Archive for the 'Herd Visit' Category

A visit to Elmvue

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Elmvue’s website will soon have a new look and some new innovations. A recent visit to gather plans offered a chance to grab a few photos.

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Elmvue is all decked out for Christmas and wishing you the best of the Holidays. From left Brett; his daughter, Whitney; Debbie and Randy.

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Views of the office and multiple awards that have returned from the show rings to the Elmvue show strings. (above & below)

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For more on this Johnstown, NY, herd please visit their current website at http://www.holsteinworld.com/elmvue/.

A Visit to Ocean-View Genetics!

Monday, October 17th, 2011

It was a bright Sunday morning following World Dairy Expo and a perfect day to stop in to visit the Ocean View Genetics herd! About a year ago, Daryl & Pam Nunes moved a select group of cows and heifers from Ocean View Farms in Windsor, CA to Pam’s former home farm in Deerfield, WI – Dun-Did Holsteins in Deerfield, WI (about 15 minutes east of Madison).

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Ocean View Genetics herd – now at Dun-Did Holsteins!

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The farm has a very picturesque location just minutes east of Madison, WI.

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The 39-cow herd has a BAA of 111.8% with 16 EX and 23 VG cows.

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Ocean-View Roy Shari EX-91 – she completes 12 generations of VG & EX cows from the Sheen branch of the Ideograph Burkgov Steps family – one of the foundation families at Ocean-View.

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Ocean-View Damion Abby EX-90 – a 7th generation VG or EX from the Tippy Starlite Al Alli family.

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Another Ocean-View favorite – Ocean-View Mandel Zandra EX-95 GMD DOM – who still looks remarkable at 15 years of age! Always a popular cow family, the Zandra genetics have again hit a high note through the Ocean-View O-Man Zabrina cow (EX-90) and several high-testing heifers from the family.

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A whole pasture full of Zandra daughters and granddaughters and Zandra in the center!

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A stylish Shottle heifer X EX Allen X Zandra.

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Pam’s dad, Harry Weier, still lives on the farm and helps out daily. Here he is put to work washing cows!

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Bales of paper bedding in the mow – used for bedding the gutters.

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Doesn’t the milk truck always come when you’ve got visitors rolling in to see the herd?

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Pam’s artistic touch is seen on the barn beams with several signs that have sayings to think about!

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Maybe the wisest saying of all!

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A pretty nice time of year to be a heifer or dry cow out on pasture in Wisconsin!

Sigwarth Holsteins: North East Iowa’s Hidden Treasure

Friday, August 19th, 2011

During Holstein World’s trip to Iowa for the Regancrest sale, we made a stop at the Sigwarth farm to visit with Joe and Joe Jr. about their upcoming dispersal. “The Magic of Maui” complete dispersal is scheduled for Saturday, September 17, 2011 and the farm near Holy Cross Iowa. Featuring many decendants of the Brood Cow Extraordinaire, Miss Mark Maui EX-95 2E GMD DOM, All-American Jr. 2 in 1994 and dam of several EX and VG offspring! The partnership of Joe Sigwarth, Joel Kietzman and Jim Breitbach purchased Maui’s dam, Gettinger Maggie EX-93 DOM GMD in 1990. From there Maggie was flushed once, and then bred to Walkway Cheif Mark, and thus has produced one of Iowa’s most outstsanding herds. Follow us as we take a virtual tour of some of the headliners for the sale.

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Joe Jr. and Joe Sigwarth

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Miss Durham Maia-ET EX-94 2E sells as Lot 1 along with daughters and granddaughters

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Miss Goldwyn Midnight-ET EX-92 Goldwyn x EX-91 Rudolph x Maui

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Jr. 3, Miss Pronto Maple VG-88 @ 2y Pronto x EX-90 Shane x EX-94 Lee EX-91 Mason DOM GMD x Maui

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Miss Glen Monet VG-85 Glen-Valley BW Captain x Miss Toystory Mona EX-90 x Durham Maia EX-94

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Miss Fortune Fifi VG-85 2y Fortune x Lyster x Stardust x Maui- 5 Excellent Dams!

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Miss Buckeye Mascara EX-90 2nd calf Buckeye x EX-91 Durham x Miss Lee Majestic EX-91

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Miss Mac Maclin VG-86 2y x VG-89 Throne

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Miss Toystory Danielle VG-85 Toystory x EX-92 DOM Durham Dolly x Miss Lee Majestic EX-91 GMD DOM

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Watch for a detailed ad in the September HolsteinWorld!

Minnesota Holstein Field Day, Pine Shelter Farms

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

Friday August 12, 2011 Holstein enthusiasts from across Minnesota gathered at Pine Shelter Farm in Pine Island, MN for the annual Minnesota Holstein Association Field Day. Tours of their 500 cow facilities, a presentation on cow comfort, ag olympics and 2003 World Dairy Expo Grand Champion, Pine Shelter Cheyenne was on display. The Alberts family has been dairy farming in south eastern Minnesota since 1854. The farm is now owned and operated by partners Dave, Duane and Rick Alberts, 5th generation. Their sister, Amy Sauder and Dave’s children, Laura (Alberts) Schimek and Eric Alberts are also actively engaged in the farm.

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Although a majority of the Pine Shelter cows are milked in their parlor, a select number are housed in this 70 cow tie stall barn is home for some of the more genetically elite. The site it sits on is part of 80 acres around it was purchased in 1910 by Hiram Alberts Jr.

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Pine-Shelter Lucina Fargo EX-95-3E was shown by Laura (Alberts) Schimek, and was named Grand Champion of the Junior Show at World Dairy Expo in 1997. In 2010, Lucy was recognized as Minnesota’s Brood Cow of the Year by the Minnesota Holstein Association. Nearly 50% of the herd traces back to Lindy in some way. Lucy was exhibited at 97 shows during her lifetime, entering the showring 220 times. She has 663 registered female offspring through her female line. Of her 53 daughters 46 have been scored. There are 11 Excellent, 25 Very Good and 8 Good Plus, 8 Dams of Merit and 1 Gold Medal Dam.

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Pine-Shelter Cheyenne EX-95 3E, was the Grand Champion and Reserve Supreme Champion of the International Holstein Show at World Dairy Expo in 2003. She is the only Minnesota cow ever to be Grand Champion of this show. Her sire, Pine-Shelter Laser Lindy, was a son of Lucina Fargo. Cheyenne will be 12 in September, and is kept at the farm of Molly (Alberts) and Ted Norling in Beresford, S.D.

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Duane Alberts explains the milking facilities, a Germania parlor which they’ve had for 31 years. It is a double-nine herringbone with rapid release on one side. They milk three times a day.

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Above the freestall barn tour go-ers take a stroll on the catwalk. Duane explained the feeding program for the farm, and the mattress and shavings bedded freestalls.

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This slatted floor free stall barn with a manure pit underneath holds young heifers and bulls.

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Many animals at Pine Shelter spend a lot of time out on pasture. In addition to the dairy, Alberts farm 2000 acres of land. 1,600 of which is planted with corn, alfalfa and oats and 400 of woods and pasture.

Thanks to the Alberts family for the great day of Minnesota Holstein hospitality!

Last stop in the wild, wild west with Ann Marie!

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

The last stop of my trip to the Oregon State Show was in Corvalis, OR at the Oregon State University Dairy Center. Our tour guide for the day was Melissa Cook. Coincidentally, Melissa was highlighted in a youth feature article in The World a couple years ago entitled “From the Cul-De-Sac to the Straw Pack”. Melissa has just finished her freshman year at OSU and is living at the dairy center, taking summer classes, and working on the dairy.

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OSU continues to be cutting edge in the technology they utilize on the dairy. Recently installed was the Afimilk system. This system conducts real-time milk tests for fat, protein, and conductivity, allowing the milkers to have better mastitis detection. The parlor is a double-7 herringbone with an extra wide pit, allowing ample room for teaching. RFID readers are located in the parlor that scan each cow as she enters. These readers are also located at the watering troughs and other locations around the dairy. The cattle and their daily activities can be tracked and monitored, helping to detect illnesses and heats.

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OSU milks approximately 130 head, both Jerseys and Holsteins with a partially registered herd. Here you can see some quite content Jerseys, eating and lounging about in the mild evening temperatures.

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Calf pens

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The view of the heifer field from the front of the dairy.

The Tillamook Air Museum simply can’t be missed when you’re in the Tillamook area. It can be seen from both Rocha Jerseys and Royalty Ridge, and you drive right by it on the way to Jo-Dee Brown Swiss. The structure is absolutely massive, and is the world’s largest wooden structure.

In 1942, the U.S. Navy began construction of 17 wooden hangars to house the K-class blimps being used for anti-submarine coastal patrol and convoy escort. Two of these hangars were built at the Naval Air Station Tilllamook, commissioned in December 1942 to serve the Oregon and Washington coasts.

Construction of the two hangars was rushed to completion. Hangar “B” was the first one built and was completed in August of 1943. Hangar “A” which was destroyed in a 1992 fire (thousands of bales of hay stored inside combusted), was completed in only 27 days. Amazingly, there were no serious injuries or deaths on the whole project.

Stationed at NAS Tillamook was Squadron ZP-33 with a complement of eight K-ships. The K-ships were 252 feet long and filled with 425,000 cu. ft. of helium. With a range of 2,000 miles and an ability to stay aloft for three days, they were well suited for coastal patrol and convoy escort. Naval Air Station Tillamook was decommissioned in 1948.

Since 1994 the remaining hangar has been home to one of the top five privately owned aircraft collections in the nation. In addition to aircraft, there is a comprehensive collection of WWII uniforms and other memorabilia, including medals, awards, photos, navigation and communication equipment, and Nazi and Japanese materials.

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The Building. 1,072′ long, 192′ tall (over 15 stories), and 296′ wide covering 7 acres – enough room to play six football games simultaneously. The doors are 120′ high and composed of six sections, each weighing 30 tons and rolling on railroad tracks. The doors are 220′ wide when opened.

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Martin AM Mauler. A shipboard attack aircraft of the United States Navy. During World War II the Mauler earned the nickname “Able Mable” because of its remarkable load carrying ability.

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Messerschmitt Bf 109. A German WWII fighter plane. It was the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s fighter force.The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring German fighter aces of World War II, who claimed 928 victories between them while flying with Jagdgeschwader 52, mainly on the Eastern Front, as well as by the highest scoring German ace in the North African Campaign.

Continuing western travels with Ann Marie

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Just home from a fantastic day at the All-Oregon Holstein Show, Jodi and Cathy Coppini took time to show us around the farm, and highlight the other half of the herd… the Brown Swiss.

Coppinis are transplants to Tillamook via California. They have made themselves at home on their 400+ cow dairy, tucked up against the hills along the Tillamook Valley. Don’t confuse this for a typical “commercial” dairy though, everywhere you look are correct cows (black and white, and brown) with beautiful udders and dairy quality. In 2010 Jodi bred 4 All-Americans or Reserve All-Americans.

1 Nancy
Jo-Dee Prelude Nancy EX-91. Nancy is a Prelude daughter out of the great Valligrove Jetway Nora 2E-93 who was grand champion at the 2007 Central National Brown Swiss Show. Nancy herself was 2nd Jr. 3-Year-Old and BU at the 2008 Central National Brown Swiss Show.

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Terra Rose Rhythm Sadie-ET 2E-93. Sadie is a Rhythm daughter out of Kulp-Gen Starbuck Shania 3E-94. She was the 2nd place 5-year-Old at the 2009 Central National Show, and was Reserve All American that year as well. She has a beautifully uddered Power Surge daughter in the milking string, as well as a Victor daughter.

3 Kaluwa
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Jo-Dee Prestige Kaluwa EX-91. Kaluwa is a Prestige daughter out of Cal-Ticino Collection Kari EX-90. Kaluwa was the 2nd place 5-Year-Old at last year’s Central National Show, and was reserve grand in 2009. She is a two-time All-American and two-time Reserve All-American.

4 Starbuck x Nora
Three Starbuck daughters out of Jetway Nora, that will show as fall yearlings in milk

5 Nora babies
Heifers along the driveway leading to the farm are mostly all Nora babies.

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Meet Gonzo. Gonzo is perhaps the biggest… no, scratch that, she IS the biggest bovine I have ever seen in my life. I’d seen pictures of this behemoth before, dwarfing Dodge pickups no less. But I will attest, even with all the photographic evidence, there is no way to fully comprehend the massiveness of Gonzo until you’ve stood at the gate and felt her rumble by. My travel buddy Kristi Tracy was kind (and brave) enough to stand next to Gonzo as a scale model. Now mind you, Kristi is 5′ 5″, and that’s Cathy in the background. Note the relationship of her head to the pins on Ms. Gonzo. Jodi said the last time they taped her, Gonzo was 75″ at the withers, and they’re pretty sure she’s still growing at 6 years old. Gonzo can’t be bred, but like Jodi said, “even if we could get her bred, where would we milk her!?”. For such a massive creature, Gonzo is actually quite friendly and easy to handle. …just don’t get between her and her grain bucket!

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That’s a size 10 boot next to that hoof. I’ve seen draft horses with smaller feet than Gonzo’s!

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On the road with Ann Marie

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

On her way to cover the All-Oregon Holstein Show and Sale last week, HolsteinWorld staffer Ann Marie Magnochi had the opportunity to stop by many places and show us the sights and scenes of the great Northwest! We hope you enjoy this on-going series!
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July is of course National Ice Cream Month, and what would a trip to Tillamook, OR be without a visit to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Not only does Tillamook craft a fine cheddar cheese, but they produce some of the best ice cream on the west coast! (I highly recommend the German Chocolate Cake flavor!)
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The Tillamook County Creamery is a farmer owned cooperative that began in 1909. In 2010, Tillamook was voted the World’s Best Medium Cheddar Cheese in the 2010 World Cheese Contest.

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In 1885 Tillamook residents built Oregon’s first official ship, the Morning Star. Butter from the Tillamook Valley was transported for trade on some of its earliest voyages. As a symbol of Tillamook’s heritage, the ship still sets sail on the company’s labels, and a replica ship is permanently docked outside the cheese plant.

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Cris and Doris Rocha and family have built an excellent herd or Registered Jerseys and Ayrshires, based on longevity, type and production. Tucked neatly off the highway just south of Tillamook, the Rochas’ farm roughly 50 acres and milk 85 cows. As we walked out behind the barns and down to the pasture where the girls were lazily grazing and lounging in the mid-morning sun, the concept of longevity was easily seen. Several “good ol’ girls” were scattered about the pasture, not giving us a second glance.

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Amber Journalist Chardonnay is a VG-88 Yellow Briar Journalist x Amber Brendan Chadly. This 5 year old has calved four times, with three sets of twins, ALL HEIFERS. That’s right, she’s had four lactations, seven calves, and all have been heifers. We should all be so lucky!

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Premium Farms ADV Adonis – EX-92. The 2009 All-Oregon Futurity winner. Adonis is an Advent x Marks Ally Rubens Alanis – EX-90 who is a maternal sister to Marks Ally Durham Africa – EX-94 who was recently Grand Champion at the Wisconsin District 6 Show for Mark & Stephanie Miranda, previously of Tillamook, now of Juda, WI.

3 Lemvig Whitney
Rocha Limvig Whitney – EX-92. Whitney is a Limvig x Medallion American Whistle – EX-92. She’s coming with her 8th calf and due to go dry next month.

4 Rocket
A 91pt Rocket x Letterman Windy – EX-91

5 Anytime
A 2-year-old Rocha Primetime Anytime x EX Hallmark x Limvig Whitney

6 Franchesca
A personal favorite cow of mine… Sunflower Ren Francesca – EX-94. I had the opportunity to work with Franchesca right out of college when I was working for John Tenneson at Elysian Meadows Jerseys. Cris and Doris bought several individuals from John, when he sold the herd. As Cris and I came out the back door of the barn a massively framed cow out in the dry cow field caught my eye, and I thought she looked familiar. But to me, a lot of the Canadian-style Jerseys look “familiar”, and I assumed most of those great old cows from John were long gone by now. “You remember her don’t you!?” asked Cris. “She looks really familiar, but I can’t place her.” “That’s Francesca!” he said. It was a nice little reunion with a good old friend. Francesca has over 150,000 lifetime, even with not being on test her first three lactations.

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Stay tuned for more as we head to Lancaster’s next!

HolsteinWorld visits Gen-Com!

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Gen Com Holsteins is relatively new to the Holstein scene, but has made a big impact on the business since it’s conception in 2009. A recent visit from the classifier left the Gen Com team with some outstanding results!

-Blondin Jasper Bess VG-85 2y
-Savage-Leigh Gold Levina-ET VG-85 2y
-Fontenoise Jasper Penelope VG-85 2y
-Comestar Allisonia Jasper VG-87 2y
-Mildee Roy Sparkling VG-86 2y
-Fortale Marilate Bolton VG-89 3y
-Irishview Drake Tracy VG-89 4y’
-RF Goldwyn Hailey EX-94!
-Eastside Lheros Lady EX-91
-Jacobs Outside Izzy EX-91
-Ploegsway 2nd Look Jolt Emmy EX-91
-Craggan Lheros Lynn EX-91

A HolsteinWorld trip to Quebec earlier this summer yielded these photos of the Gen Com facilities.

There are 150 Holsteins milked at Gen Com, the show cows stay on a hay and grain diet through out the show season, and are switched back to TMR when the show season is over.

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These automatic grain feeders are popular in Quebec. Running around the barn on a track, they are programmed to feed each cow a specific amount of grain at a specific time.

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Heifer barn where show heifers are kept, each pen has access to pasture out back.

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Calf barn where calves are housed in individual pens until weaning.

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Large heifer barn attached to milking barn, most of the facility, including the calf barn is all under one roof.

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Irishview Drake Tracy VG-89

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Gen Com Atwood Arielle, a December calf for this show season.

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The beautiful Gen Com office is decorated with many ribbons and awards from previous show seasons.

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Mario Comtois, owner of Gen Com Holsteins, is also the owner and operator of Comtois International, which specializes in exporting hogs and dairy cattle.

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HolsteinWorld visits Ferme Jacobs

Thursday, June 9th, 2011

The newest member of the HolsteinWorld sales team, Megan Herberg, recently took a trip to Quebec to visit several well-known farms. Following is a “virtual tour” of one of her visits!

Holstein World All-Breeds Blog
Ferme Jacobs, June 1, 2011

In our Quebec travels, we visited Ferme Jacobs in Cap-Sante, where we found the true definition of family. The close-knit Jacobs family does an exceptional job breeding, developing and taking care of cow families.

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Leo Jacobs immigrated to Canada from Holland in 1951 and started the farm which would grow into one of Canada’s most popular Holstein establishments.

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Ferme Jacobs milk 140 cows and farms 1200 acres of land between two farms. Jean and Marian Jacobs and two of their four children, Yan and Ysabel, are actively involved in the operation. Ysabel’s husband Tyler Dorion recently purchased the neighboring farm to Jacbos and started milking there April 1st. with the help of Yan’s life partner, Veronic Premont. The other two children remain involved in the business, as Kevin is the herdsman at Gen Com Holsteins and Laurie is spending the summer working on a dairy in British Columbia.

Show Cows
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Crasdale Dundee Liza has been an anchor of the Jacbos show string since being 2nd place summer yearling at the World Dairy Expo in 2008.

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Proven longevity could be found up and down the aisle of the Jacobs barn. Pictured here on the right is a Comestar Outside who has had seven calves, one of her daughters is standing next to her, a 5 year old Jasper. With high demand for young cows, Jacobs have been capitalizing on the market, selling a lot of fresh cows. Their commitment to taking good care of their cows is proven by the numerous older cows still working hard in the Jacobs barn.

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One of many fancy Goldwyns, Jacobs Goldwyn Joyce was nominated All-American milking yearling in 2009 and is a daughter of Valleyville Lheros Jenn, All-American and All-Canadian Sr. 3 in 2008.

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Jacobs Goldwyn Britany
A VG-89 Goldwyn, who was nominated All-Quebec Jr. 2 in 2009. She is fresh again and will can be seen on the tanbark!

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Jacobs Jasper Abella
3rd Jr. 2-year-old at Royal Winter Fair 2010

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The lovely Goldwyns were numerous and here is a Jr. 2 show prospect from the Lexus Nike cow family.

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Dundee has also worked well in the Jacobs herd. Here is Robrook Dundee Constance, a purchase from the 2009 Sale of Stars.

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Group hutches

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Heifer Barn

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Fresh Cow/Young Heifer barn
What was once the only barn at the Jacobs farm has been remodeled to house heifers on one side and milk fresh cows and cows going dry on the other side.

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And that’s the bottom line!

For more information on this great breed-leading herd, visit www.fermejacobs.com!

Ciao I’Italia – Day Two!

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Tour guide extraordinaire Claudio Mariani, Product Manager for Genesi Project, had another full day of touring on the schedule, including an unplanned stop at a gas station where pictures were taken (of course) of the displays of fresh meats, cheeses, wines and olive oils….in the gas station! Really unbelievable!

But the main focus of the day was to see more good cows, and that’s exactly what happened. Thanks Claudio for helping with the interpretation and added farm facts! Be sure to visit Genesi Project at www.genesiproject.it.

CIOLI FARMS: Stefano Cioli is a true Holstein addict! His family has been tied to dairy cows since the beginning of last century and in his home you can still see original pictures of ancestors with a kind of Brown Swiss cow (more likely a Braunvieh – at that time Brown Swiss was not even a meaningful word probably).

Stefano and his wife Lucia have 5 children: Maria Adriana 24, Margherita 23, Francesco 19, Antonio 14 and Donata 10. Margherita – who will get married next year – has inherited her father’s passion for showing cows. She’s the one leading the charge at all the shows they participate in – from clipping the cows to showing them in the ring. Her father is surely proud of her, but the whole family supports this passion. Francesco is also involved in farming, as the family owns a farm in Romania – but there are no animals there, only crops. He’s currently there working the land and managing the investment.

But the Cioli family is much more than this: they also own a cheese factory, BRESCIALAT (Brescia is the name of the biggest town nearby and LAT is the short name that stands for LATTE, that means milk). Brescialat is a company who sells many different kind of cheese, from fresh (like Mozzarella) to the old-seasoned (like Parmesan, 2yrs old), together with many other typical cheese made following original recipes. The company also exports some products, in as many as 50 different countries, among those are the U.S., Canada, Australia and Japan.

They also rent a farm nearby that houses a commercial herd of cattle – 400 in total. And, they bottle wine each year, with a new label produced for Stefano’s favorite cow that year.

In their spare time, the family is also involved in some social activities and takes an annual family trip for one week to help a charity. This year, the seven family members went and worked at Lourdes Sanctuary.

So, it’s no surprise that this family knows the word hospitality and how to make you feel at home! Their beautiful, remodeled country house is located in a very small village, and part of the cattle are there too (dry cows and bred heifers). In addition, some special cattle are there that Stefano bought himself or through our tour guide Claudio.

The farm with 50 milking cows in only about 200 yards away, and some individual pens are reserved for some show cows, including Martina EX-94 (sired by Martino – an Italian Chairman son). Martina is 15-years-old and is due to calve for the 10th time.

U.S. and Canadian cow families are well represented at Cioli – including members of the Henkeseen Hillary, Durham Regenia, Roxy, Tradition Jackie, Dellia, or Leadman Mae families. Stefano also owned some animals previously with Crackholm, and still has some members of the Astre Inksou family.

From the barn to the office – a visitor is still in awe as you see all the banners, trophies and signature wines on display. The best kept secret of all? The semen tanks – which include straws of Arlinda Chief, Astronaut, Wayne-Spring Fond Apollo, Sexation, Blackstar, Elevation, Carlin Ivanohe Bell, Standout, Thriple Threat, Starbuck, Skychief,……..and many more!

In fact, Stefano has a couple of Elevation daughters in their 2nd lactation, a Blackstar in her 4th, and some other “antiques” like these. And if you can believe it, he has a 6-month-old heifer sired by Fond Apollo…from an Elevation dam…who will be bred to Chairman.

An all around enjoyable visit – from the cheese and salami tasting, to Lucia’s homemade pumpkin ravioli, to the 60 acres (yup – acres) of tomatoes being planted for sauce to the great show cows and lively discussions on breeding and genomics. If you ever get the chance to stop by, this is a must-visit herd and family!

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The hay barn

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The heifer “shed” – clearly they do not suffer from northern U.S. winters!

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There’s something for everyone at Cioli!

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Donata waters the young tomato plants which will be put in the ground shortly.

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VG-88 September Storm 3rd calf

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VG-88 Talent x Roy x Dundee x Dellia

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VG-86 Pronto x Sept Storm x EX-92 Durham x EX Airliner

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EX-94 Martina – 15-years-old with her 10th calf on the way.

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The front of the office

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Of course we had to show you the Apollo heifer!

GO-FARM HOLSTEINS: While Monday’s three farms were located in northeastern Italy, in the province of Vicenza (halfway between Verona and Venice), Go-Farm is placed in the heart of the dairy area in Italy: the province of Cremona. Go-Farm is Italy’s #1 source for genetics, and among the top five farms in all of Europe. So many families are represented here that is impossible to include them all. Roberto Gozzini and his two brothers run the 480-cow operation, always on the edge for providing some of the top genetics. Roberto is in charge of the genetics and they currently have the #1 bull in Italy, ARTES, a Goldwyn x BW Marshall x Jeffrey-Way Formation Tate. The full sister is an impressive cow, and another half sister by Shottle was nothing less. Roberto has a true passion for genetics and he has built a separate barn for all his donor cows. He makes more than 200 embryos per year, sells about 40 bulls to AI plus some heifers both at auction sales and private treaty.

Roberto on breeding…”Our goal is make milk, but there is also a passion for genetics. We try to make sire selections for both. Currently the herd averages 4.0%F and 3.5%P and all our milk goes for cheese production. We do have two distinct herds though – the commercial herd (where we use complete bulls – a balance of some type, health traits and management traits like SCC…we are looking for a homozygous population – no extremes. On the elite herd, we spend more money to use the newest bulls who sometimes have less information, but a higher price! They must have high type, udders, and feet & legs.”
Roberto on genomics…”We would like to use genomics but it’s not possible to use high genomic bulls here. We are at a big disadvantage because we can’t use these bulls and other countries can. Our hands are tied. We are suffering an economic loss because we can’t utilize a system that not only affects our immediate future, but also because when the market does open up, we will be behind other countries that have been able to use genomics all along. We have over 100 well-known cow families represented here and have invested a lot in genetics. Do we keep going like this or not? We have to think about what makes the most financial sense.”

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…and yes…it does play music and have a little dance!

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The newest addition for elite cows. Roberto says they will add on another barn of similar size to spread out the commercial herd a bit.

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A VG-89 (max score) Goldwyn – the full sister of Artes
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A beautiful Shottle daughter – from the same family as well-known bull Scooby Doo

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A Buckeye daughter from the Penn-Gate Skychief Finesse family

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A Mac from the Christmas Fudge family

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For more information on the cows, heifers, embryos available and more, please visit their website at http://www.anafi.it/gofarm/.

Each year, during the world-famous Cremona Show, Go-Farm hosts a sale at the farm which allows visitors to come and see the cows and be involved in the sale. If you’re headed to Cremona this October, make Go-Farm and stop and see!

A few more scenes from our journeys out and about. And stay tuned tomorrow as we travel to the Lallemand sponsored, International Fibre Conference in Bologna. You’ll see more information and tours to a parmesan cheese plant, a winery and an olive oil cooperative!

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