Posted: October 5, 2010 at 5:34 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
One of the titles that two-time World Dairy Expo Supreme Champion Harvue Roy Frosty holds is “Best Udder” and she is certainly well-endowed, as well as being very productive. At five years and seven months, in 365 days, she produced 44,713 pounds of milk with a five percent test, 2,222 lbs of fat, a 2.8 percent protein at 1,248 lbs.
In a Google search for Frosty, I came across a blog post written last year when she won Supreme Champion. It was written by “Midwest Refugee” who ruminates about all things Wisconsin and is not at all shocked that “the supreme cow of all the galaxies just happens to be from Wisconsin.” Couple of funny lines from the post about Frosty as seen from someone outside the dairy industry, commenting on Frosty’s official portrait from the Harvue Farms website:
1. Why is the cow’s tail groomed to look like a French poodle? Whoever teased that cow’s tail is welcome to come over and do my hair ANYTIME….
2. Is anybody else completely creeped out by its udder? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve milked my fair share of cows before (at the Milwaukee County Zoo), but for some reason the thought of touching this cow’s udder seems…I dunno…dirty to me or something. Look at it! …
3. What’s the deal with the skin and bones look? Did the cow swallow a tripod or something? Is the photo airbrushed so that the cow looks super-skinny for some celebrity cow magazine cover??…
4. Why is the winner of this contest called the “supreme champion”? What did the cow have to do to achieve this title? Cage fight other livestock until there was just one left standing? It makes the cow sound like it’s some sort of intergalactic bovine champion from the future.
Posted: October 5, 2010 at 2:29 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
According to the official attendance figures from World Dairy Expo, there were 65,136 visitors to this year’s event, including 2,468 from 87 countries. Among those international visitors were a delegation from China hosted by Novus International, shown here attending a seminar sponsored by Novus on feeding lower protein rations. They also were able to make a few other stops during their visit to the United States, courtesy of Novus.
“We are Novus International and we take the international part very seriously,” said Stephanie Gable, Global Market Manager for Ruminants with Novus. “We’re in over 90 countries and we’re strong in those other countries understanding what those local needs are. And as a native Missourian, I also understand the importance of agriculture here in the United States and whenever you take people from other countries to show them what we’re doing, you realize what proud heritage we have.”
Stephanie just returned from a tour of five different countries in Eastern Europe with a group called Global Dairy Farmers. “When you’re traveling through Poland and East Germany, and Romania and Hungary, and you’re walking on dairy farms that not very long ago were communist, state-run dairy farms, you realize that the agriculture today in those countries is not where we are in the U.S.,” says Stephanie. “Getting a chance to see other parts of the world was a wonderful experience, but it makes you appreciate what you have right here in your own backyard.”
She notes that increased global demand for dairy products continues to create growth both for the export market here at home and for production in other countries.
Posted: October 5, 2010 at 11:53 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
Oakridge-Bahler Farm is one of the top-producing and most successful dairies in the Eastern U.S. The third-generation dairy owned by Vern, Dave and Dan Bahler has earned numerous awards for its progressive practices, including Connecticut’s ‘Dairy of Distinction’ award and the New England Green Pastures Award.
Under the direction of Dave Hartford, dairy operations manager, Oakridge-Bahler Farm has doubled in size over the last ten years. The herd currently stands at 1,875 cows with 1,600 in the milking string. Hartford attributes much of the dairy’s success to its colostrum harvest management program designed to reduce calf scours. “We’ve been involved for a number of years with a product called Scour Bos, marketed through Novartis, we’ve been using it about 12 years,” Dave said during an interview at World Dairy Expo. “We vaccinate the mothers before they calve and the immunity for scours comes through their colostrum.”
They harvest the colostrum, refrigerate it within ten minutes, and throw it out if it is not used within three days. “We just have general commonsense animal husbandry, things that work good for us,” Dave says. He adds that Oakridge-Bahler is up to 800 female calves a year and last year they only lost five.
A new dairy MOOseum has opened in Montgomery County, Maryland! The MOOseum showcases the history of local dairy farming and will host a grand opening celebration on Saturday, October 23, 2010.
The historic 1930’s dairy barn is all that remains of the James and Macie King farm-stead, one of hundreds of successful family farms that flourished in the Washington, D.C. far suburbs to serve the Nation’s Capital. Its rolling acres were converted a decade ago into the South Germantown Recreational Park, where over a million visitors now annually picnic, exercise, and take advantage of numerous sports venues. More than 300 dairy farms once operated in Montgomery County, MD throughout most of the 20th century. The MOOseum is designed to educate current and future generations on the source of their food, especially the story of milk production, helping to bridge the gap between producer and consumer.
Educational features are included for all ages, including a life-size milking Holstein cow, a scale model replica of the King farmstead, as well as exhibits and tours related to the production, processing, and marketing of milk and milk products. The MOOseum collection includes milk coolers, cream separators, milk bottles and cans, butter churns, milkers, and other dairy industry artifacts.
The MOOseum was purchased by the King family farm in the late 1960’s, in preparation for the proposed regional park. The dairy farm continued to operate until 1998, when changes in the Park’s master plan called for all farmstead buildings, including the dairy barn, to be demolished. Community members worked hard to save the farmstead, and the effort resulted in saving the King dairy barn. In 1999, knowing the dairy barn would remain standing, a descendent of the King family organized a volunteer committee to develop a dairy museum later named the MOOseum. Planning, design, and permits took nearly ten years, until construction crews began work in October, 2009. The MOOseum opened on an interim basis in June, 2010.
Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) accepted a request from Darigold for assistance in selling 138 MT (304,238 pounds) of American cheese to a customer in the Middle East. The product will be delivered in October 2010.
Since CWT reactivated the Export Assistance program in March 18, 2010, it has assisted members in making export sales of Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Gouda cheese totaling 20,330 metric tons (44.8 million pounds) to 23 countries on four continents. In addition, sales of butter and anhydrous milkfat totaling 14,968 metric tons (33.0 million pounds) have been made to nine countries on three continents, reduced due to a cancellation.
Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively impacts producer milk prices in the short-term and in the long-term by helping member cooperatives to gain and maintain market share thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products.
CWT will pay export bonuses to the bidders only when delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.
Posted: October 4, 2010 at 9:59 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
Alpharma sponsored a media breakfast at World Dairy Expo featuring the latest research into precision feeding of dairy replacement heifers, presented by Pat Hoffman with the Department of Dairy Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“There’s been a lot of research work around the country on trying to capture some management practices that improve feed efficiency and reduce costs for dairy replacement heifers and precision feeding is one of those practices that seems to be really working out to have some very distinct benefits,” Pat told me in an interview after his presentation. His research suggests that dry matter intake can be reduced by 2-3 pounds per day without any carryover effects on milk production down the road. They also saw increased feed efficiency in the research and decreased excretions.
“What we’re trying to accomplish with precision feeding is just the subtle limitation of dry matter, trying to save a few cents in feed costs, trying to reduce manure excretion without changing the well being or productive performance of the animal at all,” Pat says. “Precision feeding means that you’re going to feed precisely the nutrients that they need.” That means that the feed is concentrated in terms of protein and is utilized more efficiently.
I also talked with Lance Fox of Alpharma about why they sponsored this particular presentation at expo. “Alpharma has historically been active in the dairy heifer industry,” Lance said. “Pat’s been doing some recent research and we wanted the audience to get that updated research.”
Lance says Pat worked with Alpharma on the idea of updating research he did a few years ago on precision feeding. “In this new study he wanted to look at applying an ionophore to the diet and see if we could tweak that diet back a little more and have an economic advantage for the producer,” said Lance. Alpharma’s ionophore on the market is called Bovatec which is widely used in cattle to control coccidiosis and optimize feed efficiency/gain. “If we take a pound of corn at 6-8 cents per pound, the ionophore at about 300 mg per head per day is three cents per head per day, so you’ve got a nice return on investment when you can replace a pound of corn in the diet,” he said, and that held true in the latest research.
Posted: October 3, 2010 at 6:15 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
Frosty the Holstein was named Supreme Champion at World Dairy Expo for the second year in a row.
Harvue Roy Frosty, a six-year-old Holstein cow from Rudolph, Wisconsin, was crowned Supreme Champion of World Dairy Expo 2010. Sired by Roylane Jordan-ET, she was exhibited by Mike and Julie Duckett, Jim and Nancy Junemann and Scott Armbrust of Rudolph, Wis. Currently classified EX-95, Frosty was bred by Dave and Debra Hardesty of Berryville, Va. At 5-07 305d she produced 40,725M 5.0% 2,030 2.8% 1138P.
Reserve Supreme Champion of the show was Blondin Redman Seisme. The four-year-old, sired by Valley River Ruben Redman, was bred by Pierre Boulet and Ferme Blondin. She was exhibited by Morsan Farms, Ltd., of Ponoka, Alberta, Canada.
Thanks to World Dairy Expo for the photo and congratulations to the winners.
World Dairy Expo hosts one of the largest Junior cattle shows in the country. The results of the 2010 competition are below. Congratulations to the many Junior exhibitors!
International Junior Holstein Show
Logsdons Durham Cher, winner of the aged cow class and exhibited by Katie Gibson & Michaela B. Sanders, Eminence, Kentucky, was named Grand Champion and received the Udder Comfort $500 Grand Champion Cash Award. Sired by Reagancrest Elton Durham, at eight years of age in 365 days she produced 33,881M 1,055F and 1,015P. The second placed aged cow, Stonefront Advent Laverne, shown by Shane Nodolf of Belmont, Wisconsin, received Reserve Grand Champion honors.
International Ayrshire Junior Show
Bethey Hill and Rachael Vail of Bristol, Vermont, exhibited the Grand Champion of the International Ayrshire Junior Show at World Dairy Expo on opening day. She received the $500 Udder Comfort Cash Award for Grand Champion of the Junior Show. Magic Meadows BBBK Alexus , winner of the Senior Two-Year-Old Class, earned top honors over 77 head judged by Norman Nabholz of West Union, Iowa and his assistant judge Randy Franck of Dewitt, Iowa. Reserve Grand Champion of the Junior show was four-year-old Shiredale Phil’s Susan, exhibited by Tanner Topp of Wooster, Ohio.
Central National Junior Jersey Show
A pair of senior three-year-olds won Grand and Reserve Champion of the Central National Junior Jersey Show held at the 2010 World Dairy Expo. First place junior of the senior three-year-old class, Claessic Fields Vindicat Genie, exhibited by Ben Sauder of Tremont, Ill., received the Udder Comfort $500 Grand Champion Cash Award. The second place junior entry in the senior three-year-old class was Select Jade Emy-ET, owned by Jordan and Whitney Ebert, Algoma, Wis.
International Junior Milking Shorthorn Show
GMC Innisfail Princess 610-ET, exhibited by Brook M Clark of Cornish Flat, N.H. wins the International Junior Milking Shorthorn Show at the 2010 World Dairy Expo and the $500 Udder Comfort Cash Award for Grand Champion of the Junior Show. In addition to Grand Champion, the winner of the Senior Three-Year-Old Cow class won the Milking Shorthorn 2010 World Dairy Expo International Futurity. The Reserve Grand Champion of the Junior Show was the second place Senior Three-Year-Old Cow, MPS Moonshine Still 175, exhibited by Bradley Byers, Milo, IA.
National Junior Brown Swiss Show
Random Luck KB Louise owned by Hayden Hauschildt of Ellsworth, Wisconsin was tapped for Senior and Grand Champion at the Central National Junior Brown Swiss Show at World Dairy Expo. Reserve Grand Champion honors went to Olsons Sues Zeus Susie-ET exhibited by Tanner Mashek of Calmar, Iowa.
The champion results for the International Brown Swiss show at the World Dairy Expo are in!
International Brown Swiss Show Results
A pair of five-year-olds reigned supreme at the 2010 International Brown Swiss Show. Old Mill JP Grace-ET exhibited by Peter Vail and Ken Main of Copake, New York was tapped Grand Champion of the Central National Brown Swiss Show at World Dairy Expo and received the $1000 Udder Comfort Grand Champion Cash Award. Reserve Grand Champion went to Jo-Dee Prestige Kaluwa owned by Jodi Coppini of Tillamook, Oregon.
Premier Breeder was earned by Old Mill Farm of Upperville, Virginia while Blessing Farms of Fort Wayne, Indiana was named Premier Exhibitor. The Ted Krueger Premier Sire was awarded to Top Acres EP Premium.
Posted: October 1, 2010 at 12:36 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
World Dairy Expo honored four leaders as the “royalty” of the cattle business during the “Dinner with the Stars” on Wednesday evening.
The 2010 World Dairy Expo Recognition Award Winners are, pictured left to right: International Person of the Year – Mr. Tadanaga Komori, Japan Livestock Trading Corporation of Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan; Dairyman of the Year – Donald T. Bennink, of North Florida Holsteins, Bell, Florida; Dairy Woman of the Year – Liz Doornink, of Jon-De Farms in Baldwin, Wisconsin; and Industry Person of the Year – Horace A. Backus, Backus Pedigree Company of Mexico, New York.
I had the opportunity to interview the dairyman and dairywoman of the year during the talk session on Thursday.
Liz Doornink has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and has raised three daughters on their 2,400 acre farm. The family milks 1,550 cows and employees 52 staff members at their three-times-a-day milking operation. We chatted about the challenges of managing dairy farm employees effectively and how they have worked to build a positive image with the public.
Listen to my interview with Liz here: Liz Doornink
Don Bennink started in the dairy business in New York by building a herd of his own as a youth. After getting a law degree and practicing law for awhile, he moved the herd to Florida in 1980.
Today, he has a herd of 4,000 milking age Registered Holsteins, the single largest dairy in the state and one of the largest Registered Holstein herds in the country. Bennink has led the innovation of dairy cattle comfort with tunnel ventilation to enhance production and herd health.
Don and I talked about the challenges and opportunities of dairying in the Sunshine State, how they have developed new technologies to improve cow comfort in that climate, and his international trainee program. Listen to that interview here: Don Bennink
Thanks to World Dairy Expo for the photo. For more photos from WDE10, check out our photo set on Flickr here:
One of the titles that two-time World Dairy Expo Supreme Champion Harvue Roy Frosty holds is “Best Udder” and she is certainly well-endowed, as well as being very productive. At five years and seven months, in 365 days, she produced 44,713 pounds of milk with a five percent test, 2,222 lbs of fat, a 2.8 percent protein at 1,248 lbs.
1. Why is the cow’s tail groomed to look like a French poodle? Whoever teased that cow’s tail is welcome to come over and do my hair ANYTIME….
According to the official attendance figures from 
Stephanie just returned from a tour of five different countries in Eastern Europe with a group called 
I also talked with Lance Fox of Alpharma about why they sponsored this particular presentation at expo. “Alpharma has historically been active in the dairy heifer industry,” Lance said. “Pat’s been doing some recent research and we wanted the audience to get that updated research.” 
Frosty the Holstein was named Supreme Champion at 
