Friday of the 2013 National Brown Swiss convention in Wisconsin brought a day filled with farm tours, good cows and great people. Tour stops included Horseshoe Hill, Twinkle Hill, Sunshine Genetics and Cozy Nook. Take a look at everything we saw!
Horseshoe Hill, Watertown, WI
Horseshoe Hill Farm is the home of Norm, Joyce and Nick Uglow. Located near Watertown, WI, this was the first stop on the tour. The herd is home to 60 cows and 63 heifers and boasts a RHA of 21,032M 4.2% 881F 3.4% 721P. After the recent June classification, the farm is home to 12 EX, 25 VG and 8GP (all of whom are 2 year olds). Daughters and granddaughters of cows such as North Lanes Jetway Corina 2E93, Milk & Honey Tonis Tessa E91, Random Luck Phoebe 2E93, La Rainbow Fancy Girl 2E94, Brothers Three Wisper 2E92, Mort Nike Dazzle 3E93 and Valligrove Jetway Nora 2E93 all call Horseshoe Hill home.
Whirlwind VG 87 Total x E 90 Dynasty x 2E 92 Brothers Three Wisper, owned with Brothers Three
Barbidoll E 90 Jetway x E 92 Prelude
Birthdaygirl VG 86 2012 All-American Milking Yearling, a Total x VG 87 Jetway x E 90 Parker
Firecracker E 91 Denver x E 92 Jet Pilot x E 91 Camelot x 3E 90 Ensign
Future 2E 91 Ensign x 2E 91 Jade x E93 Jetway x 2E 92 Jacque, the dam of Lot 18 in the National Sale, Horseshoe Hill Leg Futurity
Gracie 2E 92 Fastrack x 3E 92 Ballistic x E 90 Ensign
Koors On Tap VG 85 Tierra Verde Cow Nutz Koors x E 91 Vision x 2E 92 Jetway x 2E 91 Blend
Pretzel E 90 Horseshoe Hill Pilot Kegger x VG 85 Starbuck x 2E 92 Jetway x 2E 90 Emory
Pride VG 85 Power Surge x VG 87 Jetway x E 91 Prelude x E 91 Vogue
Risky 2E 90 Zeus x E 90 Banker x 2E 91 Jetway x 2E 91 Sensation
Left: Whitney, a Victor x Galaxy x E 90 Legacy x 2E 92 Brothers Three Wisper
Right: Wonderwoman VG 86 Total x E 90 Dynasty x 2E 92 Brothers Three Wisper, owned with Brothers Three
Twinkle Hill, Watertown, WI
The second stop of the day was at Twinkle Hill, the home of John, Dee, Jeannie & Laurie Winkleman, located near Watertown, WI. The milking herd consists of 135 milking cows, about half of which are registered Brown Swiss. Milking in a flat-barn parlor, the Swiss herd averaged 86 pounds on the May test, and the Holsteins averaged 92 pounds. There are four main cow families in the herd: The "A" family, which goes back to Meadow Hill Coll Altra-ET E90; the Snowstorm family; the Mort Matt Tammy family; and the Front Line PomPoms Olivia family.
Dry Cow lot
Tracy, recently fresh, E90 Total x Power Surge x Ace x Prelude x Dotson x Mort Matt Tammy. Tracy was nominated All-American in 2011
On the left is Aleta-ET 2E 91 and on the right is Amber-ET E 90, both are Denver x Dynasty x Collection x Patrick x Jade, 8th generation EXs from the "A" family
Tribute E 90 Agenda x Power Surge x Ace x Prelude, from the Tammy family
Almandine VG 86 Mojo x Dynasty x Collection x Patrick x Jade, from the "A" family
Amberlee VG 88 Power Surge x Denver x Dynasty x Collection x Patrick x Jade, potential 9th generation EX from the "A" family, 2012 Reserve All-WI Jr 2 Year Old
Tanzania VG 88 Agenda x Supreme x Ace x Prelude x Dotson x Mort Matt Tammy
Tip Tap VG 85 Alloy x Agenda x Zeus x Jolt x Emory x Magnum x Mort Matt Tammy
The flat-barn parlor
Calves for choices in the National Brown Swiss Sale, Lot 12 Choice of 2 Temtations x 2E 90 Aleta and Lot 13 Choice of 2 Power Surges x E 90 Amber
Sunshine Genetics, Whitewater, WI
The third stop of the day was at Sunshine Genetics of Whitewater, WI. The tourists were treated to lunch by Drs. Dan Hornickel, Chris Keim, and Greg Schueller. Sunshine Genetics is home to elite donor dams belonging to clients throughout the world. Housing is available for 200 dry cows and heifers, and has one of the facilities that provides facilities for milking donor dams. Each year, Sunshine superovulates over 1500 donors, and aspirates oocytes from over 300 animals for IVF. In addition to providing housing for animals of clients, Sunshine Genetics has their own herd of elite Swiss and Holsteins.
Groves View Agenda Tina-ET EX 91, an Agenda x Milk & Honey Tonis Tessa EX 92, owned by Sunshine & Grant Groves, MO
KHW Regmnt Apple A1 Red ET, an Apple clone owned by Francisco Rodriguez, WI
Ms Bikasa Atwood Briley ET, an Atwood x Regancrest Mac Bikasa ET VG 87, owned by Miles Price, IL
Regancrest FRD Lisanne ET VG 86, Freddie x Regancrest Lissa ET EX 91, owned by Ken Pfaff, MN
Towpath Dynasty Lora 2E 91, Dynasty x Towpath Starbuck Lynzee ET 2E 91, Lora completes 8 generations of EX
DSKM Legacy Rihanna VG 87, Legacy x VG 87 Galaxy, 3rd dam is Hawthorne Rhythmic Riki 3E 94 owned by Dussin Silvia, Italy
Supreme daughters of Milk & Honey Tonis Tessa EX 92
Left is Groves-Sun Supreme Tonia ET VG 87
Right is Groves-Sun Supreme Tasia ET VG 85
Brothers Three Nutty Too 3E 92, owned by Chad Nolan, IL
North Lanes Mailman Cookie 2E 93, owned by Bill Nolan, IL
Cookie enjoys her hay in the sunshine
Sleepy summer day for a donor heifer
Forest Lawn Anthem Busy relaxes under her fan, Busy is owned by Main & Vail
Total daughters of Milk & Honey Tonis Tessa E 92
Cozy Nook Farm, Waukesha, WI
The third and final stop of the tour was at the Oberhaus' Cozy Nook Farm, located right outside of Waukesha, WI, in a relatively urban area. In addition to their herd of Brown Swiss and Guernseys, the Oberhaus family sells pumpkins and Christmas trees, and hosts over 1,000 school children for tours each year. Cozy Nook Pronto Twlyght 2E 92 is their hallmark cow, having been named the 2012 WI Cow of the Year. The herd currently boasts an RHA of 25,124M 4.2% 1,053F 3.6% 907P.
Cozy Nook Pronto Twlyght 2E 92, 2012 WI Cow of the Year
Alleluia VG 86, a Beamer x Dynasty
Anastasia EX 91 Torch x Special Ashley
Tatum EX 90 Etvei x Pronto Twlyght
Tipper GP 83 Joel x Pronto Twlyght
Truffle EX 90 Wonderment x Etvei Tatum
Mindy, EX 90 Vigor x Denver Mint, dam of Manchester & Madden
A Brookings granddaughter of Monopoly Prima EX 92