BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — The Holstein Association USA board of directors held its summer meeting June 26-27 in Sacramento, Calif. and awards those who are striving to improve the Holstein breed.
Young breeder award. Honors were abound at the convention with two brothers earning the Holstein Association USA’s 2009 Distinguished Young Holstein Breeders award. Jan and Jeff King of Kings-Ransom Farm, LLC, Schuylerville, N.Y., have been actively involved in the registered Holstein business their entire lives.
After graduating from Cornell University in 1990 and 1993, respectively, Jan and Jeff returned to their home operation – Kings-Ransom Farm.
Today, Kings-Ransom Farm has expanded and diversified. The Kings are milking 900 registered Holsteins and farming 2,450 acres. Milking three times per day, their herd currently averages 27,132 pounds of milk, 988 pounds of fat and 844 pounds of protein.
Elite breeder. In addition, Robert Schauf, Barron, Wis. has been selected as the recipient of Holstein Association USA’s 2009 Elite Breeder Award. The award recognizes a Holstein breeder who bred outstanding animals, making a notable contribution to the advancement of the Holstein breed in the United States.
Indianhead has a Rolling Herd Average of 27,298 pounds of milk, 1,073 pounds of fat, and 826 pounds of protein. After their most recent classification, the herd’s BAA stands at 112%, with 39 cows scored Excellent, 43 Very Good, and one Good Plus. Through the years, Schauf has bred over 180 Excellent cows and over 370 cows scored Very Good.
Indianhead cattle are in demand both domestically and internationally. Schauf has merchandised cattle to several countries, including Japan, Germany, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom, just to name a few. In 2007, he was recognized with the Wisconsin Governor’s Export Achievement Award for his international cattle marketing efforts.
Discussion continues. The topic taking center stage during the board’s meeting was the Holstein association’s Dairy Price Stabilization Program. The board reaffirmed ongoing efforts to build awareness and support for the program.
Popular program. The Holstein COMPLETE program remains popular with members as 1,773 herds and 232,584 animals were enrolled at the end of May. A comparison between enrollments as of May 2008 and May of this year indicates the COMPLETE program experienced a one percent decrease in the number of herds, while the number of cows enrolled increased by eight percent.
Other board action. From the show committee,the board approved a recommendation that would create a preliminary list of nominees qualified to judge all nationalHolstein shows, including Junior shows.
Once finalized by the board, the Holstein Association National Judges List would become effective in 2010. The board approved the creation and design of an Official Holstein International Pedigree that expresses crude protein and milk production in kilograms.
The board voted to support a resolution presented by a New York member to be submitted to the Constitution, Bylaws, and Resolutions Committee and presented at the 2009 annual meeting. The resolution seeks support of the termination of a contract between seven A.I. organizations and USDA that prevents genomic testing of bulls by others not included in the agreement.
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