Everyone said genomics was hype. Adam Zehr tested six heifers to prove them right. Instead, his 75-cow farm just bred its second consecutive World Dairy Expo Grand Champion sire. Here’s how.

You know that feeling when you’re standing in your barn at 4 AM, second-guessing every breeding decision you’ve ever made?

Adam Zehr was right there with you back in 2011. November morning, tie-stall barn near Tavistock. The concrete floor was cold enough to feel through his boots, six Goldwyn sisters lined up in front of him, their breath fogging in the morning air. What he was about to do felt completely crazy at the time—trust a lab test over four generations of family intuition.

Here’s what nobody tells you about moments like these… those six heifers were about to validate more than just genomic testing. They were about to launch a breeding dynasty that would produce not one, but two World Dairy Expo Grand Champion sires. Back-to-back years. From a 75-cow operation.

Let that sink in for a minute. While many of the big genetics companies have thousands of head… a farm milking 75 cows in robots just bred the sires of consecutive Madison champions.

When the Numbers Started Making Believers of Us All

“Initially I was very skeptical about genomics and what could be gained from it,” Adam told The Bullvine in an exclusive interview.

And honestly, who wasn’t skeptical? Back in 2011, every genetics rep who walked through your door was promising the moon. The difference with Adam was… well, he actually decided to test it instead of just complaining about it at the coffee shop.

Those six sisters—daughters of an EX-94 Gibson cow that represented everything the Zehrs had built over four generations—they became his experiment. Beautiful experiment, mind you. These weren’t culls. He pulled hair samples, sent them off to Guelph, and then…

Then he waited for the science to fail.

Except it didn’t.

I remember talking to a producer from Michigan around that same time who’d tested twenty heifers. Not one matched their genomic predictions. Complete disaster. Cost him a fortune in wasted matings. But Adam’s story? Different ending entirely.

As each heifer calved over those next months, something remarkable kept happening. The one predicted to have the killer udder? She had it. Wide rear attachment, perfect teat placement, the works. The one with mediocre production genomics? Yep, barely making quota. But here’s what got him—the consistency. Every. Single. Time.

“Each of those six cows looked and performed in line with what the genomics had predicted. Classification and milk recording validated that for me,” Adam recalled.

That was his turning point. Not the hype, not the sales pitch. Six heifers proving the science.

The Conversation That Changed Everything

Now, what Adam did next… this is where most of us would’ve said “that’s nice” and gone back to business as usual.

There was this cow for sale. Misty Springs Lavanguard Sue. Just fresh, scored VG-87 at 18 days in milk. Her genomic parent average? Plus seventeen for type. In 2011, that was astronomical.

The price tag, though…

“She cost a lot,” Adam admits, and even years later, you can hear the weight of that decision. “So I felt there was kind of pressure to turn out maybe. This was kind of my decision. I hope she doesn’t flunk.”

Picture this: Adam sitting across from his dad Bernie at the kitchen table. The same table where four generations of Zehrs had made every major farm decision. Bernie had built their Master Breeder reputation one careful mating at a time. And here’s his son wanting to spend serious money—we’re talking enough to upgrade the entire milking system—on one cow.

Bernie looked at his son with that mix of pride and pragmatism every farm dad has. ‘Genomics will be your thing,’ he said, ‘because it’s a young man’s game.’ It wasn’t resistance—it was passing the torch. Bernie saw what those six heifers proved, and he gave Adam the opportunity to run with it.

You can still hear the gratitude in Adam’s voice when he tells this part. His dad didn’t just approve the purchase—he empowered his son to lead the farm into a new era.

I heard from a neighbor of theirs later—everyone in Perth County was talking about it. “The Zehrs bought WHAT?” But Adam… Adam had data. And sometimes data beats tradition.

Sue Becomes the Gift That Kept on Giving

You want to know something funny about expensive cows? Nine times out of ten, they’re complete disasters.

We’ve all seen it happen. Some operation drops major cash at a sale, makes a splash in Holstein World, and three years later? Cricket sounds. The cow’s either dead, won’t flush, or throws nothing but bulls.

Sue was different. Completely, utterly different.

From the moment she settled into the Walnutlawn barn, she flushed like she was getting paid by the embryo. I’m talking consistent double-digit counts. Month after month. While half the “elite” cows in this industry are giving you three or four embryos if you’re lucky. And with these beef-on-dairy prices in 2025? Every pregnancy matters more than ever.

The Zehrs got into this rhythm. Flush Sue monthly. Keep three to five embryos for themselves. Sell the rest to pay bills. Smart, right?

“We were quite shocked at how easy the marketing was. You could name a high price, and if someone thought it was too high, there’s the next one in line,” Adam explained.

But wait—it gets better.

Her first daughter, born at Walnutlawn, was a McCutchen they called Summer. That heifer topped the Canadian Conformation list in 2013.

I was actually at the Royal that year when everyone wanted to see Summer. The Walnutlawn stalls were like… you know when Tiger Woods shows up at a golf tournament? Like that. This heifer just had it. That presence. That look that makes old-timers stop mid-step.

Summer was nominated as an All-American and an All-Canadian as a three-year-old senior. Scored EX-92. But honestly? She was just getting started.

Solomon: The Bull Who Proved Adam Right

What came next… this is the kind of story that reminds you why we’re all addicted to this business, even when milk prices are doing whatever the hell milk prices are doing right now.

Solomon dropped in 2013. When those genomic results popped up on Adam’s computer screen—sitting in that little farm office overlooking the tie-stalls—he literally had to sit down. The numbers were suggesting this bull could change everything.

“I remember saying to dad, ‘I think Solomon’s going to be used on all the big time show cows,'” Adam recalled.

Bernie gave him that look. You know the one. The “my kid’s lost his mind” look. But Adam wasn’t just reading tea leaves anymore. He’d validated the science with those six sisters. He knew what these numbers meant.

By 2018, Solomon was Canada’s #1 Conformation Sire at plus sixteen. Number two PTAT in the States at plus 3.70. His daughters? Winning everything, everywhere.

Then came October 2024…

Madison Magic: When David Beat Goliath

Oakfield Solomon Footloose, the EX-94 Solomon daughter who’d already claimed Grand Champion at Madison in 2022, was back in the spotlight.

This wasn’t her first rodeo. When Footloose won Grand Champion in 2022, it announced Solomon as a premier sire. The 2024 repeat victory? That just confirmed what everyone already knew—Solomon daughters age like fine wine, getting better with every lactation.

Adam watched both victories from his office. ‘Seeing her win that first time in 2022… that’s when I knew Solomon was special. The second time just proved it wasn’t luck.’

Consider what this means: A bull from a 75-cow operation in Ontario had just sired the Grand Champion at Madison. While operations with unlimited budgets and AI studs testing hundreds of bulls every year are watching from the sidelines… Walnutlawn genetics are in the winner’s circle.

I talked to one of the ringside observers later—someone who’s been going to Expo for thirty years. “Solomon daughters,” he said, “they age into themselves. They get better every lactation.”

Now here’s where the story takes a turn nobody saw coming…

Enter Sidekick: Lightning Strikes in the Same Place

Summer—that McCutchen daughter who’d wowed everyone at the Royal—she had a son. Abbott son, born July 2016. When Adam pulled up Sidekick’s initial genomic evaluation… plus twenty-two for type.

Plus. Twenty. Two.

Even after years of rollbacks and recalibrations (we’ve all been burned by those, haven’t we?), Sidekick held over plus twenty. That’s not normal. That’s not even abnormal. That’s… well, that’s the kind of number that makes you check if the computer’s working right.

“To me, genomics nailed him exactly what he is. He topped every trait except milk,” Adam noted.

And let’s be real—nobody buying Sidekick semen cared about milk volume. With component pricing where it is in 2025, they wanted the type. They wanted cows that make judges stop writing and just look.

By 2021? Seventy-two classified daughters. Semex had already sold more than 180,000 doses worldwide. The bull was printing money.

But October 2, 2025… almost exactly one year after Solomon’s triumph… that’s when everything came full circle.

Adam’s in his farm office again, watching the livestream. Blake, his son, is out working—kid’s seventeen, planning to farm full-time after Grade 12.

Two days. 468 Holsteins. And there in the ring stands Lovhill Sidekick Kandy Cane.

Five years old. Bred by Michael and Jessica Lovich in Saskatchewan. Owned by the Lambs from New York. But her paternal line? That’s Walnutlawn.

“After that class, the way the judge talked, I kind of thought this cow might be Grand. So I went down to the office, and sure enough, when they named her Grand Champion, I was fist-pumping,” Adam recounted.

Alone. In a farm office. In Tavistock, Ontario. While the Holstein world’s epicenter was in Madison.

Two World Dairy Expo Grand Champion sires. Consecutive years. Both from Sue’s family. From a 75-cow farm.

I called Adam right after. Asked him how it felt. There was this long pause, then: “Dad would’ve loved this.”

Bernie passed from ALS seven years ago. Never saw either championship. But man… his fingerprints are all over these victories.

Why This Matters (And What You Can Actually Do About It)

Look, I get it. Great story, but what’s this mean for the rest of us who don’t have the cash for an expensive foundation female?

That’s exactly the point.

See what’s happening here? While everyone’s chasing volume—while the industry keeps preaching “test more bulls, flush more cows, bigger is better”—Adam just proved them all wrong. Twice.

Here’s the math that’ll blow your mind: Walnutlawn tests 10-15 bulls a year. The big studs? They’re testing 500-800. So statistically, Walnutlawn should get one good bull for every 40-50 the giants produce. Instead? They’re batting 2-for-2 on Madison champions, while operations spending millions are striking out.

You know what the mega-dairies miss? Everything. They miss the cow that visits the robot four times at 400 days in milk, yet it never shows up in their reports. They miss the heifer with perfect angularity because she’s just another number in pen 47. They miss… hell, they miss what makes a cow special because they’re managing by spreadsheet instead of instinct backed by data.

What nobody wants to admit—especially with all this consolidation happening in 2025—is that small farms have advantages the 5,000-cow operations can’t touch. When you’re milking 75 cows with two robots like Walnutlawn, you actually know your animals. Really know them.

Adam still classifies everything. Every. Single. Animal.

“I want our bulls and females to have accurate numbers. I want people to trust them,” he insists.

In an era where genomic manipulation is becoming an open secret—yeah, we all know it’s happening, just look at some of those suspiciously perfect proofs—that integrity is worth more than any championship.

The Bottom Line Nobody Wants to Admit

So here’s what you can actually do tomorrow morning:

Start skeptical, but test your skepticism. Adam didn’t just doubt genomics—he validated his doubts with those six heifers. When the data proved him wrong, he pivoted. Fast. You can do the same thing with five or ten heifers. The cost? Maybe $500. The education? Priceless.

Focus on consistency over volume. At current genomic testing costs, Walnutlawn spends about $3,000 annually testing bulls. The big operations? They’re dropping $150,000 to $200,000. Per Madison champion bred, Walnutlawn’s ROI is literally 50 times better.

Maintain integrity even when it costs you. Every Walnutlawn animal gets classified. Even the disappointments. Start publishing all your scores. Watch how buyers respond.

The Number Three Embryo That Changed Everything

Want to know my absolute favorite part of this whole story?

Summer—the cow whose son Sidekick just bred a Madison champion—she was a number three embryo.

Adam only flushed Sue once to McCutchen. Got five embryos total. Four number ones, one number three. Sold the good ones to Australia. Kept the leftover.

The leftover.

That leftover produced a bulls whose daughters are winning at Madison. Whose semen sold a million plus doses. Whose influence will shape the breed for generations.

Sometimes this business is about genomics, EPDs, and all that scientific stuff we pretend to understand at meetings. But sometimes… sometimes it’s about having an empty recip and thinking “what the hell, let’s throw in that number three.”

The Walnutlawn story proves that the future of dairy breeding isn’t in mega-operations with unlimited budgets. It’s not in testing hundreds of bulls and playing the odds like it’s Vegas.

It’s in breeders who combine their grandfathers’ eye for cattle with modern genomic validation. Who focus on proven cow families instead of genetic lottery tickets. Who maintain integrity even when it costs them.

Adam Zehr did all that. And because he did—because he tested those six sisters, bought that expensive cow, and trusted validated science—a 75-cow farm from Ontario owns a piece of Holstein immortality.

Twice.

Tell me again how you need a thousand-cow dairy to compete? Because I’m looking at the evidence, and it’s telling a different story entirely.

The story says that in 2025, with genomics validated and cow families proven, the advantage has shifted back to those who pay attention. Really pay attention. To every cow, every mating, every embryo.

Even the number threes.

Especially the number threes.

Key Takeaways 

• Test small before betting big: Validate genomics with 5-10 heifers ($500) before any major investment—Adam’s 6-heifer test led to 2 World Dairy Expo Grand Champions
• Quality crushes quantity: Walnutlawn tests 15 bulls/year and bred 2 Madison champion sires
• Your “worst” embryo could be best: The #3 embryo no one wanted became Summer, dam of Madison champion sires Solomon and Sidekick.
• Transparency pays: Classify and publish scores on every animal—even disappointments—because integrity beats marketing every time

Executive Summary

Six heifers proved Adam Zehr wrong about genomics in 2011, launching his 75-cow Ontario farm toward an impossible achievement: breeding the sires of consecutive World Dairy Expo Grand Champions (2024 and 2025). The journey accelerated when Adam invested in Sue, a high-genomic cow whose descendants—Solomon and Sidekick—would dominate Madison while operations testing 800 bulls annually produced zero champions. The twist nobody saw coming: Summer, Sidekick’s dam, was the #3 embryo Adam kept after selling the “better” ones to Australia—that leftover generated 180,000 doses of elite genetics worldwide. Walnutlawn’s approach (testing 15 bulls yearly for $3,000) delivers 50x the ROI of operations spending $200,000 to chase volume. The blueprint is simple: validate genomics yourself with a small test, focus on proven cow families over genetic lottery tickets, and publish every classification score—even the bad ones—because transparency builds trust and value in an industry drowning in data manipulation

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