The wonder twins of Wilstar have arrived! Poy Sippi, Wisconsin, breeders Willis and Carla Gunst welcomed Catherine Elaine and Christopher Lee into the world on December 28th. The twins join Jacob Harbaugh, and parents Lynn & Sara Harbaugh, to complete the partnership known as Wilstar Holsteins. A very happy holiday indeed – congratulations!

Holstein World: Share with our readers a little background about you and your farm.

Collin Abraham: The farm was first purchased by my great -grandparents. Currently my grandparents, Dean and Olivia Shepherd, own the 40 acre dairy farm in Hilmar, California. My uncle, Gary Shepherd, operates the dairy. There are 80 milking cows, half are Holsteins and half are Jerseys in the herd. The herd has a RHA of 24,079 lbs of milk 3.4% 807 Fat 3.2% 774 Protein and a BAA of 108.3.

HW: Outline Ruby’s pedigree and other unique attributes of her cow family.

Collin: Ruby is an Oliveholme Aeroline daughter. She classified Excellent 93 with an Excellent 94-MS. Her dam was a VG-85 Peartome Jackpot daughter with a 6-10 record of 365 33,980 2.9 983 3.1 1060. Her grand dam recorded over 184,000 lbs lifetime with 4.2% fat and 3.3% protein.

HW: What are Ruby’s show career achievements?

Collin:
2002 Res. All-CA & Res. Jr. All-CA Senior Calf
2003 Res. Jr. All-CA Senior Yearling & Res. Jr. Champion Merced County Fair
2004 Res. Junior All-CA Senior 2-Year-Old & Grand Champion Merced County Fair
2005 Res. All-CA & Res. Jr. All-CA Senior 3-Year-Old
Res. Int., Res. Grand Champion & Best Bred & Owned CA Holstein Show
Res. Int. & Res. Grand Champion Jr. CA Holstein Show
Grand & Supreme Champion Merced County Fair
1st Senior 3-Year-Old CA State Fair Jr. Division
11th Senior 3-Year-Old International Holstein Show
2006 1st Dry 3 & 4-Year-Old California State Holstein Show Open & Jr. Divisions
1st 4-Year-Old, Grand & Supreme Champion California State Fair Jr. Division
2nd 4-Year-Old California State Fair Open Division
1st 4-Year-Old, Grand & Res. Supreme Champion International Junior Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo
16th 4-Year-Old International Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo

HW: What is her current status? Milking, flushing, etc.

Collin: Ruby freshened on July 24, 2006 with her third bull calf. Ruby’s highest test day was 146 pounds of milk. On her last test day in November, Ruby tested with 140 pounds of milk. Her completed 3-Year-Old lactation was
3-03 2X 365 30,578 lbs milk 3.5 1059 lbs fat 3.9 942 lbs protein. Ruby was flushed the first of December 2006. She had four Dundee embryos. We are planning to flush her in February 2007 to Durham.

HW: Do you have any offspring or offspring on the way from her?

Collin: Unfortunately, we do not have any offspring or offspring on the way from Ruby. She has calved in the past three times delivering only bull calves.

HW: Any additional information you’d like to share?

Collin: Ruby is a homebred animal that I have had the pleasure of showing since I was 10 years old. In 2005 she was named High Honorable Mention Junior All-American Senior 3-Year-Old. Recently, she was nominated as a Junior All-American Four-Year-Old.

Also, I would like to send a special thank you out to my Uncle Gary for all he does.

HW: What was it like to exhibit the Grand Champion at the Junior Show at World Dairy Expo? What are your personal plans for the future?

Collin: Exhibiting the Grand Champion at World Dairy Expo was a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was an exciting and thrilling experience. I would like to send out a thank you to Seth Nehls for helping with Ruby at Madison. When Ruby was named Reserve Supreme Champion of the World Dairy Expo, I knew it would be a moment in my life that I
would never forget.

I am currently a freshman at Livingston High School in Livingston, California. I am the Greenhand Vice President of the Livingston FFA Chapter. My Grade Point Average is 4.0. I plan to graduate from high school in 2010. I would like to further my education at a university and become an Agricultural Lawyer or a History Professor.

Holstein World: Share with our readers a little background about you and your farm.

Luke Hillegass: We downsized our farm and herd when my dad’s dad retired about 4 years ago. Right now we are milking about 50 cows in a SuperStructure barn. Normally we manage the work with just our family and a part time high school kid to help milk. My mom works off the farm and Juliana, my sister, is at Cornell working on her Phd in Reproductive Physiology. I am very involved in the operation of the farm, as was my brother, Alec, before he became ill due to cancer. We farm about 120 acres, putting out corn, oats and hay. We are fortunate to have some wonderful cow families to work with in our herd, namely the Hillmont Enhancer Peach Family, members of the Tobi Family, among others.

HW: Outline Lyndi””s pedigree and other unique attributes of her cow family.

Luke: Lyndi is a 2E-93 95-MS Durham from a VG-88 Aeroline with over 150,000M lifetime. Behind her is an Emory that was exported to Japan as a bred heifer. Her next 5 dams are 2E-92 GMD DOM Leadman, EX-93 GMD DOM Rotate, EX-92 GMD DOM Valiant, Walkup Astronaut Lou Ann 4E-94 GMD DOM & a 3E-91 DOM Elevation.

HW: What are Lyndi””s show career achievements?

Luke: Other than one time out to the PA State Fall Championship Show where she placed 1st open as a Jr 3, this was Lyndi””s first real show season. Her accomplishments this year include:
1st Aged Cow, Sr & Grand Champion Premier Natl. Jr. Show
1st Aged Cow, Sr. & Grand Champion PA Fall Championship Open & Jr. Show
1st Aged Cow, Res. Sr. & Res. Grand Champion PA Spring Show
1st Aged Cow, Sr. & Grand Champion PA Spring Jr. Show
Rest Bred & Owned PA Fall Championship Open & Jr. Show
2nd Aged Cow Eastern Fall National Show

HW: What is her current status? Milking, flushing, etc.

Luke: Lyndi is milking and due back July 2007.

HW: Do you have any offspring or offspring on the way from her?

Luke: We presently have a yearling daughter by Champion, a 1/07 September Storm daughter and an implant by Stormin Norman.

HW: What was it like to exhibit the Grand Champion at Harrisburg? What are your personal plans for the future?

Luke: My family and I have had outstanding show seasons before, but nothing to compare to this year. Winning as Grand Champion of the Premier National Junior Show with a home-bred cow was a dream come true after years in the show ring. Following that with two more Grand Champion ribbons with the same cow in the same week is awesome!

I plan to farm with my dad after some time off the farm, possibly attending the Short Course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Holstein World: Share with our readers a little background about you and your farm.

Tom Wegner: I live on a 450 cow dairy in Ettrick, WI which is about a half hour north of La Crosse right next to the Mississippi river. The cows are milked in a double eight parallel parlor and housed in a 6 row freestall barn. We have 250 acres with about 200 of that being tillable. We don’t do any field work it is all done by custom harvesters. Our heifers are also raised by a custom heifer grower; they leave when they are three months old and come back about a month before they are due to calve. There are 7 full time and 2 part time employees involved in the farm.

HW: Outline Sherry””s pedigree and other unique attributes of her cow family.

Tom: She is a VG-88 Durham x VG-89 Encore. The next dam is a VG-87 Milan owned by Pete Zacharias in Maine.

HW: What are Sherry’s show career achievements?

Tom: We bought her when she was a spring yearling, she was 3rd Spring Yearling at the WI Jr. State Fair in 2005. This year she was Reserve Grand at the District II Holstein Show, 3rd Jr. at WI State Show, and 1st Jr. 2 at the International Junior Holstein show.

HW: What is her current status? Milking, flushing, etc.

Tom: She is currently milking and due to aspen.

HW: Do you have any offspring or offspring on the way from her?

Tom: Nothing yet.

HW: What was it like to exhibit the Grand Champion at the Midwest Fall National? What are your future plans?

Tom: It is quite an honor to win a junior show anywhere, but it is really cool to win at a national show when you know the best of the best are there. To come out on top is just awesome because all the hard work has paid off.

I am currently a sophomore at UW River Falls. I plan to graduate here with a degree in Dairy Science and then go back home and farm.

In this picture, Tom is holding Res. Grand Champion of the Junior Show, Willows-Edge Gib Fancy-ET. His sister, Jenna, is on the halter of the Grand Champion, Zach Durm Do You Po Sherry.

Holstein World: Share with our readers a little background about yourself – current employment, number of cows you own, etc.

Kristie Johnson: Well, I grew up on my dad and uncle”s registered Milking Shorthorn farm in northern Minnesota. Since then I have had the opportunity to travel and work numerous cattle sales and shows. This past summer I had the privilege of working for Joe Sigwarth in Holy Cross, IA with the Miss Mark Maui family and I am now currently employed at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine. I own between 10-15 head of cattle (a few Shorthorns still, Brown Swiss, Jerseys, Holsteins and 1 Guernsey). Until recently, I would purchase a calf for the show season and then sell her as a bred heifer/springer, but I am now working on building my own herd.

HW: Outline Jess” pedigree and other unique attributes of her cow family.

Kristie: Jess was born and bred in Wisconsin. She is a 90 point Duncan Progress daughter and her dam is a Counselor. Her next two dams are both “Very Good” and carry the Wendorf prefix.

HW: What are Jess” show career achievements?

Kristie: In 2005, as a Senior 2 year old Jess was 7th at the Wisconsin State Holstein show and won her class at the Dodge County Fair. This year, as a Sr. 3 yr old, Jess was Reserve Grand Champion of the Dodge County Fair. She then went on to place 3rd in the International Junior Show at World Dairy Expo & 15th in the Open Show. She was also Reserve Intermediate Champion of the Mid-East Fall National Show before being named Intermediate & Grand Champion of the Grand International Junior Show in Louisville, KY.

HW: What is her current status? Milking, flushing, etc.

Kristie: Jess calved the first of September and is milking right now.

HW: Do you have any offspring or offspring on the way from her?

Kristie: We have a heifer calf out of Jess by a bull that lives on the farm. We had bred her several times, and it was getting towards the end of her lactation, and we really wanted her to calve in time for Madison, so we put her in with the bull.

HW: Any additional information you”d like to share?

Kristie: Jess is housed and taken care of at Smith-Crest Holsteins (Matt and Travis Smith) in Beaver Dam, WI. Her accomplishments, both in and out of the show ring, would not be possible without Matt and Travis and the excellent care they provide on a daily basis. They deserve all of the credit for developing this cow and seeing her potential from the beginning.

HW: What was it like to exhibit the Grand Champion at Louisville? What are your future plans for Jess & yourself?

Kristie: Unfortunately, I was unable to attend Louisville this year, as it was the first week of my new job at Pineland. I couldn”t believe it when I called Matt to see how the show went, and he said he was in the tent waiting for an ultrasound, on the Grand Champion cow-Jess! I was as excited as I could have been without actually being there, because I knew the hard work and long hours that it took just to get there…I was just hoping she would win the class!

Hopefully, Jess will be milking hard enough to exhibit at this year’s Mid-West Spring Show, and she will be bred back at least in time for Louisville again next year. As for myself, I am loving my job and living on
the East Coast.

Holstein World:  As we near this year’s convention, only six months away, share any thoughts that you have as to how breeders are preparing to be in the spotlight of the national industry.

Rissa Mitchell:  Let me begin by saying that our Tennessee Holstein family is pretty small compared to some other states, and we really don’t relish the idea of being in the “national spotlight.”  Even though we have a relatively small group, we’re committed to hosting a convention that is both productive and enjoyable for everyone that attends.  So we really would like to encourage folks to make plans to bring your family to Knoxville, Tennessee next summer.  We promise to do our best to make it a memorable convention for you and your family.

In our industry, Tennessee probably isn’t regarded as a Holstein hotbed, but I think many will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of Holsteins in our state.  Tennessee Holsteins have been competitive in many national shows, sold well in national sales, and are becoming regulars on the Locator List and in active A.I. lineups.  The breeders in our state realize we have a special opportunity to showcase not only our area’s natural beauty and tourist attractions, but the quality of our Holsteins as well.  We hope you’ll join us for the national Holstein convention June 23-26, 2007 and let us convince you that “Tennessee’s the Place to Be in 2007!”

Holstein World:  How about the juniors?  Their headquarters?  Special activities?

Rissa Mitchell:  The Junior convention headquarters will be the Crown Plaza.  It is located just up the street from the Knoxville Convention Center, where the competitions will take place.  The Crown Plaza is a great hotel with an indoor pool for the kids to enjoy.  The juniors will enjoy their traditional mixer and welcome dance on Saturday night at the Crown Plaza.  Sunday is again Host Day.  Juniors will have their choice of the two tour options.  Many juniors have expressed regret at not having an opportunity to participate in farm tours at some previous conventions, so we tried to arrange host day in such a manner that those wishing to visit farms will have that opportunity.  The Dollywood theme park will be a big hit with the juniors with its wealth of roller coasters, water rides, and games.

The keynote speaker that is scheduled for the Junior awards banquet is Pat Summitt, head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team.  Pat has graciously agreed to speak for our juniors, provided recruiting and other basketball commitments allow.  Her final schedule will be confirmed in January, so everyone keep your fingers crossed!  Pat is widely regarded as one of the top motivational speakers in the country and I sincerely hope our juniors get the privilege of hearing her speak.

The final event for juniors will be a private party at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.  Juniors will enjoy a pizza party and total access to all the interactive exhibits and ball court areas.  This is a great facility and a recent addition to the Knoxville area.  We’re sure everyone will enjoy our “Huddle at the Hall.”

Holstein World:  As a Tennessee native, recommend some sights that won’t be on the convention schedule that visitors might want to include in their trip.

Rissa Mitchell:  Without a doubt I really hope folks take some time to visit the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge area.  The Smokies have some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere and can provide some really special family time.  My family has wonderful memories of quiet picnics in the park, playing in mountain streams, and hiking on the trails.  A trip (by bike or car) around the Cades Cove Loop is definitely not to be missed.  The resort town of Gatlinburg has a wealth of interesting shops and first-class restaurants.  The Pigeon Forge area has entertainment options for every member of the family, from go-karts and putt-putt for the kids to great outlet mall shopping for mom and Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World for dad.  There are also countless musical and comedy dinner theaters to choose from for entertainment each night.

Millions of tourists come to Tennessee year after year to enjoy the Smokey Mountain area.  We hope you’ll find time to make the thirty minute journey for a visit either before or after convention.  I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!

Holstein World: What are some of the scheduled events that visitors will be treated to? Special attractions, convention speakers and entertainment, etc.?

Rissa Mitchell: Tennessee has a wealth of natural beauty as well as numerous popular tourist attractions, so we’re trying to give convention attendees plenty of opportunity to see our state and experience firsthand the southern hospitality our area is famous for.

Since the convention is located in east Tennessee, we’ve planned a great pre-convention tour that will visit the middle Tennessee area. The pre-convention tour will depart on Thursday, June 21st. The first day will include a visit to the Jack Daniels Distillery, lunch at Miss Bobo’s Boarding House, and a tour and demonstration at Waterfall Farm, home of reigning World Champion Tennessee Walking Horses. Dinner will be at the popular Lamplighter Restaurant in Columbia. Friday will begin with visits to Rummage Holsteins and Maple Leaf Farms. Following lunch, the tour will check in at the Opryland Hotel to allow plenty of time for enjoying this fantastic facility, as well as the Opry Mills mall. A visit to Nashville wouldn’t be complete without taking in the Grand Ole Opry on Friday night. Saturday will begin with a buffet breakfast at the Opryland Hotel. The group will then visit Major Dairy in Lebanon before returning to Knoxville. This should be a wonderful opportunity for convention attendees to enjoy many of the highlights of the Nashville area, as well as an opportunity to enjoy seeing some of Tennessee’s best herds.

Host Day is scheduled for Sunday, June 24th and will feature some of the best spots East Tennessee has to offer. We are planning two different tours for attendees to select. The first will be a farm tour to the Chattanooga area. We will begin with a stop at Hatcher Dairy, a 650 cows operation with a rotary parlor. Next will be a visit to Beatyview Holsteins, where you’ll enjoy fine cows and finer folks. Following a picnic lunch, a stop is planned at Sweetwater Valley Farms. Sweetwater Valley is a 1,000 cow family farm that features its own farmstead cheese making operation.

The second host day tour option will begin with a visit to Ma-Tom-Ba Holsteins. Numerous east Tennessee Holstein breeders are cooperating to host a stop that will feature several herds’ favorite cows and cow families at one location. Following the farm visit, buses will proceed to Dollywood for the remainder of the day. Dollywood is one of Tennessee’s premier attractions, featuring many first-class amusement park rides and a multitude of musical shows, craft demonstrations, and plenty of great food!

We are also excited about some of the entertainment that has been arranged for the convention. Adults can look forward to enjoying Sam Venable at the final banquet. Sam is a popular newspaper columnist in our area that is in great demand as a speaker and entertainer. His humorous stories are sure to keep everyone laughing for years to come.

Holstein World:  This year’s national Holstein convention will be held in Knoxville, Tennessee.  What are the dates?  The meeting headquarters hotel?  The date and location of the sale?  Trade show details?

Rissa Mitchell:  The Tennessee Holstein family is excited to welcome the national convention to Knoxville next summer.  We are working diligently to make sure that everyone attending will be able to enjoy a fun, relaxing, and affordable visit to our state.  The dates for convention are June 23-26, 2007.  The site for the vast majority of convention events will be the Knoxville Convention Center.  This is a beautiful facility that has just been completed during the past few years.   All business meetings, banquets, silent auctions, and junior competitions will be held at the convention center.  Additionally, the dairy bar will be located conveniently in the convention center with the trade show occupying the concourse area surrounding all meeting rooms.

Holiday Inn Select-Downtown will serve as the adult convention headquarters hotel.  It is located adjacent to the convention center and should be very convenient for all attendees.  The sale is scheduled for Monday night, June 25^th and will be held at the University of Tennessee Brehm Animal Science Arena.  The UT Arena is approximately 2 miles from the convention center.  Ample bus transportation will be provided on sale day.  Anyone wishing to view the cattle earlier will also have opportunity to travel to the sale site on Knoxville’s free downtown trolley system.