, 530–600 cow manager, Top 10 BAA 108.4 herd — at the PHA convention.
Betsy Bullard, Brigeen Farms, Turner, Maine. Brigeen has been in continuous operation since 1777. Betsy and her husband, Bill, are the 10th generation, and the farm has been a member of Holstein Association USA for 83 years. When the couple joined the farm in 2000, they were milking about 60 cows. Today, Brigeen commonly milks around 530–600 registered Holsteins, with 530 reported as the milking herd in a 2024 profile and over 500 cited in Holstein USA’s 2025 BAA lists. Their current BAA is 108.4, ranking in the Top 10 for herds with 250 or more cows on Holstein USA’s 2025 lists. Deep cow families anchor the program, including the “G” family from Royland Leadman Glory (GMD DOM) and the Roxy’s.
Alicia Lamb, Oakfield Corners Dairy, Oakfield, New York. Jonathan and Alicia Lamb — 12th-generation farmers — run Oakfield Corners as a division of Lamb Farms, Inc., milking about 11,000 cows between three farms in western New York and a fourth in western Ohio, with about 99% of the herd being Holstein. Their genetics program produces and implants about 8,500 embryos a year through Trans Ova and Bova Tech: about 95% index cattle (high GTPI, Net Merit, polled, Red Carrier), a small percentage show-type, and the remainder specialty beef.
The numbers back it up. As of October 2025, Oakfield bred OCD Ripcord R2D2, then the #1 GTPI female at 3628 GTPI, and 7HO16276 Sheepster, then the #2 TPI bull at 3458 GTPI. Since then, Sheepster has moved up and is now ranked #1 Holstein sire on TPI, with Holstein International’s March 2026 Sires Report describing him as the current TPI leader at 3572 TPI, with more than 100 AI sons. They also own the reigning WDE Grand Champion Holstein, Lovhill Sidekick KandyCane (EX-96-2E).
Peter Dueppengiesser — former 1,200‑cow New York dairyman turned STgenetics Eastern U.S. sales manager and registered-cow partner.
Peter Dueppengiesser, Ransom-Rail Holsteins, Pavilion, New York. A two-term Holstein Association USA board member, Peter operated a 1,200-cow dairy and 2,100-acre crop farm near Perry, New York, for 35 years before accepting a position with STgenetics in 2019. He now serves as the Eastern U.S. dairy sales manager and maintains six to eight partnerships, keeping him working with more registered cattle than he ever had on his own farm. His wife, Roxanne, saw the partnership spreadsheet once. “I thought we were downsizing,” she said during the panel. Peter’s answer: “It’s sexed semen and embryo transfer. I’m working on it.”
“They Don’t Want Your Sick Calf. They Want Your Best One.”
That line came from Peter, recalling a moment when his son Jared was eight or nine. They had four sisters to a Robert Cameron daughter, and a buyer was coming to pick one. Jared said, “They’re going to pick the best one.” Peter’s reply stuck: “But they don’t want your sick calf. They want your best one, right?”
Every panelist landed on this principle from a different angle. Jenny pointed out that plenty of strong breeders won’t sell — afraid the animal won’t bring enough, or afraid they can’t make another one. She flipped that fear: “Your prefix stays on that animal forever. Dundee Paige put us on the map.” Those cows — out working for other people — built the Triple-T brand more than anything else could.
Betsy brought a classifier’s honesty to it. “They’re worth what the market says they’re worth. We can imagine they’re all 89‑point two‑year‑olds, but until somebody unbiased comes in and tells us where they fit — that’s eye-opening.” Maybe your best is an 86‑point heifer. Still fantastic. But you have to know that and act on it.
The trade-off is real. When you sell your best, you lose her future production and flush potential. When you keep her invisible, your prefix fades, and your buyer relationships go stale. Both sides of that equation need math and marketing, not just emotion.
What Do Sale Managers Actually Want — And What Do They Remember?
The commission question came up fast — and Hill didn’t duck it. “Commission’s the same as it was in 1984,” he said, “and animals bring the same price they did, or less.” Sale managers aren’t getting rich. But the relationship has to go both ways.
What consignors should expect: a well-promoted event with an established buyer base, accurate catalog information, and honest guidance on which animal fits which sale. Peter was direct — “Help us decide what’s the right fit. They understand the sale, how it’s going to flow, what the customer base is going to be.”
What sale managers remember about you: whether your cattle showed up halter broke, whether they had decent feet, and whether you did any work before sale day. “If they come in there with skis for feet, nobody’s going to see the good parts,” Hill said. “Everybody’s going to turn to the negative, because it’s human intuition.”
Presentation is your job too. Alicia added a pressure test every consignor should use: before you commit an animal, ask the sale manager what it’s worth. “If he says $2,500 and you’re expecting $5,000, there’s a significant difference. I’d much rather be the bad guy up front than after the animal’s gone.”
And then there’s your own responsibility. Sale managers juggle dozens of lots. If you’re not sharing posts, shooting phone photos, and telling the cow-family story on your own social media, you’re leaving money on the table.
Hybrid Sales Aren’t the Future — They’re the Floor
Hill told the story of having 80 head tied up at Frederick Fairgrounds when COVID hit. That crisis pushed him to create the Bright Futures Elite Embryo Online Sale — a low-overhead, Cowbuyer-powered format now in its 15th edition.
The ripple effect matters most. Alicia estimates that when Oakfield sells five embryos from a specific cow on a Bright Futures night, nine times out of ten, another interested party calls within days — sometimes resulting in 15 or 20 additional embryo sales outside the commission structure. That kind of pipeline effect is easier to generate when your prefix carries the weight of a WDE Grand Champion and the breed’s top sire. For a smaller herd, the multiplier will be more modest — but the format still creates visibility you wouldn’t get otherwise.
Oakfield has pushed hybrid further with their Spring Sensation series. Cattle stay on-farm. Buyers walk through in a low-pressure setting. Bidding goes live on Cowbuyer, and a qualified crew evaluates lots on-site for absentee bidders. “We don’t have to worry about the wind blowing the tent down or storms frightening animals going through the ring,” Alicia said. The format cuts expense, keeps cows comfortable, and hasn’t produced unhappy buyers because “most of them, if they’re not there, are represented by somebody qualified.”
Peter added the buyer’s angle: “I’ll be sitting behind my computer screen, potentially making some bids, and I’m still able to work on-farm and do my own thing.” Technology amplifies trust. It doesn’t replace it.
The 68‑Inch Frail Two‑Year‑Old Is Dead.
One of the sharpest exchanges happened around the convergence of show and functional cattle. As one panelist put it: “The days of having 68‑inch two‑year‑olds whose front legs cross have slowly, luckily, started to drift away.”
Triple-T’s recent run proves the point. Stoney Point Joel Bailey (EX‑97) won Grand Champion Jersey at World Dairy Expo for the third consecutive year in 2025 — and then took Supreme at the Royal. Black Velvet (EX‑96) claimed best bred-and-owned at Expo two years running. These are cows that didn’t sacrifice function for frame. The modern show winner increasingly comes out of a freestall herd: medium-framed, sound-footed, able to handle concrete.
For breeders of high-type cattle, this convergence is good news for marketing. A cow that wins and milks is easier to sell than one that only does one or the other. But it means you can’t coast on frame and dairy character alone. “Show and function should be two words that go together,” one panelist said. “We want that show animal to be medium size, functional, able to survive in a freestall, slatted-floor environment.”
Can Great Barn Cows Generate Real Embryo Revenue?
A question texted in from the audience hit a nerve: “If you don’t have a show herd, what avenues are there to market those great barn cows?”
Alicia’s answer was concrete. She described a cow in the Oakfield herd — not high enough on the index for the stud cut, almost four years old. But a rear udder that “would pop you in the head” when she’s full of milk. Alicia photographed her, posted her, and started selling embryos. According to Alicia, pairing the cow with a popular sire created interest in the $5,000 to $10,000 range per resulting calf — but those numbers aren’t typical for most registered herds. They reflect the Oakfield brand, the buyer network behind Sheepster and KandyCane, and decades of building a reputation that commands premiums. A 60-cow registered herd should calibrate expectations down, but the strategy still works: IVF to hot bulls, photograph the rear udder, tell the cow-family story, match the sale to the cow.
Hill mentioned sending five or six solid milk cows to a regional sale where, by his account, they brought $4,000 to $6,000 each. After two or three lactations and daughters on the ground, that’s real money off cows that were never destined for Harrisburg.
Genomic Contracts: One Piece of a Bigger Marketing Puzzle
With Class III prices averaging $18.01 in 2025 — down from $18.89 in 2024 — and the USDA’s February 2026 WASDE now projecting just $16.65/cwt for 2026 (while January’s actual Class III posted at only $14.59), the pressure to maximize every revenue stream off your registered cattle isn’t going away.
Contracts came up briefly during the panel as one more factor breeders should watch. According to Alicia, Oakfield’s index marketing is now primarily limited to bulls going to studs. IVF sessions can be sold occasionally — a few privately, a few on sales — but contract restrictions have tightened the window. “It’s not so easy anymore,” she said. “It’s still financially successful. It’s just different than it used to be — maybe not quite as fun.”
Some studs now write contracts so restrictive that not only the resulting calf but the next generation can be encumbered. Other studs remain “free and open,” which creates real incentive to use their bulls when performance is comparable. On the type side, most cattle are effectively unencumbered. On the genomic side, those truly free animals are increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
For most breeders, the practical takeaway was simple: if you’re playing in the index game, read every line and ask questions before you sign. But for the bulk of the room in Pennsylvania that day, the emphasis landed squarely on the quality of cattle offered and the way they’re presented. Contracts were a piece of the discussion, not the headline.
Your Prefix Follows the Truck
Contracts can determine what you can sell. Reputation determines whether anyone wants to buy from you again.
Oakfield Corners has bought cows back when buyers couldn’t get them pregnant — brought them home, got them settled, confirmed the pregnancy, and shipped them back. Brigeen operates the same way. “If we don’t stand behind the animals we sell, then why are we selling?” Betsy said. A bad experience travels faster than a good one. That’s exactly why the follow-up matters.
Hill recounted a deal in which the seller guaranteed $750 per IVF embryo from a high-priced cow. By Hill’s account — he didn’t name the buyer or seller — the cow went to the chute regularly and eventually generated around $22,000 in embryo revenue on top of show wins and a calf. Not every deal ends that way. But backing your sale with action is what separates breeders who sell once from breeders who sell for decades.
Jenny framed follow-up: help buyers with breeding decisions, feeding questions, whatever they need. If a kid buys their first 4‑H calf and wants to know what kind of pen she needs, take the call.
What This Means for Your Operation
- If you’ve never consigned: Start with one animal — your genuinely best available — and call a sale manager for a candid price estimate before you commit. Hill said it himself: “Call us, text us, email us. We’ve got to know you’re interested.” Do it this month. One phone call.
- If you’re consigning but not promoting: Shoot three phone photos this week — side, rear udder full of milk, head — and post them with the pedigree and one sentence of cow-family story. Share every post the sale manager puts out. Algorithms bury what people don’t engage with.
- If you’re running index cattle, pull every active genetics contract and confirm what’s restricted—daughters, granddaughters, flush rights, export. The answer may change which bulls you use next month, but remember it’s only one piece of the marketing puzzle.
- If you have great barn cows with no show future, they’re still pedigree builders. IVF them to a popular sire, photograph the udder, tell the story. Results will scale with your brand — Oakfield commands premiums most herds can’t — but even a $3,000–$5,000 calf sale is real revenue off a cow you were milking anyway.
- If you’re a young breeder without cows: Buy embryos. Partner with a herd that has recipient space. Start building your prefix one flush at a time — and don’t be shy about asking established breeders how they got sale managers into their driveway.
The Bottom Line
All four panelists represent Northeast and Midwest U.S. operations — Ohio, Maine, New York, and Maryland. If you’re running a western U.S. or Canadian program, some sale channels and buyer dynamics may differ. But the fundamentals hold.
Every year your best genetics stay invisible is a year your prefix means nothing to the next buyer flipping through a sale catalog. Your registration papers are either a marketing asset or wallpaper. Which one are they this month?
Continue the Story
- Lovholm Holsteins: The Only Farm to Breed 2 World Dairy Expo Holstein Champions Milks 72 Cows in Tie-Stalls – Much like Triple-T’s humble beginnings, the Lovholm story proves that elite excellence isn’t reserved for the largest budgets, showing how a small-scale operation wrestled with the same choice to sell their absolute best.
- Business Ethics in Marketing Dairy Cattle Genetics – Extending the panel’s blunt warnings about reputation, this piece dives into the ethical forces that underpin every handshake and sale truck, proving that an honest prefix is a breeder’s most valuable asset.
- The Kid Nobody Knew Is Now Dairy’s Most Wanted: Kyle Welk’s Merle Howard Triumph – Alicia Lamb noted that success depends on how an animal looks when she gets off the truck; Kyle Welk’s journey from pack boy to champion fitter proves that this next-generation hustle carries that torch forward.
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