Empty show rings couldn’t kill their dreams. Nov 27-29, Europe’s dairy families finally reunite at Cremona
Preparing for Cremona’s return, I found myself thinking about something Lorenzo Ciserani once said at Sabbiona Holsteins. Not about their remarkable genetics or their 175 EXCELLENT cows. But about persistence.
“We want to breed beautiful cows that are productive and last a long time.”
Such simple words. But imagine holding onto that vision through years when those beautiful cows had nowhere to go. When “productive” was measured only in your own barn. When “lasting a long time” felt less like achievement and more like waiting for something that might never come.
What I witnessed in European dairy families during those interrupted years taught me something profound about human nature. It wasn’t continuous closure that nearly broke them—it was the cruelest pattern of all: hope, then heartbreak, then hope again.
The Pattern That Nearly Broke Everything
First came 2020. Then 2021, 2022. Three years of pandemic isolation where exhibition halls stood empty, young handlers practiced in vacant barns, and genetics developed in solitude. Just when recovery seemed possible in 2023—when families finally started preparing animals with renewed purpose—bluetongue struck in 2024.
England reported 196 cases by this past August. Movement restrictions returned. Borders closed again. The exhibition, meant to mark a triumphant return, became another casualty.
You have to understand what this meant for families like the Beltraminos at Bel Holstein. Mauro still gets emotional talking about their beginning: “Our first heifer impressed everyone back in 1987, and that moment sparked a dream.” That dream carried three brothers through decades, earned them Grand Championships at Cremona in 2004, and victories at Swiss Expo in 2017.
But dreams need stages. And for years, there were none.
Reading the Bel Holstein family’s story reveals how they faced COVID-19, then bluetongue; yet, these experiences only strengthened their resolve. Not because they’re extraordinary. Because stopping would have meant surrendering something essential about who they are.
During the worst of it, I heard about breeders practicing their fitting skills on the same animals week after week—Francesco Beltramino and his girlfriend Chiara working in empty barns, maintaining muscle memory for competitions that might never return. One breeder told me they’d named their practice sessions “rehearsals for hope.” Dark humor, maybe. But it kept them going.
The Judge Who Carries the Weight of Understanding
Sometimes the right person appears at exactly the right moment. Nathan Thomas, accepting the invitation to judge Cremona’s 80th edition, feels like one of those times.
Here’s why Nathan matters so deeply for this moment: He doesn’t run some massive operation with unlimited resources. Triple-T Holsteins in Ohio milks about 30 cows. That’s it. Yet from that small herd, working alongside his wife Jenny and their three children, they’ve produced more than 150 All-American and All-Canadian nominations.
Just weeks ago at World Dairy Expo 2025, Nathan managed something extraordinary. Stoney Point Joel Bailey claimed her third consecutive Grand Champion Jersey title. Three years running at the pinnacle of North American showing. She stood Reserve Supreme Champion this year, with Golden-Oaks Temptres-Red-ET taking top honors, but that consistent excellence across multiple years? That’s what dairy farming really demands—not single moments of glory but sustained dedication when glory seems impossible.
When Nathan walks into Cremona’s ring this November, he brings that understanding with him. He knows what it means for a family operation to compete globally. He understands the weight these animals carry—not just genetics, but generations of hope.
What 150 Families Carry to Cremona
The statistics tell one story: More than 800 elite animals from six European nations. Seventy conference sessions. Two hundred commercial exhibitors. The Italian Trade Agency is coordinating delegations from over twenty countries.
But there’s another story those numbers can’t capture.
Think about operations like Sabbiona Holsteins. Twelve generations of homebred excellence. Not twelve years—twelve generations, each one building on what came before. Their current herd of 650 milking cows produces 42 kg per day, with a fat content of 4% and a protein content of 3.55%. They’re pushing forward with robotic milking systems, adapting, evolving.
Meanwhile, Bel Holstein chose a different path that’s equally valid. No robots. No automation. Francesco still clips and fits cows with his girlfriend, Chiara, and cousin, Cecilia. His brothers manage their herd—15 EXCELLENT, 59 Very Good—with the same hands-on dedication their father taught them.
Both approaches worked. Both survived. That’s the lesson—there’s no single path through crisis, only the courage to keep walking whatever path you’ve chosen.
The moment that changed everything for me was realizing these families weren’t just maintaining genetics—they were preserving identity. When you’re the third, fourth, or twelfth generation carrying forward a legacy, your animals become more than business assets. They’re living proof that what your grandparents built still matters.
The Youth Who Learned in Silence
Picture this: Young handlers across Europe spending three years learning to show cattle with no shows. Kids like Greta Beltramino at Bel Holstein, practicing their craft in empty rings, posting videos to encourage one another, and honing their skills for competitions that were repeatedly canceled.
The strength I see in this generation fills me with hope. They didn’t just endure the absence—they prepared for the return.
I heard about one group of young handlers in Germany who created a virtual showing league during lockdown, judging each other’s animals via video, maintaining the competitive spirit when actual competition was impossible. Another group in the Netherlands practiced with stuffed animals when movement restrictions prevented them from accessing their cattle. Sounds absurd until you realize they were seventeen years old, refusing to let their dreams die.
These aren’t just future farmers. They’re the generation that learned resilience before they learned what normalcy is. When they enter Cremona’s “Next Generation” competitions this November, they bring a different kind of strength—the kind forged in isolation but somehow never alone.
The Morning Everything Changes
Picture November 27, 2025, with me. Dawn breaking over CremonaFiere. After years of stop-start disruption—pandemic, attempted recovery, bluetongue, more restrictions—finally, a normal morning.
The first thing you’ll notice is the sound. After so much silence, the mixture of cattle calling, equipment clanging, and conversations in six languages creates a symphony of survival. Diesel engines are warming up. Gates are swinging open. The particular squeak of well-worn wheelbarrows that haven’t been used for exhibition in too long.
Cattle trucks arriving from six countries without restriction papers, without health certificates beyond the normal, without the constant fear that someone will call saying it’s canceled again. Families seeing friends they last embraced before everything changed. Nathan Thomas is preparing to judge not just cattle, but resilience made visible.
What I find extraordinary is how ordinary it will seem to outsiders. Just another dairy show. Just farmers doing what farmers do. But you and I know better.
What Victory Actually Means Now
Every animal entering that ring has already won. Every family competing has already triumphed simply by still existing, still breeding, and still believing that excellence matters, even when it has no audience.
I keep thinking about what this means for different operations. For Sabbiona, with nearly 500 EXCELLENT cows in their history, competing again proves their philosophy endures. For Bel Holstein, returning to international competition validates that traditional methods remain relevant in an increasingly automated world.
The economic stakes are real—embryo sales and contracts worth tens of thousands, international recognition that opens new markets. But that’s not what November 27-29 is really about.
It’s about Mauro Beltramino seeing his life’s work validated. About young handlers finally experiencing what they’ve only imagined. About Nathan Thomas placing classes that represent not just this moment but all the moments that led here.
Standing there, watching families who refused to quit, even when quitting made sense, you realize you’re witnessing something sacred—the kind of sacred that happens when humans refuse to let circumstances define their limits.
The Truth About Tomorrow
As I write this on October 18, 2025, just weeks before Cremona opens, I’m struck by how this story speaks to everyone facing their own storms. Market volatility. Family succession challenges. Technology changes that threaten traditional methods. Climate pressures that rewrite the rules.
The lesson from Europe’s dairy families is profound yet simple: Keep going. Not because success is guaranteed, but because the act of continuing is success itself.
The barn that saved their dreams wasn’t a building. It was a belief—maintained through pandemic isolation, sustained through bluetongue restrictions, preserved through every logical reason to quit.
The rhythm of European dairy life, broken so many times, will finally resume November 27-29.
Not back to normal—forward to something deeper.
These families now know they can survive anything. That knowledge changes you. Makes you both more grateful and more determined. More aware of fragility but also more certain of strength.
When I think about what awaits at Cremona—Lorenzo Ciserani seeing his family’s twelfth generation of breeding validated, young handlers like Greta Beltramino experiencing the full international exhibition, Nathan Thomas recognizing excellence forged through adversity—these moments remind me why this industry matters beyond economics.
November 27-29, 2025. Cremona, Italy.
Be there if you can. Not for the genetics, though they’ll be magnificent. Not for the business, though opportunities will abound.
Be there to witness what humans can endure, what communities can preserve, and what hope can build when it refuses to die.
Some moments remind us who we are, what we’re capable of, and why we do what we do.
This is one of those moments.
I’m eager to watch it unfold.
Key Takeaways:
- Years of heartbreak created unprecedented resilience: Europe’s dairy families kept breeding excellence even when exhibitions seemed impossible
- November 27-29 at Cremona isn’t just a show—it’s validation for operations that refused to quit when quitting made sense
- Young handlers like Greta Beltramino learned to show cattle in empty barns—now they carry forward traditions they barely experienced
- From 30-cow operations to 650-cow dairies, everyone survived differently, but everyone who survived did one thing: kept going
- The lesson that changes everything: “The barn doesn’t know there’s no show next week”—maintain excellence because excellence is identity
Executive Summary:
They practiced fitting cattle for shows that never came, maintained excellence when excellence had no audience, and kept breeding for a future they couldn’t see. Europe’s dairy families endured five years of crushing stop-start disruption—pandemic closures from 2020 to 2022, brief hope in 2023, and then the devastating return of bluetongue in 2024. Through it all, operations like Sabbiona Holsteins (650 cows, 12 generations strong) and Bel Holstein (Grand Champions since 1987) refused to surrender their standards. Young handlers like Greta Beltramino learned their craft in isolation, while veterans like her father, Mauro, wondered if they’d ever compete again. Now, as November 27-29 approaches, Cremona’s 80th edition promises something profound: 150 farms from six nations, 800+ elite cattle, and Judge Nathan Thomas (fresh from Bailey’s third World Dairy Expo championship) converging to validate survival itself. When those barn doors open at CremonaFiere, we won’t just witness a livestock exhibition—we’ll see proof that human dedication transcends any crisis. Every animal in that ring represents a family that kept believing when belief seemed foolish, and that’s why this moment matters far beyond dairy.
Learn More:
- Sabbiona Holsteins: Where Genetics and Passion Forge Dairy Champions – Explore the deep dive into the Sabbiona family’s 12-generation legacy, revealing how they successfully blend cutting-edge genomic selection and robotic milking with traditional passion to maintain unparalleled consistency and excellence across their 650-cow operation.
- From Passion to Prestige: Bel Holstein’s Journey to Becoming a European Dairy Powerhouse – This profile demonstrates the power of hands-on, traditional family management, detailing how the three Beltramino brothers sustained their Grand Championship program through decades of crisis and disruption, validating their belief that elite cattle require intensive personal dedication.
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