What if your ‘old’ cows are actually your best cows? Yesterday’s WDE champion was 10 years old.
The colored shavings were still settling in the Coliseum when lightning struck twice yesterday afternoon. Not the kind that sends you running for cover, but the kind that makes 3,000 dairy farmers jump to their feet in disbelief.
Iroquois Acres Jong Cali
Grand Champion
International Brown Swiss Show 2025 World Dairy Expo
Brian Pacheco Kerman, CA
Iroquois Acres Jong Cali, a 10-year-old Brown Swiss in her seventh lactation, just claimed her second Grand Championship at World Dairy Expo. While most cows of her age are long retired, Cali’s still pumping out 60 kilos of milk daily and moving “like a three-year-old,” according to judge Allyn “Spud” Paulson.
The Partnership That Defied Geography
Here’s where yesterday’s story gets remarkable. Owner Brian Pacheco watched from the same spot where he stood during Cali’s first championship years ago—except he lives in California while Cali thrives 2,000 miles away in Canada.
“I knew early on if I’m going to hitch my saddle with somebody, he was the one,” Pacheco said of Callum, Cali’s caretaker. Their decade-long partnership, built on what Pacheco calls “honesty and integrity,” demonstrates that trust always prevails over proximity.
Callum’s hands shook slightly as he recalled the championship moment. “When I got pulled second, I’m like, I got to work extra hard here to try to get into first”. The traditional yodelers were singing, the pressure mounting. When judge Paulson finally shook his hand for the Grand Championship, Callum admitted: “I was pretty emotional, actually. It’s hard to explain the feeling”.
Wednesday’s Championship Roll Call
While Cali’s triumph dominated conversations, championships were decided across multiple rings yesterday :
International Brown Swiss Show (380+ head)
The morning started with cow classes that showcased unprecedented depth. Judge Paulson, mentored decades ago by Marty Simple when “Jades and Jetways were popular,” called it “truly amazing”. The four-year-old class alone had him and Associate Judge Brian experiencing “goosebumps.”
- Grand Champion: Iroquois Acres Jong Cali (Brian Pacheco, Kerman, CA)
- Reserve Grand: Robland Norwin Bermuda-ET (Tony Kohls/Goldfawn Farm)
- Premier Sire: Hilltop Acres Daredevil (5th consecutive year for New Generation)
- Premier Breeder: Jenlar Farm
International Red & White Show Heifer Classes
Wednesday afternoon saw the start of the International Red & White Show, with judge Adam Hodgins from Ontario placing the heifer classes. The quality was exceptional, with spring yearling Milksource Shay-Red-ET standing out from the crowd.
- Junior Champion (Open Show): Milksource Shay-Red-ET (Architect), owned by Milk Source LLC & Jeremy Holthaus
- Reserve Junior Champion: Ms Believe In Faith-Red-ET, owned by T & S Krohlow, William Schultz III, & Yvonne Preder
The Red & White cow classes continue this morning at 7:00 AM, with expectations running high after the quality displayed in yesterday’s heifer show. Several exhibitors mentioned the depth has never been stronger, with animals that would have won championships in previous years placing well down the line.
International Milking Shorthorn Show Heifer Classes
Lazy M Money Laundering-ET P
Junior Champion
International Milking Short Horn Show 2025 World Dairy Expo
Elizabeth Gunst & Jamie Gibbs Hartford, WI
Mike Maier and associate Josh Fairbanks spent Wednesday morning sorting through an impressive lineup of Milking Shorthorn heifers. The breed, experiencing a renaissance of sorts, showcased genetics that blend traditional characteristics with modern production demands.
- Junior Champion (Open & Junior Show): Lazy M Money Laundering-ET P (Money), owned by Elizabeth Gunst & Jamie Gibbs
- Reserve Junior Champion: Wincrest P Spring Special-EXP-ET, owned by Dylan & Cameron Ryan and Charlotte Wingert
The Milking Shorthorn cow classes resume this morning at 7:00 AM alongside the Red & Whites. Several longtime breeders noted yesterday that the heifer quality signals a bright future for the breed, with Money daughters, in particular, catching the judges’ eyes.
The Comeback Nobody Expected
Cali’s path to yesterday’s championship reads like dairy fiction. After being dry for an entire year while undergoing IVF treatments, she produced 58 quality embryos across three sessions.
“She got a little heavy because she was dry a long time,” Callum admitted. His worry peaked when she started bagging up this summer. Then came the miracle: “She didn’t have an issue. She didn’t even require a bottle of calcium”.
Now she’s bred back, potentially carrying her next generation while still dominating show rings. “It’s nothing fizzes her,” Callum said, describing how she transitions seamlessly from Canadian pastures to Madison’s spotlight.
The Genetics Revolution Nobody Saw Coming
Jake Hushen of New Generation Genetics couldn’t contain his excitement watching the winter calf class. “Seriously, Casey, like this is not when I was a kid. I mean, 30 was big. Now we’re at 60”.
New Generation dominated with 14 class winners from 10 different sires. But the real story was standing quietly beside them—Callise, a full-blooded embryo imported directly from Switzerland.
“Our goal is to expand the bloodlines by branching out with Europe,” Hushen explained. While genomics accelerates genetic progress, it can dangerously narrow the gene pool. This Swiss import program is their answer—bringing original genetics straight from the breed’s homeland.
The Quality Revolution
Brian Pacheco, wearing his hat as president of the Brown Swiss association, overheard the chatter that mattered. “In the past, there was five or six good cows. Now there’s 15 to 25 really good cows”.
This isn’t propaganda—it’s evolution. The breed has transformed from “more of just a show breed” to “an actual production breed,” Pacheco observed. Yesterday’s show proved it with Cali leading the charge—a cow that combines championship looks with 60-kilo daily production.
Judge Paulson faced the brutal side of this quality surge. “One of the toughest things,” he reflected, “looking somebody in the eye to put them 51st”. When state fair champions are placing in the twenties and thirties, excellence becomes relative.
The Human Moments That Mattered
Yesterday wasn’t just about genetics and milk production. It was about Spud Paulson honoring his mentor’s legacy while judging alongside his best friend, Brian, with whom he talks “almost every day” after midnight while hauling cattle.
It was about Callum taking that photo of Cali fresh after calving and watching people’s excitement build. About Brian Pacheco standing in his lucky spot, letting Callum’s expertise shine while his cow made history.
“You never know, maybe if things go right… we may be back next year,” Pacheco said with a grin. Someone mentioned another cow had just completed a three-peat. The possibility hung in the air like morning mist over Wisconsin pastures.
What Yesterday Means for Tomorrow
As crowds dispersed and exhibitors returned to evening chores, Wednesday’s lessons crystallized :
Age is an asset, not a liability, when genetics meet exceptional management. With replacement costs soaring and quality genetics scarce, Cali’s decade of productivity rewrites the culling playbook.
Distance dissolves with trust. The California-Canada partnership proves that in our connected world, expertise matters more than proximity.
Breed evolution accelerates. From 30 winter calves to 60, from show ring beauty to production powerhouse—the Brown Swiss transformation is real and remarkable. The Red & White and Milking Shorthorn shows demonstrated similar quality surges, with junior champions setting new standards.
Global genetics are local necessities. Importing Swiss embryos isn’t exotic—it’s essential for maintaining the genetic diversity that genomic threats pose.
The Bottom Line from the Colored Shavings
Yesterday at World Dairy Expo wasn’t just another Wednesday in October. It was the day a 10-year-old cow proved that longevity beats youth, trust beats contracts, and sometimes—just sometimes—lightning really does strike twice.
“It’s a feeling you just don’t soon forget,” Brian Pacheco said, and he’s right. Not because of the banner or trophy, but because yesterday reminded everyone why they fell in love with dairy cattle in the first place.
The champions have been crowned, the partnerships celebrated, and the genetics evaluated. But Cali’s story—backed by 60 kilos of daily milk and seven lactations of excellence—proves that in dairy’s modern era, the old rules no longer apply.
With Red & White and Milking Shorthorn cow classes continuing this morning, yesterday’s heifer champions have set the bar impossibly high. But if Wednesday taught us anything, it’s that impossible is just tomorrow’s baseline at World Dairy Expo.
Yesterday wasn’t just history. It was a prophecy.
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