In grand fashion at the Annual Convention Banquet on Thursday night, the National DJM’s were announced to a capacity crowd, while being “introduced” by the UW-Madison Marching Band. Finalists included:

Andrew Birch, Derby, VT
Julia Hudyncia, Fort Plain, NY
Heather Petersheim, Viroqua, WI
Lucas Sjostrom, Lafayette, MN
Michael Stewart, Oelwein, IA
David Wilson, Port Royal, PA

Congratulations!

It was another corker of a sale Wednesday night at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells, WI. The Wisconsin Futures featured first choice lots from many of the breed’s most prominent cow families. As at the Wisconsin Nationals sale the night before, Tom Morris managed the event and handled the auctioneering duties while Horace Backus read pedigrees. At the end of the evening, 39 lots grossed $405,700 for an average of $10,403 - both National Convention based sales achieved the rarified five figure average mark.

After the sit down meal, the sale began and each catalog page was displayed on two large screens.

High sellers:

Lot 39 - $27,000
Buyer: Klassic Holsteins, Waseca, MN
Choice of two Ramos heifers from Larcrest Oside Champagne-ET (VG-87) consigned by Jon Larson of Albert Lea, MN. The dam and her maternal sister have a combined 35 sons in AI and are backed by an EX-92 Juror.

Lot 37 $22,000
Buyer: Spencer Moore, Muscoda, WI
First choice of eight 5/08 transfers from Morningview Shtl Alana-ET (VG-86) consigned by Walt, Robert & Jason Wessel of Greeley, IA. Alana is out of a VG-87 Finley and her next dam is Canyon-Breeze Em August-ET (EX-92).

Lot 11 - $22,000
Buyer: K-Manor Holsteins, Madison, WI
First choice of numerous Armstead, Jeeves and Shottle transfers from Paradise-D Gldwn Gilda-ET (VG-88) consigned by Daniel & Nancy Pagenkopf of Lancaster, WI. Gilda is an AI contracted Goldwyn two-year-old and a 10th generation VG or EX cow out of Paradise-D BWMar Geneva-ET (VG-86).

Lot 22 - $17,500
Buyer: Eric Salonen, Baden, Ontario
First choice of three female pregnancies by Ladys-Manor Auden out of Stripes Oman Shady-ET (VG-85) consigned by Grant Rudrud of Viroqua, WI. Shady has eleven AI contracts and is out of Sher-Est Rudolph Stripes-TW (2E-91), the well-known Rudolph daughter from the Saturday cow family.

Lot 3 - $15,500
Buyer: Kellercrest Holsteins, Mt. Horeb, WI
Choice of two 4/08 Bolton heifers out of Mission-Bell B Iron Direct (EX-91) consigned by W. Thomas & Jerome Jens of Sheboygan Falls, WI. Direct has seven sons in AI and is backed by five Excellent dams - all EX-91 or higher.

Lavender Ruby Redrose relaxes in her boxstall at Rosedale.

Years of hard work have paid off for Mark Rueth and Nicky Reape, as displayed here in their trophy room.

Rear udder shot of La-Par 1593 Gin 1824, a superstar at Maple Lawn Farms.

Tom Lyons Jr. leads Gin around for the visitors.

Numerous calf hutches at So-Fine Bovines, LLC.

Brooks and Jade Buchholz show off some of the herd favorites at So-Fine.

Zach and Chris Shauf, of Indianhead Holsteins, entertained the juniors on Monday night with a stellar concert.

Luke Ruen of Iowa gets his groove on with some fellow juniors during the Catchpenny concert.

Youngsters from accross the country show their dance moves at Catchpenny.

Curtis Bickel, president of the Ohio Junior Holstein Association, and Jason Miley, Vice-President, analyze some heifers at Maple Lawn Farms. Jason Miley is running for area 2 JAC.

Curtis and Gus Koebke of Maine enjoy the young calves in the new barn at Maple Lawn Farms.

Senior dairy bowl teams from Minnesota and Michigan match up in the first round of the dairy bowl competition.

The senior dairy bowl team hailing from New York makes their debut at the 2008 dairy bowl contest.

Last night’s Wisconsin Nationals Sale was a sight to behold! With three huge tents, at least 2,000 in attendance, an immaculate setting at Heatherstone Enterprises, and a sale lineup nothing short of spectacular, the convention sale averaged $12,785 on 86 lots. Cattle sold to 11 states and two countries.

Sale site - Heatherstone Enterprises located just outside of Baraboo, WI.

Heatherstone barn with Accelerated Genetics welcome tent in the foreground. Accelerated generously sponsored the meal at the sale that evening.

The farmstead was impressive and immaculate. Everything was cleaned, painted, clipped, trimmed and polished!

A lovely lineup of sale cattle - high type individuals loaded with deep pedigrees.

Puttin’ them away! Ringman Scott Courtney at work before the sale.

A gorgeous and creative sale ring. Wisconsin pride resonated throughout the afternoon and evening with members of the UW-Wisconsin Badger marching band serenading the crowd during the dinner and the red ‘W’ popping up everywhere.

More delightful flower displays welcomed guests to the sale tent.

More than 1800 people took part in the pre-sale meal sponsored by Accelerated Genetics.

Sale hosts Mike and Valerie Holschbach of Heatherstone Enterprises welcoming the crowd.

The Heatherstone Enterprises crew! Jean & Duane Hegna (Valerie’s parents), Ruthie & Fritz Holschbach (Mike’s parents), Chase Holschbach, Chelsea Holschbach, Mike Holschbach on microphone, Clay Carlson and Brienne Holschbach Carlson. Hidden is Valerie Holschbach.

Standing room only at the sale tent - 1,000 chairs were not enough!

An absolutely perfect summer evening in Wisconsin left plenty of opportunity to sit outside the tent and also to do a little socializing.

Lot #1 was the high seller on the evening. Duchess Advent Divine-Red-ET (VG-87 EX-MS) is a three-year-old Advent from the Dellia cow family. She was nominated All-American R&W Sr Two-Year-Old in 2007 and has brothers in AI. She sold along with eight #1 embryos by Deuce, Redliner and Debonair. Consigned by Rick Frozene and John Steinhoff, Divine was purchased for $62,000 by Brooks Buchholz and Rick & Linda Frozene of Westfield, WI.

Rear angle of Divine.

Second high seller at $50,000 was Lot #2 - Gold-N-Oaks S Marbella-ET, consigned by John & Judy Swenson of Barneveld, WI. A VG-89 EX-MS Shottle daughter with a +1948 CTPI, Marbella is an 8th generation VG or EX out of an EX-92 Morty. She sold along with five #1 Goldwyn embryos to the Marbella Syndicate of Barneveld, WI.

Rear view of Marbella.

R-Z Billion Carmen-ET sold for $47,000 to Dale Trinrud of Waupaca, WI - good for third high. Consigned by Jeff Rugg of Stevens Point, WI, Carmen is a 12/07 Billion daughter of Ralma Goldwyn Carmel-ET (VG-88 VVVVE) who stems from the ever-popular Ralma Juror Faith cow family.

Fourth high at $45,000 was Shawnee Goldwyn Shanice-ET, a VG-86 VG-MS two-year-old Goldwyn daughter from an EX Durham dam then EX-94 Ocean-View Lindy Sheen. A 12th generation VG or EX cow, Shanice was consigned by Mike & Julie Duckett, Clint Wade and Justin Hogge of Rudolph, WI and was purchased by Chartoroise Holsteins of Rockford, OH.

Brian Behnke, leadsman extraordinaire, presenting Rock-N-Hill-II Convention Girl-ET, but never too busy for a smile!

Duchess Advent Divine - $62,000
Buyers Penny & Tom Frozene, Jeff Buchholz, Rick & Linda Frozene, Brooks & Jade Buchholz (kneeling); Divine with Brian Behnke on halter, Tom Morris, sale manager; consignors Kari Steinhoff, Ryan & Whitney Steinhoff (kneeling).

Shawnee Goldwyn Shanice-ET - $45,000
Ron Suhr, contender; Brian Garrison representing buyers Chartoroise Holsteins; Shanice with Brian Behnke on halter; Tom Morris, sale manager.

Tom Morris, Ltd. managed the sale with smooth efficiency. Tom Morris auctioneered and Horace Backus read pedigrees. Ringmen included Scott Courtney, Don Mayer, Rodney Hetts, Brian Garrison, Charlie Thomson, Brian Carscadden, Kevin Jorgensen, Jay Jauquet, Paul Trapp, Rick Bovre and Scott Culbertson while Brian Behnke, Tom Lyon, Jr., Niles Wendorf and Bob Sabo presented the cattle. Sandy Morris and her crack staff clerked the sale.

Louis Liming and Matt Oechsle of Ohio, display their “Feature Presentation” at the banner contest.

The juniors from Maryland enjoy their pizza at the Luau.

Juniors from across the country gather to discuss travels, cows, and all the fun they are going to have through out the convention.

National Junior Holstein members from Minnesota create a plan of action to promote the National Convention in Minnesota in the summer of 2010.

‘Moogle: “California” All the answers are there.’ A group from California sports their new Cali-pride shirts.

Brianna Sheehan, Meredith Ziller, Emily Irwin and Kaylen Miller, show off their beautiful banner. These Illinios natives are at the convention to compete in the speaking and dairy jeopardy contests.

Brian Coyne, J.R. Boyke, Ty Hildebrandt and Clayton Wohlk, Wisconsin Junior Advisory Committee members get the juniors excited for the limbo contest at the luau.

Emily Achen, of Minnesota shares the Minnesota tokens with Ben Mangun and Matt Oechsle of Ohio. Ben is participating in the fitting contest and Matt is here for the fun experience.

Young juniors from California share their candy with convention goers from across the country.

Wisconsin Holstein Princess shows her skills at the limbo contest.

Minnesota juniors exchange gifts with some junior girls from Georgia.

These two Iowa juniors are ready to rock and excited to be here participating in the 2008 National Convention.

“Jersey Fresh” stickers from the New Jersey kids were a popular present at the junior exchange.

Doug Petzel sports one of the many masks at the luau.

It was a beautiful day on Monday as many people who arrived this past weekend got on the bus to tour several prominent Wisconsin herds. Among them were Mystic Valley, the Bruenig family of Jenny-Lou Holsteins; Budjon Farms, the Cull family; Ryan-Vu Holsteins, the Ryan family; and Vir-Clar Holsteins, the Boyke family. It was also a busy, busy day for the juniors as the Jeopardy Contest was held today, along with the dairy bowl written tests. Tonight, adults were treated to a poolside event, while the juniors were across the way enjoying a real Hawaiian luau.

Ginny Wolfe (NY), Debbie and Keith Decker (PA) and Howard Wolfe (NY) enjoy the first tour stop at Mystic Valley Farms. Even though it was a 9:30am visit, the Bruenigs served the bus a great dessert of vanilla ice cream and strawberries.

The North Carolina delegation in front of the Budjon sign.

Sisters and friends! Amy Ryan of Ryan-Vu Holsteins and her sister Carla Gunst of Wilstar. Amy’s family hosted the tour bus today, while Carla and her husband and partners at Wilstar hosted an open house yesterday that still attracted visitors past 10pm!

Clearly secure enough to wear a skirt at the Junior Luau!!

J.R. Boyke made it back to the Dells after visiting with tour goers at Vir-Clar. He also completed a busy day of interviews for the DJM contest.

Part of the Junior activities tonight featured the presentation of the banner contest. Here, you’ll want to pay particular attention to the KU mascot - a favorite of the Rottinghaus family we believe!?

Creativity at its best from the Washington juniors!

One of New York’s DJM semi-finalists Julia Hudyncia and her mother Shirley!

Happy kids come from California! Celebrating Taylor Pires’ win of the Intermediate Jeopardy Contest today, and Caitlyn Lopes win in the Junior Jeopardy Contest, the gang gets ready to present their banner!

Stay tuned for more, including herd visit updates coming soon!

Many of us will be soon be, or have already been traveling to our local shows - District, Regional, or State events. Many of these shows, while relatively small in the show world have a great amount of quality from outstanding herds in the area. I recently was at ‘our local show’ and despite the high gas and fuel prices, the turn out was great and the quality was even greater! 73 head of Registered Holsteins paraded the ring with the largest class of the day being the Four-Year-Old Cow Class -10 head. I have included some snapshots and some of the highlights.

District 13 Invitational Show - June 14th, Urbana, OH

Judge: Kevin Williams, OH

Junior Champion - Koneta Sovereign Dancer (Stanhope Sovereign), 1st Fall Yearling, Jessica Brown & Cole and Olivia Cummings, Wapakoneta & Sidney, OH

Reserve Junior Champion - Oakvale Pro Patty (Windy-Knoll-View Rubens Pro), 1st Winter Yearling, Oakvale, London, OH

Intermediate Champion - Stan-Mar-Dale Exhbt Believe (Budjon-JK Encore Exhibit), 1st Senior Three-Year-Old, Stan-Mar-Dale/Express, Urbana, OH

Reserve Intermediate Champion - Oakvale Dundee Mary Jane (Regancrest Dundee-ET), 1st Senior Two-Year-Old, Oakvale, London, OH

Senior & Grand Champion - Koneta Linjet Dee (Sunnylodge Linjet), 1st Four Year-Old, Koneta Holsteins, Wapakoneta, OH

Reserve Senior & Grand Champion - Call-Del E Special Gonda (Ocean-View Extra Special-ET), 2nd Four-Year-Old, Katelyn McDaniel, Springfield, OH

The rear-view of the top 6 cows in the Four-Year-Old Class

The final line-up in the Four-Year-Old Class. The first place winner was also the Grand Champion of the Show.

Junior & Reserve Junior Champion

While June is traditionally national dairy month, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has issued a proclamation designating June as “Real California Milk Month” in California.

“This month, I encourage all Californians to buy milk and other dairy products that come from our Golden State. We produce some of the best food in the world, and we can all be proud to purchase California milk,” states Governor Schwarzenegger.

Congratulations to all dairy families!
~supplied by Kristi Migliazzo

Our June is Dairy Month feature for today comes from Melissa Hart of North Adams, MI. A farmer’s wife, mom and freelance writer, Melissa is full of stories. One outlet that she has to share those stories is her blog. Click here to visit and read more from Melissa! Thanks, Melissa, for sharing this event with us!

It was milk mustaches for everyone as we donned white stickers over their upper lips to get their mug taken in front of a black ‘got milk?’ banner. After the photo shoot, we printed off the shots and gave them their complimentary milk mustache portrait. In addition we gave out chocolate and white milk and lots of goodie bags. By the end of the day we gave away 1000 chugs of milk, 600 goodie bags and printed off 300 pictures.

This was all part of a kids fest held each year in the county for kids to come to learn about fire and traffic safety, get their fingerprints done and play games, all for free. We were sponsored by the Hillsdale county Farm Bureau, the Hillsdale County Dairy Promoters and the Michigan Milk Producers Association.

Two local dairy families organized and worked the event. The pictures are of the Hillsdale County Sheriff, Stan Burchart, and my son JW and me.