2008
Active Master Breeder
As presented by Jeff King
It
is a distinct honor for me to present this year’s Active Master
Breeders Award. The story of this breeder starts in the early 1970’s
when he graduated from college. He returned to his family’s 50-cow
dairy. One year later a partnership was formed with his parents and
his eager energy led to expansion of the herd. During these years,
showing was very important, with Grand Champion, Premier Breeder and
Premier Exhibitor awards often returning to this farm’s trophy
case. A number of Excellent and countess Very Good cows graced the
barn and several were merchandised to the likes of Sugar Creek and
Hanover Hill. Service sires of the day included Elevation, Arlinda
Chief, R Maple, Bootmaker and Gay Ideal, just to name a few. Moreover,
good management led to the availability of excess cattle for sale.
This year’s recipient was quick to take advantage of the export
market, sending homebred cattle to at least a dozen countries around
the world.
For the cows that stayed home, a quick check of the archives includes
a number of Excellent cows and cows with 1,000 pound plus fat records.
An impressive young Chief daughter was scored 86 points and had records
to 37,000 pounds of milk and that was over 30 years ago! An Excellent
Spirit daughter produced a string of 1,000 pound fat records and made
over 200,000 milk lifetime. Furthermore, an Excellent Columbus lived
to a ripe old age in the freestalls and produced over 250,000 of milk
lifetime as well. As you can see, production has never taken a back
seat to type, in fact, the two have traveled hand in hand on this operation.
In fact, you can always find the herd at or near the top of the county’s
herd average rankings year after year.
More recent years have led to modernization and expansion. New barns
have been built, a parlor has been constructed and expanded, with cow
number now pushing over 1,000 and crop acres number of nearly 2,000
at this Dairy of Distinction. Any visitor to this farm will soon realize
that the image of this farm and it’s presentation to the public
are very important to the owners. This picture perfect farmstead sets
the standard to which we should all aspire.
Throughout the years, the breeding of quality Registered Holsteins
has never wavered. Concurrent improvement in type, longevity and production
has always been the goal. Therefore it should be no surprise to see
such bulls as Mars Tony, Valiant and Durham gracing the pedigrees,
as well as Dundee, Roy, Boliver and Talent. Recently some individuals
from some of the breed’s great families have been acquired to
augment the herd’s breeding program. For example, an Excellent
40,000 pound cow with almost 2,000 pounds of fat from Durham’s
direct maternal line and a 12th generation Excellent cow by the name
of Rosa who is proving herself to be one of the greatest all time brood
cows.
This year’s recipient has always been involved in his community
through local farm and non-agricultural organizations. Early on, he
coached the county’s dairy judging team, winning the state competition
several times. His passion for good cows and the respect from others
led him to judge county shows across New York and on the state level.
Our recipient and his wife are now especially proud to watch their
young grandchildren develop the same excitement for showing. To list
all the organizations that he is involved in would take too much time,
but we’ll hit the highlights. He has been President of the county
Farm Bureau, worked with the Cooperative Extension, the county’s
Chamber of Commerce Ag Committee, he served many years on the county
hospital board and recently chaired a fundraising committee that secured
nearly one million dollars in donations from ag-industry sponsors.
His love of Registered Holsteins has also led him to commit countless
hours to the local, state and national associations. He has been a
club director, served on the State Executive Committee as Treasure
and served two terms as a National Director. During a time when many
large herds were moving away from registered cattle, he never wavered
as an advocate for the Registered Holstein. In fact, over 6,000 animals
have been registered under his prefix. His style of leadership has
been extremely effective. He is never long-winded and gets straight
to the point.
Dedication to his family have always been one of his priorities. All
of his three children have had success in youth activities including
Junior Holstein, Dairy Princess, showing and judging. All have college
degrees and all have gone on in their chosen professions to be successful
and build loving families.
As I near the end of this presentation, I realize that I have had the
opportunity to learn from this man. A few of the lessons that he has
taught me are: 1) Manage for success. Adopt new technologies that will
benefit your farm. You don’t need to be the first to try something
new, but for sure, do not be the last. 2) Utilize Registered Holsteins
and take advantage of the profit potential that they have to offer.
3) Value your family and make time to spend with them. Finally, he
has proven to all of us that being involved matters. That you do not
have to be loud to be influential. Years of hard work, service and
dedication will earn respect from us all.
Ladies and gentlemen, our Active Master Breeder, John Emerling and
his wife Betty of Emerling Farms in Perry, NY.
Active Master Breeders
John & Betty Emerling of Emerling Farms in Perry, NY
|
Outstanding Young Breeder
As presented by Willard Peck
Every good young breeder has an interesting story to tell. This one
goes back to a farmer who had two boys. Back in the day, farms wee
smaller and there wasn’t enough room on the farm for both boys.
So he walked across the field with a sack of gold over his shoulder
and bought the neighbors woodlot. That was the start of the farm that
this young breeder is on and that was in the mid-1800’s. Five
generations later, on that same soil, you have farmers upon farmers.
This young
breeder returned from Cornell in 1991 and his family had an excellent breeding
program in place. They were milking 100 cows in an older freestall facility
at the time. Much like many young Cornellians, he decided that he needed to
expand, so the next summer he built a new barn and parlor and really started
to make that place hum. As time has gone by, he has added heifer barns, doubled
the size of the original 220 cow freestall and has done a great job going from
the 100 cow dairy to over 400 cows. And like most young breeders, he has really
enjoyed trying to breed animals that would be of enough quality to sell bulls
to AI units and females for his own herd and to fulfill the demand from around
New York and across the country. This past spring he was a co-host of a widely
successful sale that saw his cattle sell for prices up to $41,000. His group
alone averaged $8,641. Probably the greatest genetic advancement is when he
married his wife in 1995. He has two great boys: Matthew, age six and Ryan,
age three.
The current
Rolling Herd Average is over 25,000 pounds of milk, with 3.8% butterfat and
3.1% true protein. There are over 400 cows on official test, an extensive ET
program is in place and has an outstanding herd of cattle that many visitors
can attest.
Before he
comes forward to accept his award, I want to mention that as all farms that
grow successfully, he has very dedicated employees. Glen Miller has been the
herdsman there for over 20 years. Jill Gillis is another employee that is also
here tonight. The Outstanding Young Breeder for 2008 is Kevin and Carrie Peck
of Clear Echo Farm in Schuylerville.
Kevin and Carrie Peck accept the 2008 New York Outstanding Young Breeder
Award at the All-Breeds Convention in Albany. Their sons Matthew
and Ryan accepted the award with them.
|
A Friend of New York Holstein
As presented by Patsy Gifford
New
York Holstein is fortunate to have many friends. Our dedicated friendships
and camaraderie are the fuel that keeps our Association strong. Many
of you sitting here tonight are very deserving of our Friend of New
York Holstein award, but this year’s recipient seemed a logical
and fitting choice for 2008.
This year’s
Friend of New York Holstein has been a lifelong Holstein person. His professional
career was in education, still focusing on agriculture through FFA.
After his
retirement, New York Holstein was smart enough to hand him a committee chairmanship
to help fill his spare time. He assumed this position with his usual attention
to detail, enthusiasm and determination. As membership chair, his committee
reports are thorough and detailed and his committee is extremely active and
creative. True to his teacher instincts, he often gives us homework to take
home from a Board meeting and checks to make sure we do it. His hard work and
determination have been a huge factor in keeping our membership numbers and
therefore, our Association, strong.
His daughter
listed the words “detail oriented, dedicated, reliable, supportive, motivating,
a ready volunteer, and able to see the good in everyone” as words that
describe her Dad. I would add kind, sincere, humble, intelligent, enthusiastic,
generous, and great sense of humor to her list. Who could ask for better qualities
in a friend?
As part
of the ENY team of directors and committeemen, our New York Friend is part
of the carload that heads for board meetings at “dark thirty” in
the morning. With his friends Ray Vail, Sam Simon, Jimmy Perotti, and Henry
Beneke together in the car, you can be sure that lots of New York business
gets hashed over. Sometimes I wish I could plant a tape recorder to hear some
of the conversations.
The ENY
club, this year’s Convention host, knows first hand the capable attributes
of this year’s friend. To show him how much they respected his skills,
they generously honored him with the position of Convention sponsor chairman.
With his usual “can do” attitude and, again, attention to detail,
he went about the task and raised more than $25,000 for this weekend that we’re
enjoying here in Albany.
The qualities
that describe this year’s Friend are qualities that help any relationship
or situation flourish. A part of retirement has been to raise heifers. More
than a few of his heifers, also known as pets, are competitive at the National
level before they turn into high scoring brood cows. He loves the show ring,
but just as with his other activities, he’s happy being the behind the
scenes person. Many of us have seen him and his big smile greet his daughter
as she leaves the ring with one of his heifers and a blue ribbon.
With his
wonderful qualities of friendship, his family, heifers, students, committees,
a convention, and even our Association thrive. To quote his daughter, “There’s
a similarity between how he takes care of heifers and how he takes care of
the members of this organization. Attention to detail, each treated as an individual,
a handful of this and two handfuls of that gives each individual the opportunity
to shine and develop as a group that’s fantastic.”
Please join
me as we honor this year’s Friend of New York Holstein, Columbia County’s
oldest 4-Her and my buddy, Roy Denniston. |
2008 Retired Master Breeder
As presented by Ray Vail  Barry and Rosemary Chase are flanked by their two sons, Rory (left) and Farley (right).
It often happens that if you find something you truly love as a child,
you will find a way to return to it. I think that sums up this year’s
Retired Master Breeder. The farm, which he and his wife came to own
over thirty five years ago, was originally established in 1935 by his
father, a dentist by profession, who raised high stepping gaited horses,
until the depression after World War II brought about the decision
to disperse the horses and pursue dairy farming. We know this decision
was not taken lightly. The dentist spent weekends studying with Dr.
Ed Harrison at Cornell, learning the fundamentals of breeding and caring
for the Holstein cow. And this was later passed from father to son.
Growing up, our recipient did not “live on the farm” but
nearby, in town. Summers provided an opportunity to work on the
farm, and a lasting impression was made. But first, there was time
away- four years at Colgate University, two years in the Peace Corps,
where he put his good nature and agricultural skills to work, but as
he would admit he learned more than he taught. Then, three months in
Hawaii, training Peace Corps volunteers, and on to Montana State to
complete his Master’s. Eventually, these travels came to end,
and he returned home to be with “the cows”, and care for
his father who was critically ill.
After his father’s passing in 1971, Barry and his wife Rosie,
began building on the foundation of his father’s work by carefully
selecting sires they felt would advance both type and milk production.
They were eager to visit other herds in their area and see the daughters
of bulls being developed. In 1971, he began using Tara Hills Supremacy,
and important influence in the herd, and from this mating came several
important daughters, including the most important, 4E 93, Supreme Melissa,
a foundation cow, and a show ring champion.
Barry was never afraid to take advantage of opportunities to improve
his herd’s genetic profile. He purchased a young cow from the
Winfarm dispersal, Winfarm Jewelmaker Ivis, who later became 5E 94.
The Winfarm influence in the herd started early. In 1937, the farm’s
first registered cow was born, Chaseholm Segis Pontiac, a daughter
of the Winfarm Sensation bull. Her daughters and Melissa's daughters
excelled over the years and were often featured in their beautiful
monthly ads in the NY Holstein News. Anyone who gets the NY Holstein
News has read his monthly ads featured on page 9.
Year after year, production increased, classification scores excelled,
and their success in the show ring was something to be proud of. Nothing
pleased this family more than to walk away with a first place in the
Best Three Females class, or to hang the Premier Breeder Banner from
their farm sign.
Barry and Rosie worked together, and proudly raised a family of three— Farley,
Rory and Sara. If you were to describe this couple, you would say they
loved what they did, and they did it with passion. They believe a farm
is a great place to raise kids, and his children must feel the same
because they shared the same enthusiasm. In an interview, Barry once
said, “Kids learn very important values on a farm. They learn
early not to be afraid of a day's work and to see a job through.” I
expect he was speaking not just of his children, but also of himself.
Barry also believes that farming isn’t always a good business,
but it is a good way of life.
Barry believes knowing the genetics of your herd matters, and that
there are no easy short cuts to building great cow families. Elevation,
Astronaut, Sexation, Jed, and Mandel were some of his influential bulls,
as were homebred sires, Isaac and Ivan. And if you ever want a lesson
in yesterday or today’s AI sires, just spend a day sitting with
him on the bleachers of any good cow show and you’ll be amazed
at his knowledge. He has certainly enjoyed success as a merchandiser,
because other breeders wanted to incorporate this breeding legacy into
their own. He bred for the “whole package”, and anyone
who visited the farm saw firsthand what dedication to that single purpose
can produce.
In addition to their success on the farm, Barry has been active in
his local community. He currently serves on his town’s comprehensive
Planning Committee, and has also served on the local planning board,
dealing with the thorny issues of farms coexisting with development.
He is President of the board of Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. Barry
gave many years to the Dutchess County Agricultural Society. He was
instrumental to the Hudson Valley Farm Fresh milk marketing initiative.
They have been involved in showing animals and local school programs.
They have been indispensable to the Eastern New York Holstein club
in promoting and organizing the club issue each year for the New York
News.
As most of us know, a successful family farm requires teamwork. Rosie
assisted Barry in making his childhood dream become a reality. She
worked side by side on the farm with Barry and their children while
managing her own career as a college Professor. Their herdsman Doug
Van Wagner was also a great asset to this team for many decades.
In July of 2007, with a BAA of 107.9 and a herd average of 17,545 lbs
3.8% and 671 fat, they sold their herd to Jarrod and Marsha Burleigh of Scarlet
Summer Holsteins in Muncy, Pennsylvania. When the Burleigh’s first visited
the farm, they recognized cows, and knew their dams and grand dams. I guess
that goes to prove how invaluable it is to advertise in the NY News. Chaseholm
Grandslam Nevada was GP-83 when she calved in June, moved to VG-87 on a Breeder's
Choice in August, and found herself EX in December. She peaked at 184 pounds
a day and is on her way to making 50,000 pounds of milk!
Possibly, he is man you may not “personally” know.
It can be said he is a stay-home-on-the-farm kind of guy. But I am
sure you know his prefix, and like all us in Eastern New York, you
appreciate him and the generations of fine cow families he has bred.
So please join me in congratulating this year’s Retired Master
Breeder, Barry & Rosie Chase of Chaseholm Farm, Pine Plains, NY. |
