The call came in this morning. Paul Ekstein, founder of Quality Holsteins, passed peacefully at 91, surrounded by family. And suddenly, the Holstein world feels a little smaller, a little quieter.
For those of us at The Bullvine, this loss feels personal. Paul was a close friend, a mentor, and a man whose story we were privileged to share. Losing someone like Paul means losing a direct line to our industry’s living memory—and for us, losing a piece of our own history.
A First Impression and a Growing Respect
I’ll be honest—when I was a kid, I didn’t really understand or know Paul that well. To be frank, I thought of him a bit like Walter Matthau from Grumpier Old Men—a somewhat gruff, tough old guy you didn’t mess with. But as I got to know him over the years, that image completely flipped.
Paul turned out to be one of the most caring people I’ve ever met. We’d often dive into lengthy, thoughtful discussions about the real challenges we faced in the dairy industry—and in life. What struck me was how openly he shared lessons from his own struggles, always emphasizing the importance of learning from those challenges and keeping pushing forward.
That—that’s the kind of man Paul was beneath the surface. Not just a breeder or a businessman, but a mentor and a friend who genuinely cared about the people around him.
The Journey That Forged Everything
Think about the journey that shaped Paul Ekstein. As a boy, he escaped the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia—an experience that would have broken many, but instead forged something unbreakable in Paul. When his family arrived in Canada in 1939, they faced a stark condition: stay on the farm for five years, no exceptions.
That early lesson in survival, in starting over with nothing, in building from the ground up… it became the foundation for everything that followed. From those desperate wartime beginnings to founding Quality Holsteins—that’s not just an immigration story. That’s a masterclass in what happens when unshakeable determination meets genuine passion.
The family’s statement resonates deeply: “Very few people have such a fulfilling life, living their dreams and passions.” For Paul, those dreams were literally forged from nothing, built one quality cow at a time over the course of nine decades.
The “Quality” Philosophy Born from Hard Experience
Here’s what I think that early survival experience taught Paul—and why it made him such a different kind of breeder. When you’ve lost everything once, you don’t build anything temporary. You build to last.
Paul’s breeding philosophy wasn’t just business strategy; it was a survival instinct applied to Holstein genetics. He focused on deep-pedigreed, high-type cow families because he understood that surface-level success doesn’t survive tough times. Real strength comes from generations of careful building, not shortcuts or genomic fads.
He had an “innate ability to see potential in cows”—that’s not just industry praise, that’s recognition of something deeper. It’s the insight of a man who survived by knowing what would endure, what would last, and what was worth betting everything on.
This approach earned him the McKown Master Breeder Award in 2013, recognition that comes to perhaps one breeder a decade, if they are extraordinarily lucky. He built his program around animals like Quality BC Frantisco (EX-96 3E), a cow that embodied everything those early experiences taught him about what survives.
The 20-Year Apprenticeship
Before Paul could build his own empire, he spent 20 years housing his cattle with Gerald Livingston at Sunny Maple Farms. Twenty years of partnership, learning, building relationships, while dreaming of his own operation. That’s patience born from understanding that real success takes time.
When he finally got his own farm in 1980, it wasn’t because he got impatient—it was because one of his bulls, Quality Ultimate, generated enough revenue to make the dream possible. That’s the kind of methodical building that came from those early survival lessons.
The Mentor’s Heart
Here’s where Paul’s story gets even more powerful. I recall hearing about a young cattleman who approached Paul years ago, nervous and unsure, seeking advice about a cow family he was considering. Paul didn’t just give quick advice and move on. He spent hours walking that young man through pedigrees, explaining what to look for and sharing what he’d learned over the decades.
That young breeder went on to build something significant of his own. And when asked years later what made the difference, he said it simply: “Paul Ekstein believed in me before I believed in myself.”
That’s what we’re losing. Not just breeding knowledge, but someone who understood that survival—real survival—depends on lifting others up. Paul’s 54 consecutive years at the Royal Winter Fair weren’t just about showing cattle. They were about being present, being available, being the kind of person young breeders could approach.
Quality Built to Last
Our thoughts now turn to Nili, Steven, Ari, and the entire Ekstein family. They’re not just grieving a patriarch; they’re processing the loss of someone whose survival story became their success story, whose unbreakable spirit became their foundation.
Paul’s greatest achievement wasn’t any single cow—it was how he built something that would outlast him. The family’s statement says it perfectly: “We at Quality have been truly blessed to carry on his lifetime’s work.” That’s not corporate language. That’s acknowledgment of something Paul built specifically to survive whatever comes next.
He approached succession the same way he approached everything else: methodically, carefully, with the long view in mind. Steven and Ari didn’t just inherit a business—they inherited a philosophy, a way of thinking about breeding and relationships that stemmed from understanding what it means to lose everything and rebuild it better.
The Unbreakable Legacy Lives On
From a three-year-old refugee fleeing Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to a 91-year-old patriarch surrounded by family—that’s not just a long life. That’s proof that sometimes the most unlikely beginnings create the most unbreakable foundations.
Paul didn’t just live his dream. He proved that when survival instincts meet genuine passion, when unbreakable determination meets patient building, when hard-won wisdom meets generous mentoring, something extraordinary becomes possible.
Every young breeder Paul encouraged, every cow family he developed, every relationship he built with integrity and kindness—that’s his real legacy. Not just Quality Holsteins, but proof that even from the darkest beginnings, the brightest lights can emerge.
Tonight, somewhere, a young breeder is looking at a cow and seeing potential, just as Paul taught them to see it. Somewhere, a family farm is thriving because of the genetics Paul developed or the advice he gave. Somewhere, the Holstein breed is stronger because an unbreakable man from Czechoslovakia spent 91 years building something designed to last.
That’s not just a life well-lived. That’s immortality.
Rest in peace, Paul. From Czechoslovakia to Quality, your indomitable spirit lives on in every life you touched.
Our thoughts are with the Ekstein family and everyone at Quality Holsteins during this difficult time.
