holstein America is sponsored by Merck animal health an industry leader in dairy care solutions including estimate and fertig LLL visit dairy care 365.com to learn more it's something most of us take for granted it's milk it's butter it's cheese and ice cream all the things that make life better it's also the people who stand behind these products I love being able to work with my family every single day see those people that work so hard that are dedicated to providing food for people to feed the world and it's all made possible by the Holstein breed the world's perfect cow the Holstein cow is is that really a cash machine it's something you can always dream about when Holstein says having something really outstanding that you produced whether it's milk production or whether it's better use of resources better cow comfort better for the communities it's all been led by the genetic efforts by the Holstein Association this is Holstein America hi I'm Michelle Davidson every day people walk into dairy sections like this one never really given it much thought but there's an entire industry that made this possible a miracle of efficiency that makes the purchase of the world's perfect food one of the world's easiest things to do behind it all is the Holstein cow the most iconic symbol in all of Agriculture just about everyone can recognize her distinctive black and white color but many don't fully appreciate the contribution she makes today the Holstein cow accounts for more than 90% of all milk production her productivity has doubled since the 1950s and more production per cow has resulted in less impact on the environment but the story of Holsteins is really about the people who raise them our journey begins in Wisconsin where a family-owned dairy has discovered the advantages of registered Holsteins for producing one of the nation's leading cheese brands [Music] the cows are always the backbone of what we do and isn't that the truth right these collars pay for not just a lot of stuff on the farm but then we take it back home we raise our families and pay for tuition and and orthodontist and music lessons and all the things that that the rest of the country enjoys to the Holstein cow is is a really a cash machine you know Holstein uses a term of more profit and and it really is the case that from the value of her calf especially if it's a heifer calf sired by an AI bull to the value of the milk she produces in that subsequent lactation multiple locations with the reproduction we've built in the cows now nothing nothing in livestock agriculture can be the Holstein cow when it comes to generating revenue big comes back right here on the farm our farms been in business since 1978 were a first generation farm on this site grew up on a small dairy about 60 miles from here and my older brothers started this farm in the late 70s on a rented farm and we located here in Waterloo in 1981 well being the youngest of the four original owners here I was in high school and my brother started farming and spent a lot of time here on weekends and summers and really enjoyed it enough to enroll in uw-madison where I earned a bachelor's degree in dairy science and then literally the day after graduation I moved here to Waterloo and started farming and I've been doing it ever since we milk about 1,100 cows here and we have another location about 6 miles away where we milk 800 cows all three times a day in 2001 we started construction of our own farmstead cheese plant and we've been pleased to produce high quality cheese and we choose to make some fresh mozzarella mascarpone fresh cheese's that marry well with our fresh Holstein milk and can can go to consumers that are looking for that product so you can find our product everywhere from the DeKalb farmers market in suburban Atlanta all the way to Pike's Market in Seattle and many places in between to be honest our cheese is probably in a lot of places that I don't even know it's at because someone else is taking that product and getting it to the end consumer and it's always fun to find it you know when you win when we're out and about to bump into it somewhere I would get a text or an email or Facebook message that say hey I saw your product in New York city and that's pretty cool well the hosting Association can provide us with a wealth of information both on the cows within our herd and also the breed in general by plugging our cows into the rest of the breed were alarmed for the ride with the best breeders in the country with the association that's out there looking for genetic progress as the Association monitors genetic progress there they're shifting some of the qualifications whether it be into some of the health traits production traits health scores and then in with along with that you know with the whole scene is always excelled in the amount of milk she can produce the amount of revenue she can generate so as the breed progresses we are College benefit and progress with it and when it comes back to benefit us here on the farm with the with the improvements that we're making genetically we see in the barn every day a Midwestern dairy farm is a great cash revenue cash flow machine a lot of income of course with that a lot of expenses on our farm you know a vast majority of the expense it's probably 80 or 90 percent are spent right here within a 50 mile radius of our farm feed being 40 percent of our cost of course that's that's very local our suppliers from our milking equipment to our machinery to to building materials they're all local people and so we're very pleased to contribute to our local economy our help when they go home and take their paychecks home and cash them they're spending those locally so a dairy farm a dairy farm in any community is a great asset to that community economically there's countless opportunities and daring and they there always have been and there and I still find them today I always say I could fill a legal pad up with improvements that I see today on my dairy they say I should improve that it would benefit the kalo this way I should look into maybe some more soil conservation I should invest in a piece of equipment that would save labor this way or that way so there's countless opportunities out there and that really makes it fun that we can always be working on improve making improvements you know the thing with daring is it's not a get-rich-quick scheme you really have to be committed to it and once you commit to it then you just then you just put blinders on and you keep looking straight ahead Americans enjoy more cheese today than ever before Holsteins are ideal for cheese production because they out produce all other breeds in total pounds of milk butter fat and protein all of this is possible because registered hosting breeders have been committed to improving the genetics of their cattle like in this next chapter of our story [Music] I grew up on a dairy farm I was never had to be told to go to work I always just did it on my own I enjoyed doing it when I came home from school if I wasn't playing a sport I was always older working on the farm a lot of hard work but real rewarding work and I think from a very young age I knew that there was something that I wanted to be involved in so my father moved to our location in Oldfield in 1966 at that time he started milking with maybe about 65 cows today we milk for different locations a total of about 8,000 8500 milking cows my wife and I kind of have a passion for registered Holsteins as well as my father it's kind of a hobby that we've been able to manage into a really good part of our business and the markets have really been driven more towards genomics lately we always had an index portion of our breeding program but we definitely ramp that up on the past ten years since tomek's has really become popular in the industry and so we have a really aggressive embryo transfer program we transfer about 6500 embryos a year about a third of those are IVF in vitro embryos and the other 2/3 our conventional embryos now we're to the point that we have our own prefixed animals our own cattle that we have bred and so we're able to flush those for the next generation for marketing purposes my role with that basically is making sure that we're not missing anything there's a lot of calves that are being born and we just want to make sure that we're not missing any of those Elite index animals those home runs are few and far between but we're really happy when when they come out because they tend to be the reason why we're in this business if you don't leave you're gonna follow these technologies allow producers to become much more efficient so from environmental efficiencies to cal efficiencies to labor efficiencies the more efficient we can be the more economic we can be in making food products so we're really trying to put food on the market and genomics has allowed us to enter kind of a new era of progress and so theoretically the the faster progress you can make genetically hopefully the cheaper we can make food and for those consumers that are more environmentally minded or environmentally focused it should also allow us to reduce our carbon footprint because it's become become more efficient we're having to use less resources in order to make those food products the people who are in the dairy industry are the salt of the earth I mean there's you know I think most people in are just the buzz people out there you know they're honest hard-working and great mentors for kids to be in that environment to see those people that work so hard that are dedicated to basically providing food for people to feed the world we think the future is bright we're really excited to be a part of agriculture there's definitely going to be changes and so we need to be ready for those changes we need to embrace those changes we need to continue to strive to be more efficient whether that's in how we breed our cattle how we produce crops how we make milk that's just gonna be a part of being in business in the future and we need to continue to do better every year you never know what each day is gonna bring certainly it brings challenges but it also brings rewards [Music] when we return we'll learn more about the families whose livelihoods depend on whole state the world's perfect cow heifer rearing costs are the second biggest expense for most Aires with Esther made from merck animal health you can expedite breeding and save feed costs and your first calf heifers can join the milking string and start generating income sooner easily justifying the investment plus estimate improves heats conception and pregnancy rates allowing you to use AI more conveniently and more effectively control breeding and calving intervals Esther mate bring the heat learn more at dairy care 365.com as a dairy producer added-value means everything to your operation at Holstein Association USA we understand value better than anyone that's why we've developed Holstein complete a package program that combines all the premium services you count on from Holstein Association USA for one discounted price this includes registration membership mating information classification pedigrees genetic reports and production records as well as discounts on records processing and genomic testing complete your herd today for more profit and convenience learn more at Holstein usa.com illuminate your herds genetic potential within Lite enlight is a comprehensive online management tool designed to help Holstein dairy producers more efficiently manage her genetics a collaboration between the Holstein Association USA and zoetis enlight users have unprecedented access to powerful reporting and analytics and in a simple and user-friendly format that works on any computer or tablet put your herd data to work enrolling in lite learn more at in Lite dairy calm are you looking for a convenient easy way to pick the best bowls for your herds breeding program if so look to Redbook plus from Holstein Association USA Redbook Plus offers performance information on dozens of traits make informed breeding decisions use Redbook Plus to sort more than 50,000 herd sires visit Holstein usa.com to learn more us registered Holsteins dominate the industry for total production efficiency and overall performance stand with the best by building up your grade Holsteins to registered status the hosting associations USA startup program makes it easy to advance your herd to the next level any Holstein animal with a grade dam can be registered with the highest possible percentage of registered Holstein ancestry that means more value for your cattle today and for the future learn more about the startup program at Holstein usa.com Holstein America is broadcast with support from Merck animal health trust in leading products estimated fertig ill to improve reproductive performance in your dairy herd visit dairy care 365.com to learn more grocery stores like this one are modern miracles and the dairy business helps make it possible each year US dairy products generate billions of dollars for the US economy and much of that activity benefits small towns in rural areas for instance a 250 head dairy on average generates more than a million dollars within its local community one of those dairies is located in the mountains of Utah [Music] as farmers been an out in the brown family for close to a hundred years with my grandfather and my father and two uncles actually was instrumental in building this particular facility right here it was built in 1961 so we've been milking we've never missed a milking in that barn 56 years we've produced and bottled our own milk we had Depot's in the Salt Lake Valley that we delivered our milk to and grass last yards and up until about ten years ago we've never sold milk off of this farm other than in our own package label right from here you can see the ski slopes of Park City which is a world-class resort area it's an area where it's a lot of influx is happening a lot of individuals and families moving in from mostly the California area there used to be 2030 dairies in Summit County there are now three functioning dairies in our entire county and we represent 85% of all the dairy cows in Summit County and so even though we haven't changed much historically in 55 60 years things around us are starting to change the model that we've operated on for quite some time probably is really getting really becoming a challenge economically and my sons both of them like I have a deep interest in agriculture and love love the agriculture business love the dairy business love the Holstein cow and the were just as a family trying to decide how we go forward I've often thought what would it be like running a herd of milk cows Holstein cows if none of them was registered and to me it would take away all the optimism it would take away all the dreaming for me personally on a day to day basis of trying to genetically improve my herd and improve my cattle because it's the registered aspect of it that allows me to really track my progress of how I'm doing from a genetic point of view I can look into my herd and it's very satisfying to have a group of ten or twenty cows coming to the milking pit and as I get to explain to my cow milkers you know I've got three or four generations being milked all at the same time the reason I know that is because they're registered I can track their parentage I know who they are I know where they came from the cows take on a one-on-one relationship rather than just a number in their ear there's no doubt that the hosting Association and the Holstein cow is led out throughout the world in terms of data information and breeding opportunity it's always had the programs the database and the information that provides every one of us who have cattle the opportunities of acquiring the best genetics that's available on the planet for us besides the cow and besides the things that we talk about all the time on-site I think the thing that really drives you and want to be a part involved in not only the industry but the Association is the friendships that we created we're kind of a unique group of people when you think about 1% of this country's involved in agriculture it's got to be less than probably one-tenth of one percent of this countries involved in milking cows and as we gather amongst ourselves that our conventions and the cow shows there's just a bond between individuals who milk cows it's hard to explain to the rest of society and it's definitely becoming a little harder especially for a herd 300 cows it's kind of the odd size and so we're we're going through some some decision-making processes as a family whether we could get bigger whether we get smaller whether we continue to try to stay here or relocate I could carve out a living here probably for the rest of my my opportunity or time daring but I have a goal to be able to make decisions today that will give the next generation hopefully the ability to be dairy farmers for my kids or my grandkids to be able to be raised on a farm my generation myself I will have to make a decision to change my lifestyle just like some of my forefathers did to give me this opportunity so that maybe a grandkid or a great grandkid can be doing this type of interview 100 years from now 99 percent of all US dairies our family owned and operated mike Santos and his family live in California's Central Valley several years ago he decided to enroll his dairy in this startup program offered by Holstein Association USA the result is a herd that's now registered and on track for the opportunities of the future tarah Londonderry is a fourth generation dairy farmer we milk about 1300 Holstein cows my dad and my grandpa built the place from the ground up me and my brother Craig when we were old enough we became a part of the family farm and my brother takes care of the farming I take care of the dairy day-to-day operations the office work and all the genetic information that goes into the dairy herd I would describe Tulare and Tulare County is a agricultural based town it's small communities with farmland and many dairies were in the heart of the state of California cotton almonds pistachios wine you name it we make it in California and in dairy I would say Tulare County is one of the largest dairy counties in the world so right now our rolling herd average is slightly over 33,000 pounds of milk I believe we're the second highest herd in the state of California our goal is to keep pushing that envelope my next goal is 35,000 and from there you know we want to keep going up so you know right now our butter fats running three seven two three eight and our proteins running three three two three four so we run a pretty good flow and we have pretty decent components to make a nice nice profitable cow for us to be honest I didn't quite think we would get to this point especially this fast I always thought 30,000 was the magic number and if you could get to there that was maybe as high as you could go but technology and genetics have come so far and we've learned so much about the cow and how to take care of her better with cow comfort with the nutrition we have genetic genetic wise it's come so far to me raising a registered purebred Holstein cattle it adds a premium to their value you have that lineage you have that paper behind that animal you know exactly where she traces back to you can mater correctly I think it I think it goes hand in hand with cow efficiency think the cows that you pay attention to that you've registered over the years does tend to be your better cows they have top AI sires behind their pedigree with proven cow families that have worked to me when I market my cattle when I had that piece of paper it matters it brings a premium to those cattle I think that's the single most important investment you can make on an animal it's not just an everyday run-of-the-mill Holstein cow that you don't know where it came from we can tell you exactly where she's from what she's out of and predict her future through genomics as well it's it's amazing the genetic progress the Holstein breed is made over these years it if you look at prior production you know you go by decades it's just amazing where the whole industry is as a whole and you know there probably is more upside to be had I'm not sure we've seen the limit to how much these cows can give and to me it all comes down to how well you can take care of your cows how well you can feed them and make the right decisions on your breeding program and then that's how you make the progress in the production when we come back we'll see how the Holstein business is an opportunity for producers both small and large fertig ill from merck animal health makes fertility simple on label use with Esther mate help synchronize estrus cycles allows for fixed time AI and treatment of ovarian follicular cysts and dairy cows plus research shows verdict you'll outperform fact trail for ovulation rates vertical the flexibility you need the quality you demand now approved to get the job done learn more at Derry care 365.com [Music] illuminate your hurts genetic potential within light in light is a comprehensive online management tool designed to help Holstein dairy producers more efficiently manage her genetics a collaboration between the Holstein Association USA and zoetis in light users have unprecedented access to powerful reporting and analytics and in a simple and user-friendly format that works on any computer or tablet put your herd data to work enroll in enlight learn more at enlight dairy calm as a dairy producer added-value needs everything to your operation at Holstein Association USA we understand value better than anyone that's why we've developed Holstein complete a package program that combines all the premium services you count on from Holstein Association USA for one discounted price this includes registration membership mating information classification pedigrees genetic reports and production records as well as discounts on records processing and genomic testing complete your herd today for more profit and convenience learn more at Holstein usa.com us registered Holsteins dominate the industry for total production efficiency and overall performance stand with the best by building up your great Holsteins to registered status the hosting associations USA startup program makes it easy to advance your herd to the next level any Holstein animal with a grade dam can be registered with the highest possible percentage of registered Holstein ancestry that means more value for your cattle today and for the future learn more about the startup program at Holstein usa.com are you looking for a convenient easy way to pick the best bulls for your herds breeding program if so look to Redbook Plus from whole Association USA Redbook Plus offers performance information on dozens of traits make informed breeding decisions use read book bus to sort more than 50,000 herd sire visit Holstein usa.com to learn more Holstein America is brought to you by our friends at Merck animal health the industry's leading provider and dairy care solutions fertig ill improves pregnancy rates and works with Esther mate to achieve estrus synchronization in lactating dairy cows visit dairy care 365.com to learn more the strength of the u.s. dairy industry is in its diversity nowhere is this point more clear and in our next two stories the first takes place in Vermont the second in California one is small the other large but both are committed to developing economic opportunities for their families through the use of registered Holsteins it's heartwarming seeing Hannah run around and make friends with all of our animals she loves the cows loves the chickens wandering around just loves being here in the barn with us I love being able to work with my family every single day my wife Sarah and I work well together and honestly that was one thing that I wondered about when we were making our business plan was what's it going to be like to work with Sarah every single day all day I love her I loved her then and I enjoyed being with her and that was one of the reasons we wanted to be back here was because with us working separate jobs we hardly saw each other some days fortunately it turns out that we work really well together we've learned to communicate effectively and we've learned that nothing said when moving cows should be taken to heart but working with my family has been the best part that I don't have another boss that I need to answer to that as long as I can do my best for my wife and my daughter and for my cows that's my ultimate responsibility my parents bought this farm in 1988 when I was a year old and they milked cows here 50 registered Holsteins for 17 years before selling the herd shortly after I started college after that I worked at a few different dairy farms for about five years and then my wife and I decided to come back here and get started and put some cows back in this barn the single biggest challenge for us was the fact that this barn had been empty for nine years all of the barn equipment was still here and we knew some of it wasn't going to work we thought the bulk tank would be fine it wasn't and when we thought we were a few days away from shipping milk suddenly we needed to find a new major piece of equipment oh there are days it would be great not to have as much responsibility but at the same time that's part of what makes it fun that there's always some kind of challenge we need to overcome and hopefully one that we realistically can overcome they even though the hours are really long and that we're always short of sleep and there's always more than we can accomplish in a day we at least always have each other when I was preparing my business plan and trying to decide whether to come here it was exciting it was nerve-wracking trying to make our numbers realistic at the end of the day having income over feed cost milk per stall ended up winning out in my business plan and registered Holsteins were most effectively able to generate that income over feed cost every day we are genomic testing every single calf right now I love trying to breed a better cow and work with the genetics registered Holsteins have the broadest availability of genetics the largest number of bulls to choose from and I think it helps me be able to advance my cows faster and correctively made them and it really gives me something to work toward here we've realized that we are making food for people and that we have that responsibility to our consumers and that responsibility really goes to our animals too we know that people expect us to take excellent care of our cows and that we all owe them respect at the end of the day I want every drop of milk that leaves this farm to be something that I gladly pour on my own cereal in the morning Marjorie is located in the center of the Central Valley San Joaquin Valley in California the most productive agricultural area in the world they grow 310 commercial crops in our County are in the valley here and on our farm we grow purebred registered dairy cattle produce milk produce speed for the cows corn and silage and winter forage but we also have wine grapes and almonds and small plot of olives for Olive Oyl there's multiple California's from the coastal area to the mountains to the deserts and my grandfather came out in the late 20s a kind of a Dust Bowl and bought his first property in the late 30s and he was always a cotton farmer my grandmother loved cows and that love for towels of translate to my father back in 1980 we bought this farm here because we have the next generation company college we wanted to make it home for all the family members if they wanted to to work to make it cash flow we sized a dairy to fit it end up having capacitive over 3,000 cows and that's where we're at today today what there's nothing like showing cattle and taking a little extra interest in breeding better cattle and having registered Holsteins we're classifying this week we do we classify three times a year on their limited program which means you're doing every first lactation cow basically what you're doing is you're you're doing a linear breakdown of different parts of the cow we can compare with cows not just across the United States but around the world and help it establishing values help establishing priorities that we can individually look at the cows with their pedigrees and do a true evaluation of what they bring to not just our herd but to the industry whether it's selling breeding bulls to neighboring dairyman in California to selling embryos to export and domestic from 1,500 to 3,000 embryos a year to selling semen for Mars elite cow families that we also genomically test from those Bulls genomics have added to the great job that Holstein has done in their type evaluation but what it really has done it's really focused on the health traits breeding efficiency productive life somatic cell count and the more animals they test the more accurate it is and it's it's really getting us to the full concept of a efficient productive sustainable count the eternal optimist of dairyman are the pure bred people are even more so because they look at a unit of semen and visualize what a mating with that semen with that cow will give you three and four years down the line but if you look at the last 70 years on on efficiency our genetics promoted by the Holstein industry have increased our efficiency by 70% whether it's milk production or whether it's better use of resources better cow comfort better for the communities it's all been led by the genetic efforts by the whole scheme association registered Holstein secures my future mainly because my futures and my kids and my grandkids we have a tremendous asset from the genetics there's a demand around the world anywhere where they're importing dairy products they want to also have a certain amount of their own industry and if they want the best quality dairy products are kept in the United States they want the best of genetics same place us Holsteins are the gold standard for the international dairy business leading the way for improved genetics production and less environmental impact Holstein America will be right back after this informational segment from our friends at Merck animal health the arosa family emigrated to California from the North Atlantic's Azores Islands in 1912 and set in motion a dariing tradition that continues five generations later my grandfather started buying registered Holstein bulls in the middle 40s and and the idea was is to to make a better cow and and the idea was a better cow makes you more money you know the pedigrees of your cows a lineage and you can track it and then always stay on the cutting edge of using the best genetics then you have some added value there with the registered Olsteen cow and really concentrated on cows that are at really good functional functional type good udders good feet legs a lot of capacity also paid a lot of attention to components the family currently milks about 3,000 cows they're rolling herd average is about 34,000 pounds they also farm more than 1,000 acres to achieve a high level of production the family focuses on cow care and comfort and ensuring they do everything they can to get cows bred one of the big things on the farm is you have to get cows pregnant you can't put milk in the tank if you don't have fresh cows to synchronize females in their fixed time artificial insemination program Mary OSA relies on Esther mate and fertig ill to reproductive management products from Merck animal health we start out with an estimate shot if the cow needs it at about 14 days 14 to 21 days fresh and then at that point we'll let her have a couple of natural heats hopefully and then when she gets to 272 days and she'll automatically enroll into the double obscene program every cow in the dairy gets bred this way to maintain regular calving intervals you know hopefully if everything goes according to plan she has a breeding somewhere between 82 and and 90 days and then in a perfect world she's pregnant she goes on her merry way with better pregnancy rates Arosa sees potential for continuous improvements in efficiencies for his dairy from a management standpoint we would like to just go to one one day a week breeding and so from a labor standpoint and from an a management standpoint all those things you know probably are in the future you know the makin your labor costs a little more efficient our breeding program continues to prove it probably it's as good now as it's ever been and I think we can attribute some of that to vertical and then estimated visit dairy care 365.com to learn more merck animal health is proud to sponsor holstein america and bring the best cattle care solutions to the nation's dairy farmers fertig ill and esther mate are proven to enhance reproductive efficiency and productivity visit Dairy care 365 to learn more dairy products are like a lot of things in our modern lives often taken for granted consumers today have easy access to the safest highest quality milk and dairy products in the world and it takes a lot of committed people to get it right so these are all we know is that our three to four months that small group sizes clean bedding letmein plenty to eat and they grow really fast if you do it right [Music] my name is Rick Adams and my wife and I Marlene Adams on sugar creek dairy OLC and okra and Wisconsin we have 600 cows all registered cows as a kid we had 50 dairy cows and over a thousand pigs and 100 steers on feet so in the 70s and 80s and then when I got old enough I took over the Dairy Herd and managed it with my brother we did that until 1997 and then I found another like-minded dairyman that wasn't related to us and they only had 40 registered cows when I left Lake Geneva and then we started grading them up in 2000 99 2000 we graded up through whole scenes program and that's how we got started if a consumer wanted to know how we do things I would just say we get up early in the morning we our first shift starts at 3:30 and we milk the cows three times a day and out of 24 hour days we milk 21 hours so there's always activity here there's cows calving there's cows being milked there's cows being fed and all those things are important to that livelihood of the business in the beginning when what kept me doing it was the possibilities of the genetics of having something that you never had before and just improving what you had over the previous generation so the Holstein associations helped us in many ways and one of them is the consistency of information the recording of the information from generation to generation is the only way you can track improvement whether it's type or production if you're going to make progress it has to be documented and it's the best way I know how I don't know of another way and to do this we've had some Bulls go to AI we've had we bought in embryos and and you've gotten some terrific how families involved in our herd that they didn't have previously so having the registration on the on each cow or each calf it's fear the registration papers very important to me I can sell them with confidence that they are who I said they are that the performance that is documented is certified and is real and you can't measure anything if you don't manage it you can't manage it if you can't measure it so a grade cattle or fine but you're not going to make you're not gonna improve from year-to-year and you can't sell more milk than last year unless you're making progress genetically and that's where Holstein comes in the reward for the work we do is is is huge it's it's me if we put reproduce meat here we produce milk we produce calves we we rotate the crops out in the fields from one one variety of corn to a wheat field to hay field and we manage the fertilizer from the cows and it goes back on the land it's very important it's part of the whole package of keep taking care of the the well-being of the cow we wouldn't we wouldn't do anything against the the well-being of the cow just it just doesn't happen here so what I love most about the whole small business is a challenge of trying to do the best that the cows can can give you to raise your level genetics from one level down here way up here to another levels is is half the half the challenge that I like and enjoy so much it's comparing with other breeders around the country and trying to see where I can improve and where where we can make progress I never get tired of going to world.there Expo and looking at some of the most famous cows on the planet walking around so it's something you can always dream about with the Holsteins is having something really outstanding that you produced there's nobody has a corner of the mark in this game you can produce the next show winner of the next high genomic animal if you keep at it long enough we've quite enough knowledge now where these things don't surprise us anymore the ups and downs and we're not we're not going to be scared off by a bad year bad doesn't the futures always looking for fairly bright with with these registered Holsteins it's just and we've seen at all I guess after 30 years so we're real happy where we're at right now the land rolls gently it's the best for a contour farming then there's lots of trees and ditches for hunting we've got it all this is clay core Farms home of clay core Holsteins we're the only grade a dairy in Buchanan County we have 196 calves in the milking line produce about 14,500 pounds of milk a day our rolling herd average is a little over 25,000 I like registered Holsteins for the same reason most dairyman in North America they're very profitable breed account [Music] when I when I graduated from University of Missouri and 1973 a 15,000 pound rolling herd average that was a high roll in herd average now I mean rolling herd averages I mean they go clear up into the 30s one one thing I remember about my time the university was in one of the books that showed a picture of the it was a Holstein cow and and the caption on it was the foster mother of the human race and at the time they said there had not been a vitamin discovered that milk didn't have in it the quality of milk that leaves dairy farms is so high we're producing a product that people need in everything that we do is for the benefit of society well my goal would be for every calf that hits the ground to be a potential excellent cow and to say milk 30,000 pounds a mature cow with say 1205 a thousand of protein and to to do it well enough and long enough that when she leaves here as a will say as a long four year old she would go on and and do that for several more years for the buyer it's easy to sell a good Holstein we we sold 65 Holsteins this year to other dairyman that the wanted them we enroll in the Holstein complete program because it helps us get cows classified it helps us to get calves registered and that's the beginning goal of our operation well classifying gives us a real good breakdown on the cow to use for mating purposes I'll say that's the most important part of classification that just motivates me to choose bulls that will raise the total performance index of the next generation I do think that that that formula is a good indication of profitability we we really do look forward to the next calf that hits the ground simply because it's it should be better than than the mother just the hope of the next generation being better and us having the security of a really good bunch of heifers coming on I mean that's that is that's really motivating for me when we return the great American story is alive and well and nowhere is this more evident than with the Papageorge family of Utah heifer rearing costs are the second biggest expense for most Aires with Esther made from Merck animal health you can expedite breeding and save feed costs and your first calf heifers can join the milking string and start generating income sooner easily justifying the investment plus estimate improves heats conception and pregnancy rates allowing you to use AI more conveniently and more effectively control breeding and counting intervals Esther mate bring the heat learn more at dairy care 365.com us registered Holsteins dominate the industry for total production efficiency and overall performance stand with the best by building up your grade Holsteins to registered status the hosting associations USA startup program makes it easy to advance your herd to the next level any hosting animal with a grade dam can be registered with the highest possible percentage of registered Holstein ancestry that means more value for your cattle today and for the future learn more about the startup program at Holstein usa.com are you looking for a convenient easy way to pick the best bulls for your herds breeding program if so look to Redbook Plus from Holstein Association USA Redbook Plus offers performance information on dozens of traits make informed breeding decisions use Redbook Plus to sort more than 50,000 herd sires visit Holstein usa.com to learn more illuminate your herds genetic potential within light in light is a comprehensive online management tool designed to help Holstein dairy producers more efficiently manage her genetics a collaboration between the Holstein Association USA and zoetis enlight users have unprecedented access to powerful reporting and analytics and in a simple and user-friendly format that works on any computer or tablet put your herd data to work enrolling in light learn more at enlight dairy calm as a dairy producer added-value needs everything to your operation at Holstein Association USA we understand value better than anyone that's why we've developed Holstein complete a package program that combines all the premium services you count on from Holstein Association USA for one discounted price this includes registration membership mating information classification pedigrees genetic reports and production records as well as discounts on records processing and genomic testing complete your herd today for more profit and convenience learn more at Holstein usa.com Holstein America is sponsored by merck animal health an industry leader in dairy care solutions estimate puts you in control of your breeding program use with fertig lll to improve reproductive efficiency within the herd visit derry care 365.com to learn more a grocery store like this one is really a tribute to modern agriculture abundant high-quality food available 24 hours a day in nearly every town in the country this capability is also something that took generations to build Utah's Papageorge family is just one of thousands of families whose story began a long time ago when their own American Dream and continues today thanks to years of raising high quality registered Holstein so my grandpa Harry is you guys have met I actually call him my poopoo because we're Greek and that's how you say grandpa in Greek he is super inspiring because he never stops working come on come on get up he's always out at the farm and he wants to be out here with the cows he's 83 years old and he still is able to work out here because he always kept going and he's never given up and he's always kept working hard and always put the cows first I think how much he cares about the cows is exceptional and that's a really big secret to our success I was 30 years old when I got married my mother was worried I'd end up being an old bachelor but I waited until I got to want to want it and then I got some good kids and some good grandkids well my father came from Greece at the age of 18 was the third member of his family to come over to landed here and all good that would have been in the late teens as kids we worked hard because back then there was a sugar shortage in the fall of 1944 the beet check was big enough to pay off the mortgage and I remember real playing my dad sitting that mortgage on fire and holding it till a burnt right to the end of his fingers from then on it seemed like we made progress you know milking cows is a way of making money but did the registered aspect of it just made it a lot more interesting because going to the shows trying to achieve breeding better type better produce in animals and the cow that's made right OB a milk cow and just been an inspiration I think that having registered animals has really helped us because of all the information that registration provides we're able to look at the pedigree information and the production information and make it so that we can always be advancing and working to better our cows well a registered Holstein cow has kept us in business because it's over the years we developed a tremendously good bull market myself Bulls all over the West he exported a lot of bowls to various countries to Japan Mexico and hadn't been from the sale of breeding stock we probably wouldn't be in business today I think the freedom to do what you like to do and if you're determined enough and have the right talents you can go from rags to riches [Music] it's--we life the hope that the next generations you're always going to be better in the last one so the hope that the next generation is better off than the last that's the goal of their registered Holstein business and the commitment that dairy producers around the country have made to producing the world's perfect cow and the world's perfect food if you'd like to learn more about Holstein Association USA and how you can take advantage of its programs or services visit Holstein usa.com on behalf of America's registered Holstein breeders thanks for watching Holstein America I'm Michelle Davidson [Music]
